I think this is a problem most of us are facing, I have'nt used my darkroom since moving house 18months ago (not even set it up) I finished a roll of B&W off at the begining of december and have not got round to processing it, (cant even remember whats on it) I have five rolls on re-useable cassettes that are probably well out of date, and theres probably another 10 rolls still in the bulk loader. My much loved MZ7 hasn't been used for a couple of years at least and my MZ5n died on me trying to use up the B&W, fortunately it was the batteries that had gone because they were so old!

My MZ5n was going to go on ebay, (they seemed to be fetching a better price than the MZ7) and I was just going to keep the MZ7 as it was more compatable with my other gear (remote release and FAJ lens)

Looking at current prices I suppose I will keep them both, get them out once in a while. smile fondly, then put them away again.

We all have to move on

PS: quick edit........when using up the B&W in the MZ5n I couldn't get out of the habit of looking at the back of the camera after each shot, sign of the times I suppose.

Mattie

I got the 18-35 as a kit lens with my istD, it does the job, but I wouldnt rate it alongside my old manual primes, I personally found the lens a bit short, I found myself forever changing to my 28-80 (which was too long at the short end), as a result my sensor quickly got grubby, less of a problem on the K10D I know, but still something to bear in mind.

However, If costs are important have you considered buying the K10D body only and looking for an 18-35 on ebay? they seem to sell quite cheap, I assume because they are no longer as desirable with the availability of the 18-55. what you save could go towards saving for the 16-45

OK George, got it now, at first I wondered how the camera knew the 360 had gathered the relevant pre-exposure info and relayed it back, but that is obviously done with the camera metering at what your pointing at...(it saw the flash burst DOH!)

I came to this conclusion after reading your reply and wondering how it did it, thinking the 360 cant possibly relay info back to the camera because the camera flash has no photocell to recieve such info (I also tried blocking off the IR remote release in case it was that), I also confirmed the wireless is actually activated by LIGHT by simply covering the pop-up (the slave didn't fire)

Which brings us to the conclusion, if its simply a matter of a coded series of flashes then surely the K10D body can be upgraded to wireless with firmware?
Or maybe Pentax think it would be cheaper for us all to buy an extra 360 than for them to update the firmware

George, your replys can be as cryptic or tongue in cheek as mine, are you serious, is that the way it works or are you having me on?

Amidst my recent experiences with the K10D and my AF360FGZ and the many "complaints" from users who think Pentax could have built a wireless capability into the K10D, I got to wondering how the wireless system works. Does the camera body (the istD) or the master flashgun actually send out a radio signal (hence the need to select a channel) or does it simply rely on a specific burst/s of light from the controling flash (hence the reason other flashes wont control the slave)

Another thought would be, is it something that could be remedied with a firmware update?

Hope that made sense.

I think I can put it better Matt......

Dont forget you can set the custom function of the front edial to program shift while the camera is in Sv, so with the rear dial your controling ISO and the front dial will shift the aperture and shutter combination up or down.

Cant think what I would use this for but it sure is nice to marvel at the ingenuity of it all.

Mongoose;

you know the saying, everything comes to he who waits......

I waited about 6 months for my istD, simply because I couldnt' afford it when it was released, when I did buy it it was on the pretext of it being a 50th birthday pressy (3 months early hehehe )

Look on the bright side, you'll probably get an updated version and all us "firsties" will be green with envy

On a totally different but related note I also drooled and drooled over the MZS, but at the time it was waaaaaay beyong my budget, I never got one and had to make do with going for a second-hand MZ5n

It's going to be very interesting to hear what AP have to say when they review the K10D, I really shouldn't have had a laugh at Patricks expense, my own thoughts on my new toy are exactly the same, the camera is a marvel.

So c'mon guys and gals, whats your favourite feature on the K10D
I think mine has to be the ability to program the e-dails.

Calm down Patrick...

Though I think Pentax need to employ you in their advertising department right away!

Thanks for that Matt, one of the shots did have some glass in the background, the others...Hmmmm, will have to go through them and see if I can find anything reflective that may have upset the works, its also interestig to hear the K10D metering will check the highlights, something else to be wary of.

One thing I will say about this setup was I got very few problems with red-eye, maybe because of the height of the flash from the lens? despite the underexposed shots the good one were tremendous.

You meet some very funny people at these parties though!

http://s80.photobucket.com/albums/j168/impotentspider/General%20Photography/?action=view&current=IMGP0057.jpg

approx 50% crop and sharpened, otherwise untouched.