I fully understand. Look, I apologise for the elements of 'amateur psychology' that might be coming through here , but I do feel that it is probably the extra pressure and aiming to focus everything, all your attention, onto the model and the creative stuff, that is causing something to be missed or done differently than when you're alone indoors testing things.

Or maybe you're just all fingers and thumbs when you're around those pretty young models! (I would most likely be too !) I guess that there has to be a balance of attention on the technical and creative parts together ..... with flash you have to keep attention on the technical throughout.

Don't wait for a studio to test it all. You can use a doll, soft toy, or vase of flowers as a subject , and outdoors practise a methodical step by step approach to getting your ambient and flash exposures nailed reliably and consistently. The more this is ingrained and kind of mechanical, then It will all work just naturally when you're with the model again.

Perhaps the X-TTL firmware will help also? A fresh start for the triggers could be a good thing. Also, perhaps your shooting style will suit P-TTL automated flash exposures more than Manual? It might free you from one variable. I would just urge everyone considering trying HSS in bright light outdoors ..... don't try and 'dial down' the flash to be subtle! In bright conditions your subject has to be actually lit by the flash .... forget the idea of 'fill-in' .....that won't light anything. If you move to P-TTL HSS with bright conditions all around, sky and highlights, you'll likely be looking at Plus compensation settings to (eg +1.5, +2.0), to create a good balance between your flash-lit subject and the background.

I remember you asking about those problems Seb. Did you eliminate the 'Short Range' setting as a possible cause?

As I said at the time, a recycling of the metering circuit could help, as the Tx might time out, plus the obvious tightening of the locking levers to be sure everything is fitted together tightly. Also Peters idea is a good one too.

The triggers will work exactly the same indoors as outside, so long as they are working within their Range limits. I suspect that the issues were caused by a difference in your workflow and set-up approach which you had lost awareness of, due to the extra factors and considerations when working outside and trying to control ambient light as well. .... In other words, the Human Factors, often the most difficult problems to resolve .

I'll take a look at Damien's website, thanks for the tip

The most common approach with studio strobes (ie non Hotshoe types) is to use the V6II Transmitter on the camera as an 'HSS Enabler' .... the camera is tricked into recognising the V6II as a P-TTL HSS capable flash, and therefore will generate the needed flash trigger signal beyond the max sync figure. The V6II has extra contact pins to allow the needed communications between it and the camera. Studio strobe system triggers don't have this (well, the ones that are usable with Pentax DSLRS don't).

Then, on top of the V6II, the Studio Systems own transmitter is 'stacked'. All that the V6II does is allow the camera to generate the flash sync signal and pass it through to the transmitter on top. From that point on It is then the features and modes provided by the studio systems triggers that determines what you get .... remote power control or not, real HSS or not, etc ...... So, as you said you have done this then it should work. You need a strobe that allows local, manual engagement of HSS mode. If it relies on a TTL protocol of another camera system (eg E-TTL) to remotely transmit the sync mode, then it won't work.

Thanks, they were the first ones done out and about in the wilds, and it worked beautifully. Next I am looking forward to trying out a 2-flash HSS set-up outdoors, using both the RF60 and RF60x, and I guess it can now be a P-TTL shoot as well! How many years have I been hearing complaints from Pentax flashers that its such a problem and that the other bigger brands have it all .....?!

The big advantage of using the FR60 flashes is of course no need for Receiver triggers ..... so I manage with only one V6II. Makes it all very neat and easy.

Chris, give us some more details on those strobes you want to use ..... you might be heading towards a 'trigger stack' situation if you want remote power control .....

Oh no, that's two fairly contradictory replies ..... is it John vs Nigel ?

No, I think they are two different approaches based on experiences, but also it depends on the type of printing service you are dealing with. I would say that John's approach, to resize and prepare the file specifically tailored to the print, is ideal for when you're doing the printing yourself (obviously), or if you are dealing directly with the Printer and can communicate, check on things and confirm in your mind the best requirements that match their needs.

In my case, the approach is based on Online services that are mainly automated (although for the large prints there would be a human operator overseeing things), but most of the digital work would be automated. Their software is going to mess around with your file anyway, regardless of the size you send it at, and most likely for enlargements then there is going to be automated interpolation and a custom resolution based on the print size and how much digital data was supplied to them. So I think its best not to do anything before this that might interfere with quality ..... just give them the most data you can in the jpeg format.

The only real penalty with this approach is that you are likely to lose a little around the edges to cropping, in order to scale and fit your image into the specific print output dimensions they offer. I have found that it is very unlikely that this will matter to any photos ..... we mostly can lose a little more around each edge on our shots without it being a problem. Its a good reason to shoot a little wide if you remember. You can usually see this small cropping applied on the thumbnails as you are setting up your order.

I think also that the printing service is likely to have far better sophisticated upscaling software in use than what we could do ourselves, without becoming real experts and buying a specialised programme.

Yes Chris, Radio Manual HSS has been the V6IIs main trick , up to 1/8000th..... here's a couple I prepared earlier ...













These were between 1/500th - 1/1000th sec, f.6.7, ISO 100 ..... in bright open sun. The RF60x flash is in a softbox, just out of the frame, around 1/4th power (so still plenty more oommph if needed).

The new thing with this firmware update is the P-TTL metering .... this is certainly a 'nice to have', not essential of course. But I'd say that for HSS work outdoors it will be very handy, because it will remove the need for compensating flash power adjustments every time you change aperture or ISO, or change the distance, or the natural light changes (sun behind clouds etc).

I have had a number of large 'poster prints' done by this online service, FOTO.com ... link

These have been around 24 x 35in, with very high quality, in fact really indistinguishable from 7x5 prints even when looked at closely. And this is from the 14.5 mpx K7!!

You don't need to worry about the print resolution frankly .... just upload to them a 'max quality' jpeg, at full size, their software sorts it all out anyway. If there is any upscaling or interpolation involved then it is pretty damn good! I doubt you need 300ppi files for wall prints anyway, I'd have thought 200 was OK, but as I said if you're relying on an online service just let them worry about it.

Here is the Link to the Pentax specific V6II X-TTL Quick Start Guide .... link

That sounds handy. I've always liked the V6 / V6II design with the dial that also presses in, very quick and handy once you know whats what! The assumption about the Exposure Lock is that it is a temporary 'power hold' function .... ie it fixes the power output that was needed to obtain the metered flash EV temporarily.

I've argued elsewhere that it is not really a true 'exposure lock', not in the literal sense of those terms, because that would imply that the flash exposure value would remain fixed, and in TTL operations that means actually a varying flash power response to other changes (eg distance, Aperture ISO). So looked at in this light it is more literally a 'flash power lock'.

However I know that Cactus were looking at finding a way to apply automatic flash power adjustments in Manual Mode .... this would be in order to hold a fixed Flash EV while other things changed, eg the aperture or ISO, or Time Value also in HSS mode . This would be very convenient, especially for Manual Mode HSS work, as it would remove the need to adjust the flash power every time you changed something else. I'm not sure if this was achieved in this first Firmware implementation, so that would be good to find out.

.....Ahhh, I've seen the Quick Guide now ... there are the two things I mentioned : They call them 'Flash Power Lock' and 'Flash Compensate' ...(I did try and warn them against using the unfortunate term 'Compensate' as I think its confusing in a flash context, but it was too late, they were already committed to the term with the already released firmware's and printed material). ....anyway, 'Flash Compensate' means holding a fixed Flash EV ....see what I mean?

My time for actual photography is severely curtailed lately, and I'm struggling even to find the time to get these Cactus items updated!

They are sparkling, beautiful portraits! Great looking photos that make the model look great also. The last one stands even more above the others I think, probably mainly because of the hairlight, but the angle and pose are excellent. I'm curious about the light placement here, because I can't see how her arms would not be casting shadows onto her face .... ?

I also favour the first one because of the higher contrast across the face. The middle two have the nice light illuminating the background. I wonder did you have only two lights, it looks like you have perhaps turned the hairlight around to light up the background in those two.... ?

The D FA28-105 is my favoured portrait lens now .... looks like a killer combination with the K1. It is very sharp and impressive at F8-F11. Plus the extra flexibility of having a zoom is a big help I think in these situations, which are always a bit dynamic.

This sort of photography is deeply satisfying, daunting to know how to get started, and there are setbacks and 'experiments' all the time, but when it comes off right its a great feeling. I'm sure you felt that satisfaction seeing those shots roll off from the camera and onto the LCD! I wish I could have the opportunities to develop and pursue this sort of thing more, but it will have to wait a long while unfortunately for now. It would be great to see a pull-back shot of the setup including the background and light positioning .... there's only a certain amount that can be gained from studying the catchlights.