All Forum Comments
Comment by George Lazarette posted on Pentax User Club (Take 2) at 27/03/2007 - 22:26
Quote:
Just in case anyone was unsure about compatibility, the Sigma 'non-Super' ST is compatible with all the Pentax digital bodies as it is P-TTL. I know because I just bought one today. At SRS Microsystems - free plug there because as well as good prices and helpful staff they have Pentax gear - in stock...
The ST doesn't have wireless and a couple of other IMO minor benefits of the Super. Not a huge problem for me; I intend to use it mostly on-camera so it should cover most of my needs. The AF360 on the other hand clearly has some advantages, the most important IMO being flash compensation which the Sigma does not have - with the Sigma you either trust P-TTL or go manual with high or low power, and have to adjust exposure in-camera. The Pentax also clearly seems better built - the battery door popped off as I was putting batteries in. On the other hand the Sigma is more powerful and has swivel. So far I'm happy having spent £99 on the Sigma, but again if anyone from Pentax happens to be reading: Make the 360 a 360 by giving it swivel and I will happily pay twice that.
Funnily enough, the battery door is the Achilles heel of the AF 360 too. Mine now has to be stuck on with Selotape.Just in case anyone was unsure about compatibility, the Sigma 'non-Super' ST is compatible with all the Pentax digital bodies as it is P-TTL. I know because I just bought one today. At SRS Microsystems - free plug there because as well as good prices and helpful staff they have Pentax gear - in stock...
The ST doesn't have wireless and a couple of other IMO minor benefits of the Super. Not a huge problem for me; I intend to use it mostly on-camera so it should cover most of my needs. The AF360 on the other hand clearly has some advantages, the most important IMO being flash compensation which the Sigma does not have - with the Sigma you either trust P-TTL or go manual with high or low power, and have to adjust exposure in-camera. The Pentax also clearly seems better built - the battery door popped off as I was putting batteries in. On the other hand the Sigma is more powerful and has swivel. So far I'm happy having spent £99 on the Sigma, but again if anyone from Pentax happens to be reading: Make the 360 a 360 by giving it swivel and I will happily pay twice that.
G
Comment by George Lazarette posted on SIGMA EF 500 DG ST/Super at 23/06/2007 - 22:12
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I still have this old-fashioned idea that hardware ought to be easy.
I think that's a new-fashioned idea. Do you remember when cars had starting handles, manual chokes, windscreen wipers driven by the vacuum in the carburettor, tubes in the tyres, etc.?I still have this old-fashioned idea that hardware ought to be easy.
What about wind-up gramophones? Or paraffin fridges? Or Primus stoves? Tilley lamps? Butler's sinks and mangles? Soda syphons?
Film?
The list is endless.
G
Comment by George Lazarette posted on SIGMA EF 500 DG ST/Super at 12/06/2007 - 01:33
Quote:
I kind of freaked out a bit when I read that to use the wireless slave feature, you have to do all this stuff like putting the unit on the camera first, then taking it off again, before you can tell it to be fired by the on-camera flash.
I thought (obviously wrongly) that sounded ludicrously complex, and gave up on flash units altogether.
Then I plucked up courage to visit the Pentax site, and discovered that the AF540 manual describes a very similar procedure.
I was a bit shocked to discover that the Pentax unit needs the same kind of admin.
But it left me thinking that the Sigma might be Ok after all.
I suspect that the only reason for that is to ensure that both camera and gun are using the same channel. It's perhaps a little easier to let the camera handle that than doing it manually.ZaphodB wrote:
Thought I'd hop on this thread since I'm interested in the same flash unit...
Has anyone actually used the new version of the Sigma EF-500?
And my main question, from anyone whether you've used it or not... if the new Sigma now has P-TTL functionality, and costs the same as the AF-360, is there a good reason to go for the Pentax?
(Apart from that it looks nicer and says Pentax )
Thanks in advance!
I was ferreting about on the Sigma website, and downloaded the manual for the SIGMA EF 500 DG ST/Super.Thought I'd hop on this thread since I'm interested in the same flash unit...
Has anyone actually used the new version of the Sigma EF-500?
And my main question, from anyone whether you've used it or not... if the new Sigma now has P-TTL functionality, and costs the same as the AF-360, is there a good reason to go for the Pentax?
(Apart from that it looks nicer and says Pentax )
Thanks in advance!
I kind of freaked out a bit when I read that to use the wireless slave feature, you have to do all this stuff like putting the unit on the camera first, then taking it off again, before you can tell it to be fired by the on-camera flash.
I thought (obviously wrongly) that sounded ludicrously complex, and gave up on flash units altogether.
Then I plucked up courage to visit the Pentax site, and discovered that the AF540 manual describes a very similar procedure.
I was a bit shocked to discover that the Pentax unit needs the same kind of admin.
But it left me thinking that the Sigma might be Ok after all.
G
Comment by George Lazarette posted on SIGMA EF 500 DG ST/Super at 12/06/2007 - 00:21
The range is very short, so it's best with models who are under 2 foot high.
But, please, no doggy pics.
G
But, please, no doggy pics.
G
Comment by George Lazarette posted on AF080C Ring Flash at 23/03/2007 - 11:27
Quote:
Ben,
Is this a full redesigned sustem or just the embodiment of the 'mock-up' which looked to be simply the 645 with an LCD on the back.
If Pentax have actually designed an medium format digital system with interchangeable viewfinders and some 'out of the box' thinking then it could do really well as the pro market is crying out for a cost effective sytem to challenge 'Blad H3' and the non-existent Mamiya ZD.
If this IS just the 645 with sensor then it's ho-hum as usual.....
The 6 x 4.5 format is a pig to use for much pro work as the camera is awkward on tripod,..this is the biggest pro criticism of 'blad H3',..they should not have dumped the 'V' system for the 'plastic wonder'
Are you saying that you would like to see a rotating back (or sensor) so that you can go from portrait to landscape without moving the camera?Ben,
Is this a full redesigned sustem or just the embodiment of the 'mock-up' which looked to be simply the 645 with an LCD on the back.
If Pentax have actually designed an medium format digital system with interchangeable viewfinders and some 'out of the box' thinking then it could do really well as the pro market is crying out for a cost effective sytem to challenge 'Blad H3' and the non-existent Mamiya ZD.
If this IS just the 645 with sensor then it's ho-hum as usual.....
The 6 x 4.5 format is a pig to use for much pro work as the camera is awkward on tripod,..this is the biggest pro criticism of 'blad H3',..they should not have dumped the 'V' system for the 'plastic wonder'
And are there any other innovations/changes that you would like to see?
Quote:
Fortunately the 'Hy6' is coming, and after a couple of decades might be within my reach,...provided my long white beard does'nt get in the way of the viewfinder.....
I like to think Pentax is going to price this camera very competitively, in which case they are really going to be on a roll, given the success of the K models. Fortunately the 'Hy6' is coming, and after a couple of decades might be within my reach,...provided my long white beard does'nt get in the way of the viewfinder.....
Much will depend on how much they are paying Kodak for the sensor. We just have to hope that Kodak has one economist left on the payroll to remind the sales people of the relationship between price and demand.
G
Comment by George Lazarette posted on 645D Fully Functional at 23/03/2007 - 14:54
Thanks. Great news. Any suggestions as to price?
G
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Comment by George Lazarette posted on 645D Fully Functional at 22/03/2007 - 17:19
My K10D is set to shake itself on start-up. I've never had to do anything else with it.
I suspect that if you don't shake dust off immediately, it may form a stronger bond with the sensor surface, and then require more to dislodge it than a quick shake of the sensor.
So I shall stick with the shake on start-up.
G
I suspect that if you don't shake dust off immediately, it may form a stronger bond with the sensor surface, and then require more to dislodge it than a quick shake of the sensor.
So I shall stick with the shake on start-up.
G
Comment by George Lazarette posted on Test on dust removal systems. at 27/03/2007 - 21:58
So far I have not had to do any sensor cleaning with my K10D. I can't imagine that they would have included this facility if it didn't work at all, so I suspect that the review sample was faulty.
G
G
Comment by George Lazarette posted on Test on dust removal systems. at 22/03/2007 - 13:56
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Unless of course you import from Europe, then you pay no extra import duty or VAT, just postage. And things can be cheaper in Europe.
From the point of view of duty and VAT, you can't "import" from Europe. It's the same, single, market.Unless of course you import from Europe, then you pay no extra import duty or VAT, just postage. And things can be cheaper in Europe.
G
Comment by George Lazarette posted on Import Costs at 22/03/2007 - 15:40
Matt,
EPZ already has a Pentax gallery (under manufacturers gallery, along with Oly and Ilford, but not kanikon, for some reason (not good enough perhaps )
http://www.ephotozine.com/gallery/pentaxgallery.cfm
G