I assumed it was the flash that was 'overexposed'. In this case increasing the shutter speed to 1/500 will have no effect on the flash exposure whatsoever. The OP said be was shooting in Av & P modes, so the camera would close down the aperture automatically for ambiant exposure - Only 4 things will reduce the flash exposure -

1) smaller aperture
2) more distance flash to subject
3) lower ISO
4) reduced flash power

The easiest and most effective of these to manage I believe is aperture and flash to subject distance.

Lets go back to 35mm film SLRs. You chose a brand / system and got a collection of lenses and accessories. You could swap bodies within the system, say between a bottom end consumer grade slr and the top pro-spec model. Using the same lens, for most shooting situations the results would be identical because the image recording medium was the same.

If you are bemused by my argument, how did you ever make a choice of what camera body to buy or upgrade to in those film days? On what criteria or basis did you judge each model?

I would guess in fact, many of the things that I have been saying are identical between the K7 & K5 - handling, operation, controls, body construction, flash system & connections available etc. Eliminate the IQ difference and they're mostly the same. Is it really bizarre that someone might place greater value on these features than on gaining an IQ increase only, when that would involve an expense ?

I used to specifically set 1mb for all files, then had a few that showed banding on the skies (only on these reduced versions). When I increased the files to about 2mb the banding was gone, and I tended to just round up. I gave advice to another member recently to try increasing the file size to remove banding that had appeared in his images (they were those ones of the South Downs) but I don't remember if he ever got back and said if it had worked?

Never had any issue with upload speeds though. But what about the potential for them to be reused - at what size does an image become at risk of reproduction after copying from a webpage?

I like the images too, and yes the colours are shown beautifully.

What is the real fear of those who put these 'watermarks' on their shots in this context? Is it a real possiblilty that someone might copy them and make illegal commercial gains? My uploaded images are compressed to less then 2mb file size - this would limit their reproduction potential surely?

It's not the equipment, its the photographer

But the basic exposure rules for flash remain the same whether of not you have a new / old / manual / TTL unit. Flash exposure is always controlled by aperture and flash distance to subject, and / or power output (the same thing really as distance).

I agree its better to remove the TTL aspect, as this is affected by the meters response to the subject 'reflectivity', and can vary unpredicably. Keep any flash gun on manual and control the shot from the camera - aperture for flash exposure, shutter speed for ambiant exposure.

You should only need to try and cut the flash power if you can't get the flashgun far enough away from the subject and you're already at your acceptable aperture limit.

Oh no, I thought I was getting close to making the point by now

I am simply adding a counter argument to those who seem to value only the image quality and dynamic range that a camera offers. Apart from this the K7 offers exactly the same, and I believe that many current K7 owners appreciate this and that if their photography does not immediately demand the higher IQ performance of the K5, then this particular 'upgrade' option may not be very attractive, at this stage.

Personally, yes, I love using my K7 and the long list of features that are identical to the K5. Plus it was bought new as a discontinued model, so my own 'personal lifecycle' with the item is still very young. I watch eagle-eyed on what new things, both IQ-wise and camera operation / control features, Pentax will bring out for us soon!

I don't think there's been any questioning over the IQ improvements the K5 brought with it - the 14bit capture vs K7s 12 must add something - no doubt there is greater light gathering ability in the lower half of the DR spectrum. Maybe the ETTR concept is not so applicable with such good DR?

But the ability to capture the highest quality is not solely dependant on the technology contained in the sensor and processing engine. It is also a factor of other camera attributes - handling, controllability, and ease of use features that make getting the shot more attainable. These things are what come together to make a great camera also.

I mean, for example, Smeggy - say your Nokia phone was fitted with a K5 sensor (pretend that were possible), but the rest of the phone remained the same, including the camera control options on the screen. It would be fair to say that there would still be many images of all types of genres, that it would be either very difficult to catch or if not impossible using the Nokia. The more limited operation, handling & control features of the camera phone would make this so.

Indeed you might find the K7 a superior capture tool, despite the older sensor. It is these particular features that the K7 offers equally with the K5 that I have been saying are still most valuable to the current users.

Well done, very well deserved! Will the Pentax gear used get much of a plug in the mag?

My advice would be to set M mode - to control both flash and ambiant light exposures manually.

I would forget about trying to cut the flash output using the on-camera Flash Exposure setting, as this is still subject to the quirks of the cameras TTL metering system and the varying relfectivity of light bouncing back. Also it just adds an extra step to the process.

firstly use Av mode to get the aperture and shutter speed you want for good ambiant exposure - set these values in M mode. Take test shots with the flash. If the flash is overexposed, you have only 3 options really :

1) Set a smaller aperture (ambiant exposure will not be affected)
2) Set a lower ISO (you will have to adjust shutter speed to equalise the ambiant exposure)
3) Move the flash gun further away (ambiant exposure will not be affected)

The best of these is usually to change the aperture. This might affect the depth of field depending on the focal length and distance away you are, so a readjustment of these might be needed if the DOF was really important.

Let us know if this approach helps