The AF360FGZ is a great little flash gun. The new AF540FGZ (when you can get it!) will have similar functions, but a higher output (guide no. 54, as opposed to 36).

I have absolutely no experience with the Sigma flashes, but personally I would stick to Pentax

The other thing you should consider getting is a Stofen Omnibounce. It's available for the AF360 (and will eventually be available for the AF540). It softens the light and is great for portraits etc. I usually keep the AF360 with the Omnibounce on, unless I need to cover a great distance.

I've seen the AF360 for around £160 if you shop around on the Internet.

(For the record, I also have a hefty Metz 50MZ5 which is a superb flash, but definitely not as portable as the AF360 - which I wouldn't be without )

Matt

Apparently it's supposed to be:
A-SAH-HEE
http://www.mail-archive.com/pentax-discuss@pdml.net">target="blank">http://www.mail-archive.com/pentax-discuss@pdml.net/msg109969.html

But, you'll find this humerous:

http://www.mail-archive.com/pentax-discuss@pdml.net">target="blank">http://www.mail-archive.com/pentax-discuss@pdml.net/msg110002.html




Check this Japanese guide out:
http://www.suzakuseishi.com/FushigiYuugi/Dictionary/
A . . . . pronounced "ah" as in "Yaht"
I . . . pronounced "ee" as in "Tree
E . . . pronounced "eh" as in "Bet"
O . . . pronounced "oh" as in "Go"
U . . . pronounced "ooh" as in "boot"

The world is full of variety

http://www.mail-archive.com/pentax-discuss@pdml.net">target="blank">http://www.mail-archive.com/pentax-discuss@pdml.net/msg109943.html

I say AH-SAY-HIGH

But then I'm probably wrong too. I have some Japanese friends - maybe I'll ask them

Matt

Thanks Arthur,
Yes, I know there's that way... and the Expodisc frame will give me an absolutely accurate grey point, but it means taking another RAW image.
Maybe I'm not using the Expodisc 100% correctly and introducing a slight colour cast when manually setting the WB. I'll look into it...
Matt

I've just tried it again this morning - using the sun as a reference with the Expodisc.

I took WB settings in AdobeRGB and sRGB at +0eV and +1.5eV (just in case there was an exposure issue).

This time they all are correct...

Now I am completely baffled. Sometimes the manual WB gives bizarre results, sometimes accurate.

Time for some scientific experiments...

This is a small plea for help...

I am experiencing some horrible white balance issues with the *ist-D. Namely that the manual white balance just doesn't seem right. If you've been following along, I have an Expodisc, an Agfa IT-8 target, and a QPcard 201 colour target (though a QPcard 101 grey card would suffice).

Here's my process:
* Manually set the WB with the Expodisc
* Take a frame in RAW with the Expodisc on (perfect grey)
* Shoot the IT8 & QP201 under sunlight in RAW and JPG
* Bring into Capture One

What I've noticed is the camera reported WB is whacky! 12400/30 (temp/tint).
If I eyedrop off the Expodisc frame I get 6900/21 and the image looks much better.
If I eyedrop off the QP201 grey patch I get 6600/21 and the image looks better.

Even more strangely the JPG images (in AdobeRGB) are still way off - not enough blue, and too much red. I am completely puzzled by what's going on (except that someone else with an *ist-D had posted a similar observation).

To put your mind at rest: C1LE, Adobe Camera RAW (CS2), and Raw Shooter Premium all do the same kind of thing (with variations in figures etc).

Has anyone else got a decent grey card and the *ist-D? If so, maybe you could try the same sequence and post your RAW software & temp/tint values here...

Thanks

Hint: you can buy cheap ready made grey cards from www.qpcard.com

The dyes they use are flat spectrum. They don't suffer from metamerism (where the colour appears to be different under varying lighting conditions). This is also important in a decent grey card because you want it to be true grey under all lighting conditions (read this link for more info: http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,13764,00.asp )

I have the QP201 which has colour patches on too, and you can use their software to correct JPGs and TIFFs. Quite nifty, and not very expensive either

Matt

There were quite a few manufacturing probs with the *ist-D coin cells - shorting out, dead cells etc. I remember several people having to return their *ist-D's...

It appears to be internal in the *ist-DL and could be one of three things:
1. Lithium cell (unlikely as these run out)
2. Rechargeable NiMH/Nicad that's trickle charged from the main AAs
3. Supercap (extremely large capacitor that's used for keeping SRAM & real time clocks running). Trickle charged from the main AAs.

I'd guess it's probably 3. The supercaps can run for up to a couple of weeks and are more reliable that internal rechargeables

Matt

Optio cameras don't like being dropped (at all)... in fact most cameras don't

It requires fixing, and may be similar to an experience we had with an S40 that got dropped. Read this link:
https://www.pentaxuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1577&highlight=optio+s40+fo...

This is not a "user fix" by any means. But if you know anyone who's good at fixing things, it's not that difficult.

And yes, it will cost a lot from Pentax (nearly the cost of a new camera). If you have a local "traditional" camera shop they may be able to help (along with the information in the thread I referred to).

Hope that help,
Matt

Yes, I have the Cokin P system. Very nice
Circ polariser, a few ND grads, and an ND0.6.
There are also third party filters available (I bought some of mine from www.srbfilm.co.uk )
Matt