The whole point about FF , 135 format , or whatever you want to call it , is that it would give me a decent viewfinder again . I have used lots of APSC format DSLR's ( including a K5 and a D300 which are among the best of their type ) and the viewfinders on those are rubbish compared to any of my film SLR's .

I don't have any DX lenses , most of my lenses are SMC-M from my film days and all work just fine on my *istD , other than the VF is just not good enough to see to focus accurately . Few of my film lenses are any bigger or heavier than the DX lenses which accompany most DSLR's nowadays . A kit with an LX or MX plus a few lenses is neither bulky nor heavy .

I am not even all that unhappy with the IQ from the *istD , although I do appreciate that later bodies have improved considerably .

For me , FF isn't about getting better IQ , it is simply about getting a decent viewfinder again .

I have a fair quantity of NimH cells - both standard 'Energizer' and more recently have bought a number of the low self discharge Duracell 'Stay Charged' ones - I find these more useful for flashes where they give faster recycle times compared to alkaline batteries : however for use in cameras , even with 2400 mAh rechargeable AA cells , I find they don't give the lifespan of standard alkaline AA cells ( perhaps due to the extra .25V nominal voltage ) . Besides that , I am supplied with alkaline batteries from work , so always have a decent stock of them .

Well , I finally solved the problem , and I can hardly believe what it was !

I took the camera out today , and fired off about 100 shots - a mixture of daylight stuff and a few using the 54 for fill in flash - all of which worked well .

Tonight , when I came home , I decided to have another look at the Metz 70 - I have been very busy all week and had not looked at it since last weekend .

Tried fully resetting the camera - no difference , I was still getting full power discharges , although the 54 gave controlled outputs and preflashed , indicating P-TTL operaton , with good exposures .

After a while , the *istD was showing the 'battery depleted' message , so I replaced all eight batteries - lo and behold , the Metz 70 started working correctly again - I also noticed at this point I was again getting the focus assist beam which had not been coming on up to then ( although I would have expected this to be powered from the flash battery and not the camera battery ) .

Until a very short time before the camera batteries expired , the battery indicator on the camera had been showing full charge ( the batteries were Duracell Procell Alkaline AA cells , and the replacements the same type ) . Because the indicator had been showing the batteries had plenty of power and the camera was otherwise working normally , as well as with the other flashgun , I had not considered them as a possible cause of the problem . In retrospect it now seems an obvious thing that I ought to have checked earlier .

Both Metz's were on TTL mode , I remember the easy mode on the 50 , but am not sure it exists on the 70 ....

I did go round the various modes on the Metz , having fully reset it as well - this included checking the zoom was set for APS sensor size , tried rear curtain sync on and off ( along with the corresponding setting on the SCA ) , I also had flash bracketing on and off , as well as the main flash head on direct as well as bounce settings and the auxiliary flash both on and off .

Both flashes gave normal , controlled discharges when used on my LX , without changing anything and the 70 similarly gave a controlled output with my MZ-S , while the 54 preflashed with the latter camera . Because both flashes seem to be working as expected with other cameras , I am leaning towards the symptoms being something to do with the *istD
.

I have , in the past , used the 70 on the *istD and it 'just worked' without any fuss or drama .

I have the 3702 module on the 70 and the M2 version on the 54 . I did try the M2 module on the 70 with no change , never tried the standard one on the 54 ....

I am away from home tonight , but will try some other TTL only flashes with the D when I get home .

All of this sprung from a notion that a lot of this kit had not seen any use in a while - two of my three battery packs for the 70 were dead , the third gave only a few exposures ; having cycled them a few times since two have come back but the third seems past it - I will need to get some tagged NiMh cells to repopulate them with .

When I fit a 3402 M6 module onto the 70 , and use it with my Nikon D300 , it preflashes and exposes perfectly , suggesting that it supports Nikon I-TTL , even though the book says it shouldn't . I guess I-TTL is less demanding than P-TTL .

It is definitely not the red eye reduction mode - I cycled round all modes .

I doubt there is any foreign body present - the mounted lens has not been off the body in a while , but will check for this anyway , thanks .

I do have a couple of old Pentax TTL flashes in the attic , as well as the older Metz ones , I will have a rummage around before long .

I wasn't the other night when I was experimenting : I had a Sigma EX lens on which I had previously used successfully with the flash , and I had tried it both on the A setting as well as using the aperture ring - this was one of the notions that sprung to mind . I do have a fair selection of lenses which have been used with this flash and body in the past .

I had also checked connections both between SCA and hotshoe , as well as between SCA and flash .

Both flashes appeared to work correctly , giving controlled ( ie clearly not full output ) discharges when used with the MZ-S and with the LX , the 54 would preflash on the D and the MZ-S , which it also does on the K10D , indicating P-TTL operation .

It is only on the *istD that the 70 does not seem to operate under TTL from the camera . I have a few other older TTL only flashes up in the attic , including a 32 , a 40 and a 45 , all of which use the older SCA300 system and will try these with the camera when I get a chance .

I have asked about this on a couple of other forums without finding an answer , was directed here , and have read through Matt's helpful guide before posting this .

Using *istD with standard TTL flash
One night recently , I was toying around with some kit I hadn't used in a while .

Amongst other things , my *istD and the Metz 70 MZ-5 flash . Now that flash goes back to film days , and does not support P-TTL , but it always used to work fine via standard TTL , which the *istD also supports . At the moment , the Metz triggers , but discharges at full power , thus wildly overexposing . The flash ready display in the finder continues to flash even after the flash is ready , and it will not set shutter speed for flash . This is with the SCA 3702 adapter .

By contrast my Metz 54 MZ-5 works perfectly with the camera every time , as well as with my K10D .

The 70 still does not work properly using the SCA adapter from the 54 ( SCA 3702 M2) , but both flashes give controlled outputs with both my MZ-S and my LX ( the 54 preflashing with the MZ-S thus also doing P-TTL ) .

I have checked hotshoe contacts for cleanliness , been through all menus on the camera , the flash , checked settings on the SCA adapters - even read the manuals !!!

I like the 70 for it's high output and fast recycling times , so would like to find the answer to this .

The 3702 is the correct adapter - I used it for a long time , also with the 50 MZ-5 I had before the 70 , and both used to work perfectly with the *ist D : this is what is bugging me - it used to work perfectly in standard TTL with that camera and give really great exposures , filling large rooms with a combination of bounce plus supplementary flash .

The later adapter for P-TTL on the 54 MZ-5 is the 3702 M2 ( which I also have and have tried ) .

It just runs in my mind there was a setting on the camera to make it work in standard TTL rather than P-TTL ?? I have tried various manual modes , plus using the aperture rings on lenses as opposed to setting aperture from the body - it was something like that , but I have forgotten .......

I have the feeling I am missing something really stupid and obvious !

If anyone can suggest what I may be missing , I would be grateful .

I would like a 24x36mm full frame body just so that I can get back to the big , bright viewfinder I am used to with my film bodies and so that I can see to focus my SMC-M lenses - a task I find difficult on my *istD .

Although I was never tempted by the successors in the *ist range , only slightly by the K10D and somewhat by the K20D , I do feel now that the *istD is being left behind (although still a very good camera capable of fine photographs) .

I was therefore quite tempted by the K7 and doubtless will be more so by the K5.

I might buy something this year , or I might continue to use what I have ( still shoot film too ) and hold off a bit longer to upgrade . I still have decent kit right now so am in no great hurry .

It may also be worth considering that the newspaper in which your images first appeared may also have an objection to their publication being scanned and reproduced elsewhere without permission .

Or did the newspaper grant permission to the other body ? In that case you may also have an issue with the newspaper .

Just the thing for thirsty Pentaxians


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