Hi csoars,
Thanks for your response. Comments inline.
Originally posted by CSoars Woah woah woah, 1/180 is the FASTEST the flash can be used at. The actual burst of the flash bulb is like 1/1000th of a second, and if you try to run it faster you'll black out a portion of your frame (unless you use high speed sync on an external flash, but let's not go there.).
Sorry, fastest is what I meant.
Quote: If you 'green button' a scene in manual mode, it will expose for the ambient lighting, which can be into the 2 second range indoors. If you're shooting in manual, consider boosting the ISO rating to get a faster shutter speed. Default is probably 100.
Yes, the default ISO is 100. If I raise the ISO, I will just get more noise. I would do that if I didn't have a flash or if I what I was shooting was out of flash range. But that's not the case when shooting indoors. I just experimented with ISO 800 and 1600 with no flash. The color is off because of the lack of light. I really need to use the flash.
Quote: You can do this, and the PTT-L flash will correctly expose for the subject, but I'm not sure about M-series lenses and flash (they lack any electronic communication with the camera)
Unfortunately no, the built-in P-TTL flash just does not work with the Pentax-M lens. With the Pentax-M lens, the green button gives the same exposure settings whether the flash is popped up or not ...
I also tried with my external Digital concepts 952 AF flash. Things are a little better because I can set 5 different flash power levels - 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16 . It also displays the ASA, focal lens, and I can input the f-stop manually, which tells me what distance will be covered by the flash. For example at f2.0 and 1/16 power level it is 6m / 20ft.
But it does not help me set the camera's shutter speed, unfortunately.
Also, one of the points of the Pentax-M 50mm is its compact size. It makes the K200D more compact and thus stand out much less. I don't want to pair that combination with an external flash. I might as well take a zoom with me.
Quote: As for focusing, try looking through the big, bright viewfinder of a manual focus SLR from the 70's or 80's. The dim little mirrorbox in the K200D doesn't hold a candle to them. When you have a split screen, it's easy to line up the scene, as the halves move left or right as you turn the focusing ring.
Yes, I have seen some older manual SLRs . My father still has an OM-2. The viewfinder is better, as is the DOF preview with the circle in the center. I wish the K200D had that. I'm not sure if it's worth the $105 starting price that katz eye wants for it, but I'll consider that option if I am going to use any more manual lenses.
It may also help with focus with the teleconverter I just got.