Thanks Gareth. Lots of different techniques to try!

Thanks for that Nigel.

Hihi

I will do some experimentation myself to find the best setting, but would be interested to hear what others who are using a diffuser such as softbox/unbrella/diffuser find are the best zoom settings to use on the flash unit.

I am thinking mainly of portrait style photography where the flash/diffuser will be quite close to the subject. So far I have intuitively used the widest setting with a softbox/umbrella.

Since getting my K1 last november it has had a few outings with the film-era lenses (K;M;and FA.

My experience so far is that they are well up to the task. The usual caveats of course are to use a hood and beware of high contrast scenes especially with K and M series (CA can intrude). I have been using the FA*85mm 1.4 a lot recently for my pet portrait photography, and cannot think any other lens could do better. For general photography, the M 120 and 200 lenses have performed superbly, and I will shortly be giving the M 20mm an outing.

The one very positive difference I notice with what I have used so far in the K and M series is that the progressive overexposure issue as one stopped down, which was apparent with my K10D and I believe other aps-c Pentax DSLR cameras (post *ist DS) is no longer an issue with the K1. Perhaps because the lens is now being used on a format (size-wise) for that which it was intended, makes all the difference.

First one is great. I love the way you isolated the well lit flowers against the background.

Looks like both those flashes are here http://www.pentax-manuals.com/manuals/accessories/accessmanuals.htm

password is Pentax

nicely isolated against the background, but a tad underexposed perhaps ?

So colourful

First and fourth for me. I like the way the shingle adds foreground interest on the laft and the curve of the waters edge draws the eye towards the background in no.1

The fishermen is very good, did you pose them ?