Nope, not been any American forums
Didn't mean to be soppy (urgh - pass the bucket stuff), just making the point that you should worry about how you make use of something, rather than just the money! (Though it still hurts!!)

Keep smiling
Matt

I agree with Dave! It's that aggghhh feeling!

Still, depreciation on digital cameras is very high, just like computers. At the end of the day it's what you do with the camera that matters - how you use it to touch people's emotions

You could sit and wait for ever for the 'right' deal...

Matt

Just to add to John's accurate comments:
Close up lenses are very convenient to carry around and use. Optical quality is pretty good.
Extension tubes give great results - you can put them on most lenses (including telephotos), but there's a bit of fiddling around. With the *istD it takes a few extra steps to make it work.
Macro lenses are superb. I have the Pentax SMC-F 100mm/f2.8 which is a beauty of a lense, and since that both my close ups and extension tubes haven't been used I also use the lens for portraiture and it's wonderful, but yes, expensive.

With any closeup work you will need a really solid tripod, a cable release, and a lot of patience. Don't expect good results hand held You need to stop down and go for slow shutter speeds.

There's also a really good overview here: http://www.ephotozine.com/techniques/viewtechnique.cfm?recid=65

Regards,

Matt

FYI, if you are in the UK you can get a USB2 card reader from here:

www.7dayshop.com
http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/default.php?cPath=777_4_402

I have the £8.95 one. Works a dream and is fantastic for downloading 1Gb cards (it's faster than PCMCIA too )

Matt

Ammonia,

P-TTL is Preflash- Through-The-Lens metered.

The *istD fires a quick flash to guage exposure, sorts out what it's going to do then fires the main flash. If you look really carefully you'll just about discern there are two flashes, not one.

The AF400 does only TTL. It's only the AF360FGZ that does P-TTL (and sometimes wish it wouldn't so you can slave normal flashguns with a magic eye.)

Regards,
Matt

Here are my observations with the *istD...

It's really easy to switch to spot metering by mistake and not notice. I've wondered a few times what's going wrong, so I'm trying to get into the mental habit of checking the metering switch before use (it's switched over pulling it out of the camera bag )

Regarding TTL flash, if you mean P-TTL flash (with the popup), then yes there are some issues that haven't been entirely pinned down. It seems the preflash exposure gets it wrong if there's a large amount of white in the scene, and then the real exposure underexposes.

Digital CCD has a completely different response to light compared to negative film (especially). Negative film is very forgiving. Digital is much less forgiving when over exposing. It seems the *istD goes for the "safe" option most times and slightly underexposes. (Technically, film and slide is logarithmic in response, while CCD is linear.) This is just something you have to live with (Canon and Fuji users too have to learn to adjust some of the time.)

If you need a serious shot, don't forget that RAW mode gives a lot more lattitude too, especially if you have the benefits of Photoshop CS. You can claw back loads of details from underexposed areas that is not possible in JPG mode. If the shot is particularly difficult (such as backlit macro images), I find it helpful to switch to manual, get the exposure in JPG mode, then switch to RAW for the real shot.

It's a whole new learning curve, but one that's been hugely rewarding

Hope that helps!
Matt

Roj,

Error codes are listed Here! under the FAQ section of the main website.

It's a shutter related fault

Matt

I would suggest trying the following:

* Switch the autofocus to center only and try again
* Try another lens.

If neither of these work, then it's the *istD. If it focusses with another lens, then it's the 50mm.

The SMC-F 50mm/f1.7 should have a silky smooth focus ring. Check that it's not sticky, and there's no play.

Matt

Try www.asahiphoto.net
Give them a call.
Matt[/url]

George,

I know
I found the AF360 on the Z1 would occassionally give me dud results - but then I'd pushed it too far or confused it. However, getting back the slides much later I could never work it out. I'd rather have it the *istD way

I agree there's something a little 'odd' about the *istD's P-TTL flash (and I think it is the P-TTL that's the problem). Other users have commented that you get probs when there is too much white in the scene. To my mind it looks as though one sensor is doing the P-TTL preflash measurement, but getting it wrong. My own theory is colour balance. Different lenses produce very different colouring (as I found out). My Tokinas all gave very different results to the Pentax 28-70/f4 that I had at the time. Looking at the histograms in PS showed the variance in the RGB channels.

Perhaps the preflash sensor is more sensitive to red (or even IR) than the CCD, and fools the camera into thinking the preflash was brighter than it was. Just a thought

I think I'll have to go back and try my AF360 tests again with the SMC-F primes.... (but as my circumstantial evidence suggests I have had beautiful results with them and the AF360)

Matt