In answer to your last statement, if you need to take a lot of flashes in a row, then the AF360FGT is not the right flash unit for you.

You need a gun with a large heavy-duty external power pack. Have a look at guns by Metz for example.

I wonder if this could explain some of your problems. When you fire your 360 once, it will typically use perhaps 20 or 25% of the stored charge. The balance is retained for your next shot, and it doesn't take very long for the batteries to make up the charge to 100% again.

However, if you fire off a number of shots in quick succession, the charge stored in the gun will quickly be depleted, and it will take far longer to recharge. If your NIMH batteries were not fully-charged and in good condition to start with, you might end up with a situation where their voltage drops to a point below that which the flashgun's circuits need to operate properly. This could explain the erratic behaviour you have experienced.

You should know that the nominal voltage of a rechargeable battery is often below that of a conventional battery, and they are not recommended for some voltage-critical applications.

Many problems with sophisticated electronic devices can be traced to inadequate supply voltages.

So, to sum up: your flash unit may be OK, but you may be demanding too much of it. I suspect that, for your needs, a flashgun with a separate power pack may be required. Try Metz.

And if you can't find a *ist D-compatible flash unit, consider manual or auto, as opposed to P-TTL. There is quite a lot of evidence that off-sensor flash metering with a digital camera is less reliable than using an auto flashgun. The technology was designed for film; it doesn't seem so happy with a digital sensor.

George

The M-series lens hoods are all fairly loose, and are NOT designed to be tightened, unlike the hood on the SMCP-F 1:4.5 300mm (which is a great design).

I suspect when you think you are tightening the hood, you are simply wedging it out of alignment.

G

They were made in Rolls Royce/Lamborghini numbers. For the same reason.

G

PS: Have a good weekend yourself. Mine doesn't start just yet.

The Asahi Pentax ES was the first SLR with automated exposure control, allowing aperture-priority exposure metering. You set the aperture, the camera set the shutter speed. It was a milestone, and very expensive. It came out in the late sixties or early seventies, and I think used late Takumar lenses like the ones used on the SPF.

At the time, Pentax was represented in the States by Honeywell, who rebadged the cameras (all, not just the ES and ESII) as Honeywell Pentax. There were one or two variants specific to the US market, but most were just like the international Pentaxes.

It's obviously a "better" camera than the F, in the sense of having more capability, but otherwise was much the same. All, or almost all, were black.

That's all from memory. You might well find more on the AOHC site.

G

Did you mean this:

http://tinyurl.com/bo4gv ?

When it came out, the 85 1.4 was certainly considered to be one of the best lenses ever made. However, since then Pentax has produced the Limited line, and for my money the 77 and the 31 are both contenders for the title of "best ever". The 43's not bad either, but not a very useful focal length on digital.

The Limiteds are not just superb optically, but the mechanical construction is on a par with the finest manual lenses of the "golden age" of SMC Takumars. Like a 55 Tak, you can just hold them in your hand and marvel at the workmanship.

But if I didn't have a 77, I'd certainly try and get an 85. As it is, I like to think there's a 200 macro somewhere with my name on it. Another legendary lens.

G

There's also a feature on this board called SMP - synchronised message posting!

G

Unless you are using a special flashgun, you cannot use a higher speed than 1/150th.

This is because at higher speeds only part of the sensor is exposed to light at any one time, so you would get an image which was partly lit by flash and partly by ambient light.

Some flashguns emit a series of light bursts which ensure that the flash reaches all parts of the sensor, even at higher speeds. If the body recognises one of these guns is attached, and in high-speed mode, it will permit higher speeds to be set.

At the moment only the 360 and the newly anounced gun (550?) amongst the Pentax flashes offer this functionality. I believe one of the Sigma guns does too, and there may be others.

Look for a feature called "HSS" - high speed sync.

G

Hmm. Which lens is always in your bag these days? Couldn't be a 300mm Pentax-DA, could it?

Moral: Never argue with Matt.

G

PS: I know it's not the 2.8 version, because that doesn't exist - yet.

Perhaps you need to update your Capture One software. I'm using the LE trial version 3.7.1 and it has support for both D and DS (but not DL).

There is definitely a difference between D and DS RAW files, but there may be none between DS and DL.

G

To get the best results, you should assume that every image you take will benefit from some adjustments on the computer.

George