True. Both PS and Lightroom have similar/same RAW processing. They work fine for clean images, but introduce nasty artifacts (particularly at high ISO). Capture One is better (and still free on Sandisk Extreme III 2Gb cards I think), and Silkypix even better.

Lightzone is good, but pretty slow at RAW conversion. As far as I can tell the IQ is similar to PS & LR. It's probably largely based on Dave Coffin's dcraw file.

Personally, I would highly recommend the Silkypix and Photoshop Elements combination. Even PSE2 or 3 does 90% of what a photographer needs (With a the addition of a few free plugins ). There will always be a place for the full Photoshop... but at a price.

Matt

Richard,
Personally I would get the Pentax AF360-FGZ. Around £160 new and will offer wireless P-TTL, wireless "A" and "M" modes as well as all features when connected to the hotshoe.
A genuine Pentax flash will ensure best compatibility with all bodies (both past and future).
If buying second hand, just check that both lugs are still there on the battery cover
Matt

Yes Heavy, heavy
Matt

(Lilly: Capture One LE has a sample image that is helpful for checking calibration - just load it up and check the skin tones & colour patches. Also, it will probably take you a while to adjust to a calibrated monitor after using a non-calibrated one for so long :shock

I like the two shots... but wonder whether true HDR was actually needed
You need bracketed shots when there's a huge range in contrast (so that you'd either get huge areas that were blown out or lost in the shadows).

You can get the "HDR look" by carefully tone-mapping a single image
(Perhaps one reason why the Artizen tone mapping operators are available separately as Photoshop plugins )
Matt

To be honest, I wouldn't go for them. But it's useful to know all the same.

If I want cheap, I get the Kingston cards from Picstop (10x write, 30x read). If I want faster, then the Kingston Elite Pro are cool (£8.99 for 2Gb, 50x write & read).

But for the K10D I only use Sandisk Extreme III cards (again from Picstop). £12.99 for a 2Gb 133x card. Also bought a 4Gb Extreme III SDHC card for £23.99 (came with a fast little USB reader too. That's a good thing, because every other card reader I have won't read SDHC).

Matt

All taken care of

It's equivalent to taken a photo of a subject further away - that's all.
(But bounced flash is nicer as it's diffused)
Matt

Really appreciate the kind words James Nice to know that what I post is actually useful
Matt

Neil,
There are many reasons why this could be perfectly valid Have you read the sticky guide to P-TTL?
I can understand this is frustrating, but in my practical experience I rarely have a real issue with the AF540 & AF360. (The exposure has been consistent between the *ist-D and K10D, and don't expect the K20D will be any different).

If you have eliminated all the other possibilities I mentioned in the stick thread, then, as I've mentioned in this thread, the Pentax DSLR is aiming to retain the highlights. This behaviour is actually ideal for portraiture and wedding photography - but may lead to the overall exposure looking underexposed. (But more often than not, it'll be down to one of the other things I mentioned.)

As I said, try using it in TAv mode with auto ISO between 100 and 1600. I reckon you'll find your problems pretty well disappear
Matt

A little postscript (another )...
It may be that the K10D is designed to contain the highlights in all modes, and when you select a higher ISO rating the flash cannot be turned down enough by the camera and so some of the highlights naturally blow out.

Of course, as I detailed before you can use the "A" mode of the flash with a little trickery so you can have it all ways.

(And for the Metz 50MZ5/SCA3702, I also found you cannot use Auto ISO on the K10D - the Metz will think it's ISO100. You can use the front dial to manually adjust the ISO and the Metz will track the setting. Horses for courses )
Matt

Clarky - initial results with wireless P-TTL are that the camera modes work exactly as described above i.e. TAv and Av give differing results (partly down the ISO setting being different, but also apparently because of different metering methods for flash between modes).

I had also been playing around with which modes support the HS setting. Initial results are: Green, Av, and M support high shutter speeds. Personally, I would only use Av and M since the Green mode and flash will try and use the lowest ISO - which results in a very stark image.

Might have to do some practical tests and then I'll have enough info to write a complete book on the subject... but not enough time to write one
Matt