Of course some would be. We're all at some risk, depending on where we post our shots ... Clearly for web advertising purposes even an image sized for Facebook is good enough.

For the unscrupulous the main thing i guess is that it fits their purpose ...in fact they may consider a relative 'unknown' as fairer game.

He mentioned in a post a while back that he'd got very near the edge ...

Its an excellent idea, i agree with all above, really pulls you down to the micro level and places the subject in the most amazing perspective.

its got to be software blurring doesn't it ... Could you get they DOF with a normal 17mm? Its looks like my experiments with my new extension tubes at 150mm.

Algi, sounds like a good idea ... I'm just unsure of exactly what you mean regarding the expodisc. When I set a custom WB with the disc on, I get the grey screen with square in the centre ... I can then move the square anywhere around the frame before pressing ok to set the wb based on that specific area ... Is this not what you are referring to?

I've always thought that a 'grey disc' for exposure metering would be helpful, but again I'm not sure what extra feature is needed to use it? What are you suggesting here? Does a grey disc not equalise the light reading across the entire frame, meaning any meter mode would give exactly the same result?

The last 2 are the best with good light - looks like you used flash on those? They are both sharp and with great colours. Agree with Stuey on the crop idea.

The first 3 are weaker as they have distracting elements and are quite widely framed around the birds - a closer zoom in on the birds faces might hav worked better I think.

TOf course we've got that which is great, but that doesn't mean there's nothing else to say ... Its always good to keep refreshing ideas, and we've had a update to the range lately with the af II series ... They have lost the sensor on the flash unit itself, so no longer allowing auto-flash operation with non-da lenses, quite a significant change if you're looking fir a new flashgun.

And all the more important then to talk about the most efficient manual working techniques. Its never done and dusted, that sort if thinking just stifles learning and developing ... There's always scope for new ways of approaching things ... I can assure you that any material I create will take a new perspective and will complement, not duplicate that which we already have

ears, sometimes 'point & shoot' will work for flash, but often not, or not very well at least. Any camera systems maximum flash sync speed (eg 180th sec) is going to be limiting in certain situations, such as those brighly lit portraits I was talking about where you need 'fill' light on the subject, so moving to a dedicated flashgun that offers the High Seed Sync mode is the way to go.

Keep your eyes out on the forum as I'm just about to start a new thread on flash modes and flash exposure systems on Pentax, with a view to members contributing their knowledge & experience to build a guide and knowledge base on these matters .... fun fun to come !

I remember reading somewhere years ago that to 'think in mono' while shooting involved squinting through your eyes at the scene. ??

As Ken has said, for the main flashlit subject the extremely brief flash burst will freeze movement assuming the subject is in range - but backgrounds may still be blurred though depending on the shutter speed and if there's any camera movement during the exposure.

So the main purpose for 'high speed sync' is therefore not so much to freeze movement , but rather to allow the use of flash for creative and 'fill' purposes in bright conditions (ie when the ambiant light is high enough that 180th sec would cause overexposure).

The common scenario is an outdoor portrait where a bit of shadow needs to be lifted on the face, but there's bright light all around. You might want a wide aperture (say f3.5) for a nice portrait rendering, but even at ISO 100 this may give a speed of, say, 1000th sec in daylight. Without HSS you can't use the flash at that speed. With a flashgun set to HSS the gun fires a very rapid continuous burst of flashes that lasts for the whole time the shutter is open (1000th sec in our case here).

This is actually not 'fast' at all in flash terms - in fact very slow. But it allows the shutter speed to be correct for the ambiant light and means the flash stays on for the whole duration of the exposure (while the curtain strip is exposed). HSS actually uses more power than most single flash bursts as is it illuminating for so much longer, and the practical effect of this is that the maximum disance you can use it at is reduced (for any given ISO / Aperture), and the batteries will be used up a little more quickly if you use it a lot.

Thanks Fletcher, thats very helpful of course. I think we should talk more about Pentax flash, both the auto types and full manual. I always find its beneficial to revisit things and consider them again. For me manual has always provided the most consistency. However, most books on the subject now tend to use examples from the most modern auto-TTL type of guns that provide distance / power information on the back, following user input of ISO / aperture (or the gun getting that info from the camera).

I'm interested in looking at quick and reliable methods to set up Pentax DSLRs with a manual unit, or P-TTL unit set to manual, along with a rule-of-thumb checklist-type guide to quickly set power output, or judge the best working distance, so that the initial test shots are nearly-spot on reliably in all situations. I'll start a thread soon about this, my own ideas first and then everyone else can pile on board!