I know it has been covered before, and with some degree of depth... but I found this interesting.

I took the following two photos; on a tripod, 2 second timer and no wind, bumps, etc... all things equal other than the anti-shake being on or off. I reproduced the effect multiple times.... oddly I have never seen this before thought I know some people here have mentioned that they had.

Anyway, the first is with Anti-shake on, the second is with it turned off. Even in these small versions you can see a significant difference.

Lag in the circuit is no problem, but I do not believe there is any way the Pentax mirror will raise in time for most lightning strikes to be captured. I'm not sure about the mirror on any SLR for that mater. Perhaps if you could truly lock up the mirror, I am sure this would be plausible.

Fair enough... I do seem to be a crap-magnet when it comes to electronics and similar things. I am always repairing or replacing stuff far before its time, and often I buy things new that simply do not work.
I am pretty much a sink-hole for bad luck in that regard.

Dont' be so quick to permanently remove the functionality of this pin!
It is the only thing that really keeps the flashes from sliding off the camera. After a few years the collar loosens and simply does not hold tight.

On one flash, even tightened, the flash will slip after a while. If not set all the way in to have the pin fit into the hole, the flash will eventually slide off the camera.
On another flash, the collar spins, almost freely all the way round so it never stays locked for long. It never spins so far on its own to raise the pin, but again without it, the flash would slip right off.

If these were under warranty or if I had the time and cash to send it in for repair I probably would.
Going without them for eight or more weeks is probably more of an issue than the money. (I'm waiting ten weeks on a lens repair so far with no word on status.... THAT makes me want to switch brands!! Consistent repair time here for Pentax 6-12 weeks. Typical repair time for Canon/Nikon, 2-3 weeks. Argh!!)


[edit]
Hmmm, just re-read the posts... I never heard of the lever breaking internally and having the pin not be liftable -- normally the pin gets stuck and the tiny spring is not strong enough to force it up... If the lever actually breaks, that would suck!
The forces inside just do not put that sort of stress on the parts. So there must be some really, really piss-poor quality control on some of these things!!

This is disturbingly common for the 540.

I know there was a discussion here and a post that included images with what to do.
The only solution I've seen that works is to open the flash and scrape down the poorly manufactured pieces so that they do not get hung up on each other.

It isn't difficult... but will void any existing warranty. If the warranty is still good maybe just send for repair. Else, the following post has good info:

https://www.pentaxuser.com/forum/topic/problem-------gt--k10d-and-a-af-540fgz-flash--gt--pleas-help-----6121/p-0#comm_51269

MattMatic includes a link to images of the parts that need to be "fixed".

Hello Geoffrey. I'm originally from Milwaukee Wisconsin (now in the Washington DC area), so I give a big wave hello across the ocean and back again.

Still looking to upgrade from K10D to K7 but not yet ready to lay out the cash. Maybe the next model...

Keep at it and don't cut your self too short. Post some pics, ask some questions and keep shooting.
Join the competitions... you may feel out-gunned at the moment, but its a great place to get honest feedback and a constantly changing set of ideas to keep your creative mind active.
Being a beginner is often in the eyes of the beholder... and I've found with many people that their own eyes are often far too critical to give an honest assessment.

Anyway, welcome aboard.

Can you use the scroll wheel to zoom in a tick during the instant preview? The preview should then stay put until you press the shutter button again or the camera goes to sleep.
Although I wouldn't get too worked up over the image going away. Just hit the preview button to bring it back. There is no difference between viewing/deleting before or after the instant preview goes away other than the extra second it might take to press the blue [>] button.

Although if it is taking five seconds to save a single image and this is slowing down your shooting, you may want to seriously consider buying a faster memory card. That sounds extremely slow. I could see that perhaps re-reading for the preview could also be rather frustrating, and not worth the savings on a cheap memory card.
IMO, if it is that cheap it probably won't last long either. Memory is cheap now. Buy a quality card and live stress free. Best $15 you'll spend.

Just hit the preview [>] button. It should hold for quite a long time - at least a minute or so. If you want to view for longer than a minute without hitting a button to keep the camera awake, you would likely be better off dumping to a computer or other device better suited to viewing the image... without draining your batteries away.

Make sure the room has a safe and use it. Make sure it is bolted well to the floor.
Some hotels have a safe in their office, but I don't know if I could ever trust their staff unless the hotel is insured and takes responsibility for what they put there.

I don't know if I would put much fait in a thin wire mesh. A wire netted bag can be cut with simple tools and time, even a pair of tough scissors will possibly work for the persistent ...(coming form one who, as a child, cut a bicycle cable with them -- took an hour, but the point is that it can be done).

Honestly, if someone has access to you room, they likely have the time, tools and inclination to do what they need to get access to anything there. The safe should keep most grab-and-run thieves from rooting through your stuff.

Sounds kind cool. Similar to the example they gave for the eye-Fi pro, when I shoot a studio full of kids and have parents waiting for a look at the the photos, it would be nice to have them automatically uploaded to my laptop rather than wasting time by taking the card out, and telling LightRoom to import (since that feature does not work on Windows Vista), etc.... it would just be a nifty time saver were my assistant could instant show results without swapping cards or waiting for downloads. Hmm, how fast would those RAW images go??? over wireless

And since tethering no longer seems to be something Pentax wants to offer on their cameras, this would seem to be a decent workaround. The K7 seems nice, but I am confounded by some of the features they left out or the way some were implemented. The eye-Fi would solve one issue and put me one step closer to upgrading from the K10D.

Additionally, take the eye-Fi's ability with something like the miFi (the portable credit card sized wireless router over mobile phone service) device, and instantly upload your photos from anywhere. No more worrying about being hassled by security to empty your memory cards.

The cost seems a bit high at $150 for 4G. Not for me either at that price, but hopefully that will come down.