Without looking at an example and knowing the shutter speed used I couldn't comment any more.
Possible explanations:
a) The person moved (especially forward or backward)
b) It's equally in focus but the face has less contrast
c) It mis-focused because there wasn't enough contrast in the area you selected (e.g. a cheek)
d) You didn't stop down enough (it's normally the otherway round - the edges softer) to hit the lens sweet spot.

AFAIK, turning SR off when on a tripod is required when the exposure is longer. For normal shots (ie when a tripod wasn't really necessary) I haven't found SR makes a difference at all. Once you get slower than about 1/2s the SR starts introducing errors and makes the image worse.

Matt

That's probably what it was... I was balancing the ISO against available light. So I was shooting at f/2.8 to f/5.6 (with the 50mm f/1.4 mostly) and varying the ISO between around 320 and 640.
It was kind of "instinctive" with the ISO adjustments I was making - after 3 test shots I had a pretty good feel for the flash+brolley setup, and as the shoot progressed worked out roughly what to do based on flash-to-subject distance.

Just have to love the K10D for the ease of ISO adjustment

I'm talking ambient lighting that would require ISO800 to ISO1600 - so the flash was within a couple of stops of ambient. That's probably why it just kept firing away (I didn't want that Deer-In-Headlights look )

EDIT: I also get used to listening out for the "thwack-zzzzzeeeeeurgh" sound of the flash fully discharging and recycling. When it hits that I know I've gone waaaay too far!

Matt

If the extra pin is shorted to ground then the zoom and P-TTL functions go completely AWOL. As I mentioned, it's a problem with the newer flashes that require digital communication to work at all (and stopping that communication isn't very helpful!).
Matt

Just storage... and more weight.
They are not connected in any way.
Just did a 230 shot session yesterday with the bracket and a remote AF360 with brolley. Only the AF360 needed batteries replacing after about 190 shots - thought that was pretty excellent, IMHO.

Matt

Don,
I like this flash bracket. I've used the Metz 50MZ5 which is a real beast, but the grip is so huge it just feels uncomfortable. The Pentax one is just perfect. It is a heavy kit - K10D+grip, flash grip + AF540 with 8 extra AA batteries, but it just handles so well

And the fact that you can disconnect the camera bracket from the flash grip with a single push button (which can be locked, incidentally!) means that I can do a two-handed portrait mode - K10D+grip in right hand, and flash in the left hand. Really, really quick and useful

Matt

You may have seen one of these:
http://www.bdimitrov.de/kmp/flashes/misc/grip.jpg

It's a 4P, old style grip for the Pentax systems. It's very compact, has a great detachable camera plate and space for 8 x AA batteries inside.

However, the hotshoe mount shorts out the extra pin on the AF540 and AF360 which makes the flash go a little AWOL. I had bodged a temporary solution by isolating the hotshoe with a piece of 35mm film ()

Last night I finished a little modification job on the grip and thought I'd share the information

As usual - absolutely no responsibility taken for you reading this and messing up your grip or flash. This information is just to stop frustration for those that attempt to do this.

Predrill
This step is to make the hole in the plastic for the locking pin.
I used a 1.5mm drill bit in a pillar drill to make a small hole that is in line with the left hand contact, and directly between the plastic and the metal of the hotshoe grip. (Make a measure with a piece of paper if it helps).
The drill will probably just mark the metal and make a hole in the plastic. You'll do the metal hole in the next steps...

Disassembly
1 ) Loosen the two silver screws on the mount joint (where the camera plate clicks in) and remove the silver band and clip from the grip. You'll need to also unscrew the AA battery cover (the big round cover at the bottom of the grip)

2 ) Remove the small black screw just in front of the hotshoe mount at the top.

3 ) Carefully peel back the texture from the rear half (the side with the red switch) and this will reveal three black screws. Remove these

4 ) Unclip and hinge out the front half of the grip.

5 ) Under the hotshoe you should see an earth tag - remove the small nut

6 ) Use a very well fitting jeweller screwdriver and carefully unscrew the four black screws in the hotshoe. DO NOT MANGLE the heads. Because the screws have been dabbed with a touch of glue/threadlock you have to be extremely careful - I had to scrape some of the green gunge off before unscrewing.

7 ) Having removed the hotshoe metal plate, you need to use a needle file to file out...

8 ) The corresponding hole in the metal for the locking pin

9 ) A large semicircle next to the front right screw hole. This ensures that the extra pin on the AF540 won't touch the hotshoe plate. I found it useful to slide the metal plate onto the bottom of the AF540 to see if I had the alignment right (taking into account the little bump of plastic that stops the flash from sliding right to the front of the metal).

10 ) While in there, I sliced off about one-quarter off the rubber pads that are in the AA battery bays. (The NiMH batteries I used wouldn't go in and let me screw the bottom plate on).

11 ) Reassembly was the reverse of the above - but fitting the metal plate back to the underside of the hotshoe was extremely fiddly


With that complete I can mount the AF540 onto the hotshoe, screw in the 5P cable into the side of the AF540 and connect to the camera.
Beautiful

(I have some images which I'll posted later...)

Hope that helps someone else fathom out what to do!
(And if you have a 4P grip and want the job done, and can pay by PayPal, I could probably find some time to modify it for you... if you ask nicely!)

Matt

Oh well. I'd better switch to a Canon 5D then


Seriously - I think the only things I'd like are:

1) Higher ISO (or lower noise at ISO1600), and slower than ISO100 (ISO50 would be great)

2) More dynamic range in the RAW file (more than 12-bits) - very useful for landscapes and HDR work

Resolution is just fine on the K10D. Speed and user interface are all great! There'd have to be a huge difference in the next camera to warrant upgrading

Regarding the comment about firmware updates for the *ist-D... as a firmware developer myself it's pretty unusual to add new features into a finished product (it requires huge time and resources that are usually better directed at newer products). I don't think most people realise just how much effort, testing, and validating goes into firmware!

BUT, it would be nice if the engineers at Pentax could:
a) Find some time to produce some "non-official" firmware updates that could be tested in the field.
b) Possibly release the code so users (like me ) could make changes.

(I realise that option b is probably a non-starter given the huge prices of the development systems, compilers, and license restrictions on source code, operating systems etc.... but I can dream )

Matt

I'll check it out... but how on earth can you tell?
You'll see the mirror going up, but I've not seen anything on any of my lenses that does that
I'll look more closely later...
Matt

I've seen two or three cameras that were flooded...

None of them could be recovered
The water damage eats into the electronics and renders it useless. And heaven only knows what it did to the mechanical leaf shutter.

Even if it could be repaired, you'll find it cheaper to source another camera. In the UK, places like www.mxv.co.uk, www.lcegroup.co.uk, and www.ffordes.co.uk often have film bodies and lenses.

You never know... there may be someone here that has one.

Or... it might be a great time to go digital - especially with the price of the K100D series being so crazily cheap! www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk have it for under £300. They also have Pentax refurbished *ist-DL and *ist-DS cameras - might be worth giving them a call.

Sorry for the bad news!
Matt

Hint: It's a much better price at SRS
I just love the K10D with the grip - it's even better designed than the *ist-D one.
(And I tried a Canon grip the other evening. Huueueurrureh! [Shudders] )
Matt