JR,

You are a fountain of knowledge indeed!

Customs can at any time ask to see that duty & VAT were paid.

I got my *ist D from Canada, and was happy to pay the VAT. That way, if it goes wrong, I can safely ship it out again for repairs, or go on holiday without wondering if somebody will tap me on the shoulder as I go through Customs.
Still saved a lot of money!

There's quite a lot of discussion of this on the web, and several products available, both to buy and to make yourself.

http://www.siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_30754/article.html

George

I had a related problem today.

I was using studio flash which I was triggering with a flash (AF240Z) mounted on the camera and pointed away from the subject.

After a while, the camera would trigger the flash, but not open the shutter until half a second later.

Bizarre. I tried loads of different settings; to no avail. Eventually I noticed that the battery meter was reading half, so I changed the batteries, and, Voila!, back to normal.

George

In March two MZ-5ns have been sold on UK Ebay.

One was body-only, and went for £150.00. The other had a Pentax 28-80mm zoom, and went for £190.00.

I don't think you can expect to get a lot more than £25.00 for the Sigma on Ebay, so the total package might be worth £175.00. However, you should list it with a much lower starting price, but with a reserve that represents your absolute minimum.

Another seller failed to sell a body-only camera with a starting price of £149.00. High starting prices put people off. Once they start bidding, they develop an emotional attachment to the item they are bidding on, and will often end up bidding a lot more than they intended to.

These are my observations after spending rather too much time (and money!) on Ebay in the past few months.

As for the shops advertising in AP, etc. A lot of the prices are totally unrealistic, and at some point soon some of these shops are going to start dumping stuff just to free up some capital (and warehouse space). That's if they don't go bust, like many camera shops in the past few years. So don't expect the shops to offer you much, and don't use their prices as a guide, unless you divide by 2 or even 3.

George

There are ways to print slide on paper, but the results, although they can be good, are often disappointing, and usually more expensive.

I think what JR was suggesting was that you use slide to experiment with. Negative film is always subject to lab interference at the printing stage, so you can never be sure that what you get back was the result of your own efforts, or the lab trying to "enhance" your results.

With slide you will see what you (or the camera) did. If you are under- or over-exposing you will see immediately.

It's worth shooting a roll or two to "calibrate" yourself.

George

Somebody recently requested an "Authoritative Source" to confirm my oft-expressed view that older flashguns were unlikely to hurt new cameras.

I copied this from the DPReview Pentax forum. Somebody asked Pentax USA for their advice. As you can see, the interlocutor was still not satisfied that Pentax USA was sufficiently authoritative; but less cautious souls will no doubt take heart.

Why he asked their advice when he didn't "completely trust PENTAX USA" is of course another matter.

George

"Enquiry:

Can you tell me what are the limitations on
voltage when using the PC socket on the *istD? I
mean, is it safe to use this socket with say
SUNPAK Auto 522 which has a trgger voltage of
180V or so?

PENTAX:
Zvi,

Thank you for contacting Pentax USA, Inc.

Our technicians indicate the trigger voltage is 300V. This should be quite sufficient for most any flash unit.

If you have further questions, please feel free to contact our Customer Service Department at: 800-877-0155
Thanks again,

Joe Virgil

Pentax USA, Inc


I take it that they mean rather: "...the SAFE trigger voltage is 300V..."

if this is indeed so it's good news (for me and other users that still carry the old and good stuff from yesteryears..). Compare that with Canon much more severe limitations...

Anyhow, I still use this flash with an optical coupler to play it safe pending a more reliable estimate (somehow I don't completely trust PENTAX USA...)

This camera's meter works between EV1 and EV19.

I think you are pretty much at the camera's limit at the values you are using, assuming you are using a fast lens wide open.

A lens hood can sometimes be more useful at night than it is by day, because at night you often get light sources such as car headlamps which are relatively much brighter than anything you'll get during the day, bar pointing the camera right at the sun.

Although Pentax may not make a lens hood for your camera, you might be able to bodge something using a rubber lens hood, or even some cardboard in the shape of a cone. Make sure you paint the inside a matt black.