[Bauie]

I just got a K70 and have two questions.

On any auto mode the highlights seem to be a bit hot.I realise that I can crank back the exposure compensation but doing that 2/3 stop doesn't seem to help. Is this just how this camera is or is there a setting I can use to stop the problem? The area near the doorway on the right measures 250 with the Photoshop eyedropper tool.

The on camera flash works very well but I also have a METZ 44AF-1 Pentax dedicated digital flash, in TTL it doesn't work very well, it overexposes quite a lot in any mode. This flash worked superbly on my old K-x. The ebook and camera manual hardly say anything about using off camera flashes.

Attached Images

 

[kypfer]

For Highlight Correction, see p79 in the manual.
There will always be some instances where the camera doesn't "get it quite right" … that's where the Exposure Compensation ( +/- ) switch can come in useful.
Having Highlight Alert set on when using Digital Preview can help, see p108 in the manual.
For instances like this example, reducing the exposure in "post" then readjusting can be useful, especially if the original is taken in RAW, but do note, recovering under-exposed shadows can be easier than finding detail in blown-out highlights, so a touch of under-exposure when taking the picture can be helpful
I use the Pentax supplied Digital Camera Utility, on the CD with the camera, so I can't help with Photoshop tweaking.
I think I've covered the use of your Metz in another thread, so I'll not repeat myself here.
Enjoy

[Michail_P]

I’d suggest trying to play with different metering modes to fit strong contrast conditions. I was wondering the same thing and concluded that this only happened when I had ultra white areas at about 20-30% of the frame. Just a personal observation that has certain relation to my photography environment. But the thing is my camera also blew some parts without any problems, just some tweaking in pp. The exposure latitude is not limited.

[kypfer]

Maybe the Metz flash needs a firmware update?
The Metz site is dead, but try here Firmware Updates – Metz for an archived copy.

[Dale H. Cook]

For Highlight Correction, see p79 in the manual.

It is p. 78, not 79. For those of use who use virtual page numbers on PDFs it makes a difference.

[kypfer]

It is p. 78, not 79. For those of use who use virtual page numbers on PDFs it makes a difference.

Sorry … I'm using real pages
It's p79 in my copy of the pdf from Pentax and in my original printed manual as well … under Correcting Images | Brightness Adjustment.

[Dale H. Cook]

Sorry … I'm using real pages
It's p79 in my copy of the pdf from Pentax and in my original printed manual as well … under Correcting Images | Brightness Adjustment.

You must have a different edition of the manual than I do. I'm using R01DTD16, issued in 2016, and that is still the most current version of the manual on the Pentax site, and it has Correcting Images | Brightness Adjustment on p. 78.

[kypfer]

You must have a different edition of the manual than I do. I'm using R01DTD16, issued in 2016, and that is still the most current version of the manual on the Pentax site, and it has Correcting Images | Brightness Adjustment on p. 78.

Weird!
Mine is OPK70101-EN, also released in 2016, printed in Europe … this is on the rear cover of both the pdf I have (K70-OPM-EN.pdf) and the original manual that came with the camera when new.
A quick internet search would suggest your R01DTD16 is the Start Guide, not the Operating Manual … don't you just love it

[Dale H. Cook]

A quick internet search would suggest your R01DTD16 is the Start Guide, not the Operating Manual

That quick internet search is wrong. The Start Guide is R02DTG16, and is 72 pages (I have it in print and in PDF). The Operating Manual (it says so on the cover) is R01DTD16 and is 156 pages. I have been dealing with start guides and operating manuals for electronic equipment for more than fifty years.

[kypfer]

That quick internet search is wrong. The Start Guide is R02DTG16, and is 72 pages (I have it in print and in PDF). The Operating Manual (it says so on the cover) is R01DTD16 and is 156 pages. I have been dealing with start guides and operating manuals for electronic equipment for more than fifty years.

50 years is about right
The copy of k-70_start_guide_eng_web_1.pdf I downloaded from Ricoh yesterday has R01DTD16 printed on it's back cover and it's 72 pages long, numbered to p68, printed in the Philippines!
I'm not saying "right or wrong" … just that we're working from different (misleadingly labelled) source material

[Dale H. Cook]

I suspect that we are downloading from different sites. I am using the US Ricoh site https://us.ricoh-imaging.com/.

[Des]

I also have a METZ 44AF-1 Pentax dedicated digital flash, in TTL it doesn't work very well, it overexposes quite a lot in any mode. This flash worked superbly on my old K-x.

As @kypfer suggested, it might need a firmware update.

Assuming you are using the flash in PTTL mode (either mounted in the camera's hotshoe or connected by a PTTL cord), one other thing to check is the Flash Exposure Compensation (FEC) setting on the camera. FEC adjusts the flash output, compared to what the PTTL metering says it should be. (This is different from the general exposure compensation setting, which adjusts the aperture/shutter speed/ISO in some combination, depending on the shooting mode.) Press the flash symbol on the four-way controller. Choose the relevant setting at the top (probably Flash On or Flash On+Red-eye). Then you can adjust the FEC with the rear dial. You can dial it down (as low as -2.0EV) if the flash is consistently over-exposing.

The FEC does work, but from experience the adjustments aren't as reliable as general exposure compensation is, or as reliable as using the flash in manual mode and adjusting the output on the flash (1/4 of full power, 1/8, 1/16, etc). For example, with my K-S2 (which is similar to the K-70), if I dial FEC down by two stops (-2.0EV) it will reduce the output, but in practice not by the equivalent of two stops.

[photogem]

That quick internet search is wrong. The Start Guide is R02DTG16, and is 72 pages (I have it in print and in PDF). The Operating Manual (it says so on the cover) is R01DTD16 and is 156 pages. I have been dealing with start guides and operating manuals for electronic equipment for more than fifty years.

The search itself is correct but leads to two different possibilities:
R01DTD16 - Google Search

One finds the shorter Start Guide (Ricoh website):

http://www.ricoh-imaging.ie/media/mageworx/downloads/attachment/file/k/-/k-7..._eng_web_1.pdf
- On the first page it says: START GUIDE
- On the very last page: R01DTD16 Printed in Philipines

With this search one can find as well the longer Operating Manual bit NOT from official Ricoh website

To make it more complicated:

Searching for R02DTG16 one finds the very same manual but named R02DTD16

https://www.ricoh-imaging.co.jp/english/support/man-pdf/k-70_sg.pdf

This was just the 2-nd edition!
and yet... is still the Start Guide (or Quick Start Guide)

The correct name of the longer Operation Manual is:
OPK701 + 101, 102, 103 etc.

one can find it for example here:

https://www.ricoh-imaging.co.jp/english/support/man-pdf/k-70.pdf

BUT: It says R01DTD16 on the last page (memo, would be page 153, printed in Japan!)

OPK70101 has EN for English

OPK70102 has FR for French

OPK70103 has DE for German


104 SP for Spanish

and so on


It should be clear that OP stands for Operating Manual and K70 well... who knows


After all:

I have been dealing with start guides and operating manuals for electronic equipment for more than fifty years.

50 years can help but could well be "in the way"

[photogem]

Maybe the Metz flash needs a firmware update?
The Metz site is dead, but try here Firmware Updates – Metz for an archived copy.

As far as I know the 44-AF1 didn't have and didn't need one for Pentax.
The 44-AF2 did!

[RobSpain]

As far as I know the 44-AF1 didn't have and didn't need one for Pentax.
The 44-AF2 did!

I think you're right. There is no Metz firmware option for the 44 AF-1, only the 44 AF-2. I have the latter and use on my K-70, and it works fine. But I also have the more powerful 52 AF-1, and this is an all-together better unit with many more options.