Hi (Shotgun I presume),

The AF360 cannot take a Stofen omni bounce - I bought one and had to send it back. It's got quite a wide shape to it. However, it does have it's own built in diffuser and catch light.

That said, I will try it in bounce mode as soon as I can and let you know what happens. I'm sure it'll be perfect with the P-TTL though

Matt

Thanks for the images Shotgun!

Had to put up a few images I took at the weekend:
http://www.pbase.com/mattmatic/istd

This is looking like serious fun

BTW, apparently Park Cameras have shifted a box-load of the *istD's, and an equal number of Canon 300D's. I was nearly too late

The camera is just soooo intuitive, a few niggles but none major. Works brilliantly in P-TTL mode with the AF360FGZ both on-camera, and wireless! Already it's given me some more experience in lighting... I'll let you know after a few hundred images...

Matt

Shotgun,

I like the "finally"!! Looks like you're one of the first.
Of course, I am sure most of us are green with envy !

Do let us know how you get on - the images I've seen so far are fantastic.

Look forward to hearing (and seeing some results too!) from you again,
Matt

Ah... let's start with some basics...

Digital does not mean perfect. The camera is still prone to the same physical problems as film - dust, dirt, blur, camera shake etc. To explain a little:

Is the lens clean? A finger print on the lens is not going to help sharpness at all. Get a decent lens cloth (or a little professional 'pen' type lens cleaner) - don't use a handkerchief or a tissue because you can scratch the optics that way.

Also, is the camera steady? Depending on the level of light, the camera can open it's shutter for a relatively long time, certainly long enough to translate the small movements of your hand and arm into blur. Best thing to do - try a tripod. Alternatively, take a photo in good light (midday for instance).

To be honest, you have to take some test photos (but this doesn't matter as you are using digital ) By this I mean still life, in good light. Try a few photos and see if they are better than your other images.

If this is all new to you: (a) read your Pentax manual again. They have some explainations about camera basics that help a lot; (b) get a book on the basic principles of photography (film or digital); (c) ask someone you know who is a more experienced photographer (say a local Pentax group)

Short of seeing one of your images, I cannot offer much more

Matt

Jerry,

Can you tell if your images are blurred, or just not sharp? With smaller cameras it can be quite a game holding it still enough to get a decent quality image. Additionally, it can happen that autofocus can get confused and lock onto the wrong image.

It would be helpful if you could provide more details!

If you use Photoshop or Photoshop Elements (strongly recommend), then it is always best to use a low in-camera sharpen and do your sharpening on the computer.

However, in the meantime, you could try mounting the Optio on a tripod and taking a still life. You can set the sharpness in the camera (see page 71 of your manual). I would suggest taking the same image at each sharpness level to compare the results. In addition, use a small aperture (ie large f-number, like f11).

Once you've got the test images, put them into your editing package and play around a little.

Since I don't have the full Photoshop, but Photoshop Elements 2 (still a worthy package), I general do an unsharp mask at radius 0.7, at around 70% - makes a nice punchy image. However, I would strongly recommend getting Richard Lynch's "Hidden Power of Photoshop Elements" book - it adds a whole pile of seriously useful bits to Elements 1 & 2. (see http://www.hiddenelements.com for a sampler and some free plugins)

Matt

Lizzie,

Do you have, or know anyone else, a PC memory card reader? You could check conclusively whether the card works that way. If it fails on the PC, and fails on the Optio S - then it's a dud card

Alternatively, does the supplied card work okay? If so, I would consider returning the card - you do get dud ones from time to time.

Regards,
Matt

You can download a PDF of the manual from here:
http://www.pentax.com/docstore/index.cfm?show=6

According to the manual, you need two CR-123A or DL-123A batteries. If you are in the UK, I find the best source for batteries is http://www.7dayshop.com - they list Panasonic batteries at £1.25 each.

Hope that helps,
Matt

I too find it overrated, and rarely use DOFP. I have occasionally found it useful to see what happens in macro images - you can see how background light blurs.

If I need to work out distance and focus, I use a neat little application on my Psion Revo called PhotoPal ( http://www.pocketiq.com ) that can do calculations like hyperfocal distance, near and far distance, as well as a whole load of other things. I have got the 'raw' equations somewhere if anyone needs 'em.

Matt

Andy,

Here are a couple of links that might prove interesting:
http://groups.google.co.uk/groups?q=optio+remote+palm&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-...

http://ada.sics.se/protoblog/archives/cat_wireless_communication.html (under IR)

http://www.pacificneotek.com/omnisw.htm

Sorry, I couldn't find any concrete information. You might find the Optio remote may not use IrDA. I would guess the only way to get it sorted is to find some kind soul who will either lend you the remote, or zap it into a Palm and send you the recorded codes.

It's a nice idea... the only other people that know loads about infra red remote control are OneForAll. You can phone them and request codes for their controllers. However, that's mostly for domestic audio and video equipment.

If I find anything further, I'll post the info....

Matt

Hi Malcolm,

The non-autofocus lenses, and all lenses without electronic contacts cannot tell the body what they are

If it is pushing the shutter speed up - are you using the program line "Hi Speed"? If so, try using "Normal" - that should pick a sensible shutter speed/aperture combination.

As to the exposure issue... not sure about that. I have the Pentax Auto Extension tubes, which have no contacts, and they work a treat. However, when using them I do have to set up some custom functions to use them.

Matt