Just a point when doing AF adjustments: you should always move the lens waaaay out of focus before getting the camera to AF I normally shift to infinity before AF-ing on the test target.

The 50/1.4 can be a pain to adjust anyway. It's field isn't flat, and I've found a combination of test target at f/1.4 plus some portrait tests to get the right balance. I've normally found the test target adjustment produces a measure of FF, so somewhere in between is usually good - slightly BF seemed to produce sharper portraits for me. Just a thought

Matt

Yes, I often find that P-TTL is a right pain because of people's fast reaction times

Bit of a shame that the original TTL was removed - it always worked wonderfully on the *ist-D with the Metz 50MZ5.

Matt

Huh?
You should use a Huey to calibrate the screen but this has nothing to do with the printing. By default SPDS will choose the Windows profile for the screen that the Huey chose.

EDIT: You may find this link helpful. Although it covers Capture 1 the principles are still the same

Need a bit more info as to what you are actually doing...

Matt

You shouldn't be able to overwrite the RAW (PEF/DNG) file you started with.
I'm confused... but obviously you're not!

Matt

James,
With Silkypix you can just drag and drop a folder, or an individual file onto the Silkypix running application.

Personally, as I store all my images in the form: D:IMAGESyeardate-desc I find it easy to just drag the whole directory from explorer onto Silkypix

I then have Silkypix setup to save the JPG/TIFF output files to a "Silkypix" subdirectory.

Edit: When you want to create a JPG or TIFF file just use the "Development" menu. You can press Ctrl-S to save the current file as JPG/TIFF. Failing that you could try the manual

Hope that helps!
Matt

EDIT: Alas, I'm not able to see the bigger image - it's timing out at the moment

I agree about the high ISO - at ISO3200 I've found the K20D excellent... IF the exposure if correct

Often the very dark conditions that necessitate high ISO mean that the exposure meter is operating out of bounds - so it's a good idea to make use of the histogram and take a couple of shots to get it right.

Matt

Thanks for the link
When I get a chance I'll try the software on some high ISO shots I have and see how Silkypix handles after running through
Matt

CS3 is expensive, and anything too good to be true usually is

My personal choice of RAW converter is Silkypix Developer Studio Pro.

Capture One is still excellent - not as full featured as Silkypix, but still excellent results.

Adobe bridge - nah. I don't rate it that highly personally, but others find they can get good results.


For a well priced and legal photographic solution I would say start with the Pentax supplied software (it's based on Silkypix), consider using Silkypix Developer Studio 3 or Pro, and get Photoshop Elements along with www.hiddenelements.com

That will cover most photographic requirements and allow you to follow a majority of tutorials on the web (and if you ever afford the full Adobe Photoshop then you don't have to relearn a great deal)

Matt

Software and hardware
http://www.argyllcms.com/ & http://dispcalgui.hoech.net/
Huey: http://www.pantone.com/pages/products/product.aspx?pid=79
(You don't need the "Pro" if you are going to use ArgyllCMS. The Pro versions of Huey and Spyder are to do with licensing of the software and features. But Argyll is better by far... and free!)
Can be much, much worse My Toshiba M200 tablet PC is awful! It suffers from particularly bad black point, dim backlight, and narrow angle of view Calibrated it's ok for browsing, but I've often messed up editing on it

Matt

LCEgroup are showing an *ist-D at £240 in Exeter.
The DS has a single thumb wheel. However, the custom menu allows a lot of control. It has the same 6Mp sensor as the *ist-D.
Although the *ist-D has two wheels, it uses CF cards. So, you'll probably find the *ist-DS more useful

I still have my original *ist-D, and my wife won't let go of her *ist-DS Quite a difference to the K20D/10D

Matt