Granted. But even a good LCD without proper calibration can be terrible for photo editing

As I said, I have seen LCDs that I couldn't calibrate with the Spyder 2 Pro software, but were perfectly acceptable for editing once run through with ArgyllCMS + dispcalGUI Probably not good for colour matching, but certainly fine for photo editing.

There are a couple of decently priced Dell LCDs that were not basic TN screens... can't remember the exact model though

But, going back to the OP, I would say a reasonable LCD + the calibration I suggest should be acceptable for general editing.

Matt

More than anything else I would suggest a decent calibration system. My preferred one would be the Huey, ArgyllCMS and dispcalGUI (the two software pieces are open source!). Calibrate using a cLUT (Colour Look Up Table) rather than the simpler Matrix/Shaper.

This approach has "tamed" almost every display I have (with the exception of the terrible Tosh M200 which is now very old too!).

Main things to look out for are:
* Display angle. There's nothing worse than moving your head to see the brightness & colour change!
* Over bright displays. Usually you can turn down the backlight, but many displays are just way too bright for decent editing (unless you are trying to edit in bright sunlight... which you shouldn't be!)

Personally, I wouldn't take my images to other people's systems - unless they calibrate theirs!!! You are liable to make the wrong decision when viewing on an uncalibrated, non-colour managed system

Hope that helps!
Matt

Lilly,
Yes, everything else is massively more expensive
Not far from where I work is Spectrum Photographic ( http://www.spectrumphoto.co.uk/ )- excellent service, facilities and quality - but TBH I haven't used them for a long time.

If you want canvas and other large stuff, then www.photoartistry.co.uk are very good. They're the crew that offer the POTW prints for epz winners. I have a very nice 36"x24" canvas hanging on the wall at work

But, like you, I'm open to other suggestions

Matt

Based on these limited tests, I'd probably go with Lens #1.
However, as I've found there's more to a lens than sharpness and bokeh (in these circumstances).

I once did a casual test between the FA 31 Ltd, and the FA24-90 and was pleasantly surprised by the 24-90. Certainly saved me a lot of angst over trying to save up However, the test I did was essentially a sharpness test - shot at f/8 IIRC. The 24-90 stood up extremely well, and gave me a new insight into its abilities.

That said, there are situations where there the differences may show up. For example:
* Bright specular bokeh. For instance, distant lights, or highlights on leaves.
* Difference in bokeh between near and far out of focus items (the DA*50-135 is superb for far out of focus, but can produce "busy" bokeh for near items).
* Difference in front and rear bokeh.

Then there is the overall handling, the filter sizes, the dimensions of the lens itself (e.g. the DA55-300 vs FA80-320), etc.

Tough one to choose Nathan!

As it happens, I have a little collection of Pentax lenses that are probably going to have to be sold to fund other things... it's a real pain deciding what's to go as they all have their individual merits

Matt

It's not just a Metz - it's down to which flashgun supports HS mode (High Speed sync). The reason is technical and down to the physical construction of the shutter in the body.

1/180s is the fastest shutter speed where the two curtains in the shutter are at their extremity. In other words, the leading curtain has finished its travel, and the trailing curtain hasn't yet started its travels.

At faster shutter speeds the trailing curtain starts moving before the leading curtain has reached its end. Think of it like a slit moving down the frame.

For flash to work at faster than 1/180s, the flash gun has to "pepper" the sensor (or film) with lots of smaller bursts of light.

The Pentax AF360 and AF540 both have this mode


But usually it's worth asking just why you need faster shutter speeds with flash (After all, several generations managed with even slower sync speeds ) Of course, there are perfectly valid reasons why you want fast sync speeds... but often it can be down to misunderstanding of what's needed for a particular setup.

Matt

Had a quick play on holiday with a single AF540...

It works like this:
* The flash exposure compensation on the camera body sets the overall flash compensation (a base-point if you like)

* The exposure compensation on the slave flash works from the base point that was set on the body.

Consequently, you can set the relative exposure balance of multiple remote flashes using the dial on each slave. You may want a master at +0, with a fill in at -2. Then you can adjust the relative exposure of the all the remotes from the body - adjusting up and down as needed.

Hope that makes sense (and agrees with what you find in practice!)
Matt

Real, real shame there's no Mac OS X version...

Not even any mention of it appearing either
I'm not going to be able to hold out much longer, and at the moment it looks like I have three choices: (1) Jump to Aperture, (2) Stick to SPDS3 on Mac (if they'll give me a license code), (3) hope ISL develop the Mac version before the 60 days are up.


.. unless anyone knows anything differently of course

Matt

I meant to say use the AF160 as a simple controller - it has very limited adjustments, but you can always slug the output by wrapping some tissue paper over it with an elastic band

Only point to bear in mind - if you use a dumb slave as a controller, then switch the AF540 to Slave 2 (IRRC). Slave 1 is for P-TTL... or was it the other way around ?
Anyway, you get the point

Matt

Where's the website?

The AF360 and AF540 will both slave in "dumb" mode, and as long as they are set to Manual at a power less than 1/2, or in Auto where less than 1/2 power is needed then they will dump their light twice (once for the preflash, and secondly for the main flash).

However, that's still an expensive way to go

I would say forget P-TTL altogether - it introduces too many variables in these circumstances. Do everything in manual and you can't go far wrong

I'd suggest some cheap slave triggers and two or three old flash guns (Vivitar, Sunpak etc). You know, the kind that only have "A" and "M" modes. It's best if they adjustable power ratios when in M mode.

You can't use your pop-up flash to trigger such dumb slaves though
You can (a) get an old Pentax AF160 as a simple slave, (b) use the AF540 on the camera set to "M" mode (you'll have to use the camera in "M" mode too )

Do everything in fully manual - that way you have complete control. With a bit of practice you can get the thing balanced quicker than it takes to set up the stands etc!

Matt