[neokind]

There is no need to remove one to keep the other. The only reason why K3II does not have flash is, that they simply reused the whole body and added horrible plastic dome at the top.

But... But, I think it's pretty.

[Dan Rentea]

Considering your previous post: try to take picture of yourself in the bathroom with light switched off while having only camera body and lens. Then you'll quickly understand what is the difference between having some picture and having zero picture.

Lucky for me then. I rather have zero picture than a horrible one. To me the quality of the light is a lot more important than just having some light to throw in. Because as I said, the light from my phone is as bad as the one from the built in flash. But at least the one from the phone can be placed anywhere I want if I want some creativity.

Talking tales about ambient light is completely out of the scope and you missed the point obviously.

No, it wasn't. It was the answer to your 51000 ISO in a tunnel vs. 400 ISO with flash. Or, if you want, an answer to your bathroom picture using the built in flash.

And please don't try to "explain" to me how flash photography works or how to balance available light with flash. I know well what build in tiny unit is capable of and what one or more hot-shoe mounted flashes + external flashes can do.

Then I tell you what I always say. Post some images so we can all learn something. Show us some images taken only with pop up flash. Because using only the pop up flash to me it screems hobby (vacations) images for beginners. For serious photography the built in flash is useless. For beginners it is a completely different story and that's why entry level cameras have the built in flash. It's used for pictures (selfies) in bathrooms or similar.

If you work with softboxes then you can pack Cactus V6II triggers (that even enable you to use HSS) and do not bother with easily portable wireless flash commander.

It's what I said. As long as I have an external flash with me, I rather keep a tiny trigger in my backpack and not worry about the lack of reability of optical flash triggering. And not just because a trigger is more reliable, but with a trigger I can change in a blink of the eye the settings of the flashes to get lots of different looks.

But the truth is, that for example AF540FGZ can reliably fire when triggered by commander IF YOU TURN THE LIGHT SENSOR TOWARDS THE CAMERA WITH COMMANDER. Logically if you just place the flash somewhere and lit its backside, it won't fire.
(+ there also is difference between slave1 and slave2, because of pre-flash intensity + duration and communication method. Long story shor: AF540FGZ switched to slave 2 with sensor facing camera can be fired outside at 15 meters by build-in pop up flash easily with no need of any other dedicated equipment)

Using external flashes from 15m outside and triggered by pop up flash? Good luck with that, especially if it is a sunny day. I'm talking about shooting with confidence, not about hopping that my flash will fire from time to time. By the way, the range of a pop up flash is 10-12m. Let me find for you the short video of the guy from Adorama (Mark Walace) who had trouble in the park with the optical triggering (he had the speedlight at 4m away from him and the light sensor of the speedlight was facing him). First he mounted an ND filter to his lens so that he can avoid using HSS and so that he can use the speedlight controlled by the pop up flash. After a few shots he realised that the sun was affecting the communication between the pop up flash and the speedlight. What he did next? He used a trigger.

Not to mention that for softboxes and serous shooting it is not usual to use hot-shoe flashes placed in softbox. Dedicated units with build-in radio and external power source are being used. But that is completely different story that has nothing to do with portable wireless solution that Pentax offered for ages and that was killed in K3II+K1 just to save some miserable $5 on unit production cost.

There are tons of portable softboxes which are like umbrellas with diffusion that works with speedlights. Search for portable Godox softboxes on Google. You will be amazed about how many good options are available. The only available place to put a flash is inside those softboxes. And you can do serious photography with them.

[rangercarp]

Can you please get the Indiana Turnpike back in shape?

I just drove the entirety of it the other day, and I did not think it was too bad... But then, I am from Michigan.

---------- Post added 06-21-18 at 09:03 AM ----------

try to take picture of yourself in the bathroom with light switched off while having only camera body and lens.

I don't think I want to know why we are taking selfies in the bathroom. In any event, count me out.

[reh321]

Considering your previous post: try to take picture of yourself in the bathroom with light switched off while having only camera body and lens.

I'm not sure of the relevance of this comment. I don't take many pictures in the bathroom with the door closed and the light off. Without some kind of ambient light I don't normally know there is a picture waiting to be taken. Yes, I may hear my cat doing something and know from experience what that something is, but without ambient light I normally can neither identify opportunities nor aim to take advantage of them. If there is enough light to compose my photo, potentially there is enough light to take the photo - that is one of the lessons from the newest Pentax cameras, such as the KP

Last body was KP and it has its flash back. Reduced in power and size, but back. And I hope that some photographer returned to drive the design center instead of being ruled by accountants.

I really doubt it was photographers who put the tiny point-source OnBoard Flash back - more likely it was the marketers. I have had an OBF for over twenty years now, and I don't remember ever using one. The most common use of them is to light, by amateurs, the 1-1/2 mile Charlotte Raceway to tell everyone that a race has begun.

[Rondec]

I'm not sure of the relevance of this comment. I don't take many pictures in the bathroom with the door closed and the light off. Without some kind of ambient light I don't normally know there is a picture waiting to be taken. Yes, I may hear my cat doing something and know from experience what that something is, but without ambient light I normally can neither identify opportunities nor aim to take advantage of them. If there is enough light to compose my photo, potentially there is enough light to take the photo - that is one of the lessons from the newest Pentax cameras, such as the KP

I really doubt it was photographers who put the tiny point-source OnBoard Flash back - more likely it was the marketers. I have had an OBF for over twenty years now, and I don't remember ever using one. The most common use of them is to light, by amateurs, the 1-1/2 mile Charlotte Raceway to tell everyone that a race has begun.

Kind of a rough go if the only thing that keeps Pentax from being "Doomed!" is capturing the unlit bathroom-selfie (unbalfie for short) market.

[reh321]

While watching "Law & Order SVU" during breakfast this morning I realized that flash serves another purpose - TV uses flash to tell us that something important is happening in the next room. In real life, though, I've never seen a professional use OBF while covering news - that is where external flashes shine {literally}

[reh321]

Kind of a rough go if the only thing that keeps Pentax from being "Doomed!" is capturing the unlit bathroom-selfie (unbalfie for short) market.

That is probably true, but a whole new subject class will be near darkness. Once you can go to very high ISO values, the direction K-70 and KP are heading in, all kinds of new subjects become available, including my buddy Leila, shown below.



I don't know how I got away with this - the only light sources in the room were
(1) TV across the room
(2) table lamp next to her

I took this picture with my Q-7, because it was with arm's length when she was being so adorable. With the Q-7, I had to go to 1/4 sec @ f/1.9, because I was willing to go only to ISO 800, but I believe photos like this will be feasible at "normal" shutter speeds and apertures once "insanely high" ISO values become routine - and Pentax seems to be a leader in that right now

[The Squirrel Mafia]

For those of us living in the USA, the remaining supply of K-3II cameras is running out. It looks like B&H has completely sold them out & has marked it as discontinued. You can still get a new K-3II with a free grip for $829 from Adorama, but who knows how many they have left. Amazon still has some for $829, but they're not offering the grip.

Hopefully my K-50 bodies last until the K-3II replacement is out. Hahaha! We'll see what the future holds.

[reh321]

For those of us living in the USA, the remaining supply of K-3II cameras is running out. It looks like B&H has completely sold them out & has marked it as discontinued. You can still get a new K-3II with a free grip for $829 from Adorama, but who knows how many they have left. Amazon still has some for $829, but they're not offering the grip.

Hopefully my K-50 bodies last until the K-3II replacement is out. Hahaha! We'll see what the future holds.

I'm not sure why you need something in the K-3 line to replace K-50. I see the KP as a more than adequate K30/50 replacement.

[Larrymc]

I'm not sure why you need something in the K-3 line to replace K-50. I see the KP as a more than adequate K30/50 replacement.

Nah.......compared to the K-3II the KP has lousy ergonomics, single card slot. The K-3II is not a trendy camera just a solid piece of equipment.

Larry

[neokind]

Nah.......compared to the K-3II the KP has lousy ergonomics, single card slot. The K-3II is not a trendy camera just a solid piece of equipment.

Larry

I completely agree with this. I see there being value for one (or two) 'consumer' grade aps-c dslrs under the flagship. The K3ii is designed to put up with the types of harsh conditions that professionals anticipate. The plastic bodied cameras just won't cut it, especially with the absence of features like dual card slots. I've met plenty of photographers who are not interested in FF bodies, but want a pro-level build. If I were Pentax (Ha! Imagine!), and if my goal were growth, I'd have two full frame bodies to help support the development of more FF lenses and two or three grades of crop sensor bodies. Of course, if I were Pentax, I'd also be developing mirrorless bodies fully compatible with all k-mount lenses.

[beachgardener]

is this thread still going

[Larrymc]

is this thread still going

Yep, looks like its going strong!

[Mikesul]

is this thread still going

If that is tapioca, it is.

[reh321]

I completely agree with this. I see there being value for one (or two) 'consumer' grade aps-c dslrs under the flagship. The K3ii is designed to put up with the types of harsh conditions that professionals anticipate. The plastic bodied cameras just won't cut it, especially with the absence of features like dual card slots. I've met plenty of photographers who are not interested in FF bodies, but want a pro-level build. If I were Pentax (Ha! Imagine!), and if my goal were growth, I'd have two full frame bodies to help support the development of more FF lenses and two or three grades of crop sensor bodies. Of course, if I were Pentax, I'd also be developing mirrorless bodies fully compatible with all k-mount lenses.

Not relevant to my comment. The KP has the same build quality, including metal body, that the K-3 family does.