Superb image quality. The red is startlingly good (and I know that red has been challenging for digital sensors before). The black is all deep and silky.

Artistically I'm not keen on the mirrored one. I like the concept of the single object in a sea of black. I'd be inclined to further isolate the one strawberry even further over nearer the corner, with more black space in the frame .

You didn't explain clearly that you were trying a different technical approach in order to remove the pre-flash. So without that exactly explained then you make it easy for people to assume you don't know what you're doing. I can only use the exact words you write to judge, plus memory of problems you've had before.

I agree its a good idea to try in this situation (using the triggers as a basic manual type). However you're not using them as they are designed for, so performance might not be consistent.

If you want to keep your manual strobes fired optically, then you might be better off with a set of Yongnuo triggers and flash that work without any preflash. That way you can keep remote power control over your main light. The Yongnuos are cheap so you might be able to get two flashes

If you need HSS then consider the Cactus RF60x to pair with your V6II, as I believe it does not cause a pre-flash. But I'd confirm this for sure at the Cactus forum.

Seb, the Metz flash must be set to P-TTL mode for use with Cactus V6IIs.

You switch between TTL and Manual flash modes on the V6II transmitter unit .... The group button cycles this with each press ....TTL ....M .....Off.

Its a beautiful looking town, and signs like that make a great subject .... (I need to get back into the City of London one day soon!). There's the technical challenge that comes from shooting upwards towards the bright sky, and the need to keep that under control without underexposing the signs, but that all has been well handled here.

Theres a strong theme coming through here suggesting that an 'entry level' model was the starting point for many into DSLR photography, and that the sub £500 price point (including kit lens) was the budget barrier in the main. Also that what Pentax had on offer at the time (older stock, end of line possibly) was of a higher build quality and offered more for the money than the price equivalent Canon & Nikon alternatives. The kit lenses have always played their part here also, with the Pentax ones punching above their price point as well.

So that was the route into the brand if you were able to get into a shop and try things out side by side with the competition. That was how it was for me with the K7 and 18-55WR, which back in 2012 for £499 (clearance price, but with as new guarantee) was a lot for the money ..... it had been compared in side by side reviews with the Canon 7D, which was considerably more expensive, and there was nothing on the shelves from Nikon which came even close for less than £800.

Of course I was not buying entry level, but was attracted by the higher end features and value for money. I have to wonder if today in the same position would I choose a K70 or K50? Probably not, because I was comparing the K7 to higher end Canon film SLRs in terms of what sort of features I wanted (that was my reference). But I still think for someone starting out those lower end Pentax models would feel better and clearly offer more for the money than the Canon & Nikon options .... but this does really depend on going inside a shop .... I doubt that the same result would come through from browsing online.

What I find interesting nowadays is this move upwards for everyone. The K1 accelerated this trend ..... I mean that you now see people on forums asking questions about and having problems with cameras that they clearly do not need. You see beginners buying models that are targeted at experienced enthusiasts and pros and struggling with things, or expecting to achieve great results with the camera set to auto-everything, just because they have the top camera. Often they are also the people who don't want to read any books or study up on anything.

The wireless settings on the Metz (Master / Control etc) have no relevance to working with the Cactus triggers. Don't set the Metz to any wireless mode (these modes are for Optical wireless working). It should be set to P-TTL mode, and then things are controlled from the V6II on the camera.

One thing that was discovered early on when the V6II came out was that it caused a pre-flash from P-TTL flashes even when using Manual flash mode. This is something to do with the way it communicates using the P-TTL protocol in order to activate HSS .... its an unfortunate side effect, and they said it could not be changed. I don't think it affects their own RF60x flashes (but check on their Community Forum), so that might be another good choice for a new flash or two (also no receiver needed for those, which saves money).

Are you using the Cactus V6II system in P-TTL mode with the Metz as a slave? If so, then the flash emits a pre-flash for metering purposes, and this is preventing correctly synced triggering of your basic manual slaves. Some Manual flashes have a specific slave setting to ignore pre-flashes, but pre-flashes can vary depending on camera system and flash type, so theres no guarantee.

In any case, you have remote control over manual power settings as well, so you shouldn't need TTL. However, I understand P-TTL slaves with the Cactus V6II system will always emit a pre-flash, even when used in Manual mode, so you may have to look to either a different radio trigger or different basic slaves that can ignore that pre-flash.

Since moving to Pentax with the K7 I have experimented with blended exposures and HDR techniques for this type of image (ie where the dynamic range is still high, even in fairly low light, with shadowed foreground and brighter sky to restrain). Before on film I used ND Grads. The processing options with digital seemed to be begging for use, and are attractive given the extra time and fiddling around needed with filters at the time of capture.

However, whilst I have been happy with some of the results I have obtained with blended and HDR techniques, in general I have to say that the best professional grade landscapes I've seen taken on digital are still those that use traditional high quality filters. For example, take a look at the work of this guy over at PentaxForums, username The Madshutter .....

link

.... there's a lot about his technical approach that is obviously optimal, but the use of ND Grads, and good ones at that, is a big part of it.

The biggest issue with Grads is of course horizons with protruding objects (the classic example being a jagged mountain range protruding into the sky, wreaking havoc with your lovely controlled exposures) .... however no doubt with some processing the poor effects of this could be smoothed over with some subtle dodging where the darker bits have intruded.

The use of off camera flash is quite a good idea really, although I'd say it applies mainly to situations where your foreground is not lit . Ideally you'd want some nice gentle light on your foreground interest, and the composition would be constructed around this as a feature. However there are situations where you can't get any light where you want it, although the background might be nicely lit. One example I seek out is in woodlands and forests, where the DR can be extreme, with no light reaching the ground but very bright open sky peeking through the dense trees.

Here's an example of where I've set the ambient exposure for the background but used off camera flash to light up the foreground stuff ...... there would not really have been a picture without some light falling on the things near to the camera ....






This thread I posted is about balancing ambient backgrounds with flash lit foreground, so might be of some technical interest in this context .....

link

Finally, as I said earlier, I have been happy with some results using HDR and exposure blending techniques. Here's a couple using an exposure blend, sky / ground....







And this one is a more extreme DR challenge, so In tried HDR processing
.....
link

Both the birds in flight are great but I also think No3 is a winner. .....I think the context created by the sea, placing the bird above it's environment, is a great effect .

Yes, the light is beautifully placed over the subject. This is a very difficult type of scene to get the balance of exposure levels right between the subject and background .... The sort of thing that flash is so good at sorting out.

But there's no need for flash here, it's such a lovely soft light and you've achieved that tricky balancing just by the positioning, and perhaps a little brightness reduction on the background later .... ?

The image quality in terms of subject sharpness, depth of tones and the OOF bokeh is all very impressive!