As long as there's no Vat cash accounting then QuickBooks is pretty good
Have used it in the past, and we use the US version at work (along with Sage for UK).

HTH!
Matt

As Ken said, you definitely do not need HS mode to freeze motion!

Pretty much any old flashgun will do - including the pop-up flash
It's all down to getting the ambient light balanced with the flash, and taking a LOT of shots to get the timing right

Do note, that the camera's shutter speed has no relation to the 'freezing' ability of the flash.

My advice - try your camera on "M", with the pop-up flash and experiment. Once you know where the limitations are, then you can purchase extra gear

Matt

The 'limitation' on 1/180s has nothing to do with the flashgun - it is a physical issue to do with the shutter in the body. And, to be honest, it's rarely an issue in real world use.

(That said, the AF360/540 does support 'HS' mode which allows fill-in flash at any speed - but it works by 'machine-gunning' the flash gun at ultra high speeds.)

You use manual flash like this:

* Set the camera to 'M'
* Set a shutter speed slower than 1/180s
* Set the ISO & Aperture on the camera to match the flash settings

Note that the shutter speed has NO effect on flash exposure - it is just the ISO+Av. The shutter speed affects the balance between flash and ambient lighting

Check out the details on the sticky thred

Matt

Thanks for the tips John
I'm getting seriously tempted...
Matt

I doubt it! The camera keeps track of the number of actuations

You could always just use the video mode and do the speed up in post production

Matt

Ned's back
He has images of the K-01 with the Ltd primes, and a cool Vimeo shot of the Focus Peaking feature.

K-01 with DA & FA Lenses

K-01 focus peaking

Matt

You are correct

What is not apparent is the fundamental technical difference between 'regular' flash and HS. Regular flash works like this:
* Mirror up
* Leading curtain of shutter opens all the way
* Flash fires, then shutter delay (i.e. Tv)
* OR Shutter delay, then flash fires (in "Slow" flash mode)
* Trailing curtain closes
* Mirror down
* Both shutter curtains move back to starting positions

With regular flash it only works because the whole sensor is exposed when the flash fires. That's why you're limited to 1/180s


With HS flash mode, the trailing curtain starts moving before the leading curtain has reached the end of the travel. Essentially with shutter speeds faster than 1/180s there is a 'slit' progressing across the sensor. If a regular flash went off (say at 1/4000s) then you'd have a sliver of light across the frame and the rest would be dark.

HS works by 'machine-gunning' the xenon tube to pepper light as the shutter slit moves across the frame.

That's why you need two expensive guns! (FWIW, originally the *ist-D could do HS mode from the pop-up, but apparently this wasn't possible in later bodies as the power requirements mess up SR - among other things).

Soooooo, ND filters can be useful

Indeed
See here

Thank you Don for 'upping' the shameless plug!


Matt

(Eyes on stalks)
WOW!

Thanks for sharing!
Matt

By digital pulses of the flash itself - so purely optical.

Therefore range depends on conditions. Indoors it's not a problem. Outdoors I've managed two or three meters in shade.

The dedicated Pentax wireless flash (with compatible flashguns) will handle full P-TTL, and HS sync (for daylight fill in). But be aware that daylight HS P-TTL wireless flash will require two compatible guns - one as the master/controller on the camera and one (or more) as slaves.

I use the Cactus v4 and they work very well indeed, and provide other lighting options that do not require line-of-sight (like flashguns behind walls, inside cupboards etc )

Shameless plug: You'll find my ebook helpful

Matt

You have the choice of leading or trailing curtain on the K5 (trailing = "Slow")

However, in both cases there is still the pre-flash which is what makes people blink!
Matt