[MikePerham]

have you guys thought of this... if a higher end model is not going to have built in flash, then you cant use it as a wireless trigger for the 360 and 540... that would be a pity to loose that feature and youd have to buy an extra flash just to use as a trigger.

ideally they would create an rf system with the controller built into the body and the ability to control ratios on all flashes from the body, actually should be too advanced to impliment, just need to create a protocol that runs over rf and then you can access all the commands on the flash.

pw's seem very nice, although toooooo expensive, 180 dollars per unit and u need at least two. and they can only trigger, they cant change the flash settings.I guess the difficult part would be to get the syncing right, thats hard, but the control over settings part is easy.

oh, and yea, the 360 and 540 are relatively new so i doubt they will change their flash system already, unfortunatley...

I don't think the lack of a built in flash wouldn't be a problem on a "pro"grade camera. I think most pro's using flash would prefer a pc connection on the camera as opposed to a built in flash.


Mike.

[wll]

I want pocket wizards built in, but PWs which can communicate with each other for TTL control. This would require new flashes or some sort of add on toe existing flashes, but it would be something unique to Pentax and it really could give them a competitive advantage. Wedding shooters for example would love this.

I want a bigger sensor with no more pixels. 10mp is plenty, but I would prefer it was spread over a 1.3x sensor. Lower noise, greater detail are the obvious benefits.[/QUOTE]

This something that I want very badly also, but I don't think they would do it on the model above the K10D. I'm hoping they do it on the K1D. 10mp is fine but I think for marketing they will bump it up to 12mp. maybe a 1.3 or 1.4 sized sensor will still work well with SR too.

As I have mentioned before, the Pocket Wizard is cumbersome and this would be a VERY,VERY usefull feature to us that use our cameras in a studio setting.

Your suggestion on RF-TTL would be nice also:-)


wll

[and]

I don't think the lack of a built in flash wouldn't be a problem on a "pro"grade camera. I think most pro's using flash would prefer a pc connection on the camera as opposed to a built in flash.
Mike.

I know most pro cameras seem to lack built in flash, and I wouldnt really mind it either, but its annoying to loose that feature and have to drag an extra 360 just for the purpose of triggering. now if they had made a small trigger-only unit to fit in the hotshoe then ok, but since flash is used to trigger then i guess it has to be a flash.... give us rf wireless now!

[MJB DIGITAL]

yeah im still with the built in radio flash control
and the built in grip

i just downloaded remote assistant and now i understant why people said wifi
im in

i want wifi too now

8)

[stewart_photo]

(snip) Let wifi be an addon, give me gps instead, thats a neat feature to be able to go through your iamges and see where they were taken.

Well, I think I finally figured out today where this GPS idea is likely coming from for many users. It appears the photo organizer within Photoshop Elements has a feature which uses embedded GPS info to display icons on a map representing where the various images were taken.

stewart

[stewart_photo]

The K10D already surpasses all wish list I could ever have imagined when I was shooting 35mm. Add more automation than we already have and the art of photography is gone.

Automation has been increasing in cameras for a long time. Even with film cameras prior to digital. Indeed, many film cameras of the last decade have automation very similar to today's DSLR's. For example, the K10D reminds me of my older Minolta Maxxum 35mm film cameras in that much the same automation (multiple menus, LCD's, wired/wireless flash, multi-pattern metering, predictive auto-focus, etc) is there in both. Anyway, automation is likely to be the trend for a long time to come as manufacturers make far more money from it than sitting still with nothing new.

What is fun in having a camera that does everything for you automatically?

Much of the younger generation would probably ask you what fun there is in a camera that forces you to do everything manually. And, to some extent, I would have to agree with them. While I did enjoy those earlier all manual cameras, today's cameras have their own enjoyment as well.

However, there is indeed a price to pay for so much automation. For example, it's sad to see someone complaining about a camera defect, oblivious to the fact that it's not really a defect but instead something entirely normal easily compensated with only minor skill. Depending entirely on automation, many today have just never learned those skills.

I think we want too much.

Of course. It's fairly routine to want more until something is priced right out of reach. At that point, sights are lowered, something cheaper is purchased, and the demands for more increase all over again. And manufacturers are quite happy to keep repeating that cycle as long as we're willing to keep spending our money endlessly.

stewart

[vinzer]

However, there is indeed a price to pay for so much automation. For example, it's sad to see someone complaining about a camera defect, oblivious to the fact that it's not really a defect but instead something entirely normal easily compensated with only minor skill. Depending entirely on automation, many today have just never learned those skills.

This is the double-edged sword, really. The barriers for entry have been lowered, so more and more people can now enjoy photography and not be limited with their expressions. This is good for serious hobbyists.

On the other hand, there are also those who expect everything to be done for them (including composition), and treat DSLRs as extensions of point-and-shoots, only that they expect to take better pictures owing to the price they paid for one, and the fact that DSLRs look more "professional" than point-and-shoots. These are the ones stewart mentioned who complain a lot in blogs and forums.

Personally, I don't mind seeing endless posts of people asking how-to questions that a lot of us in the forum already have seen numerous times before. At least with those people, they really look to learn, as opposed to those who whine about their latest and greatest acquisitions and have a sense of entitlement about them.

Makes you stand in awe about the past masters who never had to rely on automatic stuff, but still manage to take much better pictures than a lot of us who are already spoiled with multicoated lenses, AF, blazing fast shutter speeds, light meters, reusable memory, LCDs, etc. How much more would the past masters' pictures be if they also had access to this technology?

[anomaly]

I really think that the Wifi grip and GPS should be part of the professional K1D system. Along with advanced features present in rival's high end cameras like the mark III and D2Xs.

In the K10D Super I would want:

- 5fps

- Bigger buffer

- ISO always present

- AA battery solution

-Slightly better high ISO performance

I am not even sure that I think they should put live view in it.

On the issue of "bridge" cameras like a K50D and K5D. I really don't think those are necessary and would take away from the bottom line.

Pentax only need the K100D, K10D and K1D. Along with a medium format digital system, they are set.

[and]

I must say I dont miss AA at all, I thought it was a minus when I had the DS but when I got the k10d I think the oposite would be a minus, I dont want to go back to AA. I wonder if most people who want AA are not k10d users (?). I dont miss having all those batteries lying around and charging them, which takes forever btw. And the battery life wasnt even that great, greanted the cr3 battery life was great. But AA gives lower power output which will lead to slower AF and also variable AF speed, high power batteries meaning faster AF etc.

Sure being able to pick up some batteries while on travel is good, but the k10d battery lasts soooo long and with an extra one in the grip I can do a whole vacation on 1 charge. And they also charge reasonably fast. And they are not that expensive if you want to get some spare ones, altho I dont see the need to have more than 2 myself.

[anomaly]

I must say I dont miss AA at all, I thought it was a minus when I had the DS but when I got the k10d I think the oposite would be a minus, I dont want to go back to AA. I wonder if most people who want AA are not k10d users (?). I dont miss having all those batteries lying around and charging them, which takes forever btw. And the battery life wasnt even that great, greanted the cr3 battery life was great. But AA gives lower power output which will lead to slower AF and also variable AF speed, high power batteries meaning faster AF etc.

Sure being able to pick up some batteries while on travel is good, but the k10d battery lasts soooo long and with an extra one in the grip I can do a whole vacation on 1 charge. And they also charge reasonably fast. And they are not that expensive if you want to get some spare ones, altho I dont see the need to have more than 2 myself.

The point of the AA solution is to give people the option. Going on an all day or weekend expedition away from power outlets, it is alot cheaper and more effective to move with a handful of cr3 batteries than with extra expensive proprietary batteries.

[and]

The point of the AA solution is to give people the option. Going on an all day or weekend expedition away from power outlets, it is alot cheaper and more effective to move with a handful of cr3 batteries than with extra expensive proprietary batteries.

But the prop batteries are not that expensive and cr3 cost a bit by themselves. I could accept that as an optional grip version. But as I said, the k10d with grip and 2 batteries lasts very long....

[stewart_photo]

This is the double-edged sword, really. The barriers for entry have been lowered, so more and more people can now enjoy photography and not be limited with their expressions. This is good for serious hobbyists.

I'm not convinced it's really attracting that many more new people into photography. Of course, it's very hard to guage, but I don't seem to see that many more people with cameras today than I did thirty years ago, or even twenty years ago. The only obvious difference are those with cameras in cellphones, which obviously didn't exist years ago. But, of course, these cellphones have very little of the technology we're talking about here.

On the other hand, there are also those who expect everything to be done for them (including composition), and treat DSLRs as extensions of point-and-shoots, only that they expect to take better pictures owing to the price they paid for one, and the fact that DSLRs look more "professional" than point-and-shoots. These are the ones stewart mentioned who complain a lot in blogs and forums.

This type has existed for decades. As far back as I can remember, there have always been those with very expensive, elaborate, cameras complaining their pictures are no better. Some are really trying, but are focusing on the wrong things (buying stuff instead of learning stuff). Others just shoot like crazy, hoping at least something comes out eventually.

The latter type is often funny to watch. You just know their pictures are not going to come out that great (shooting a distant subject at night with the tiny on-camera flash, for example). I watched a guy last week trying to take a picture of a very dimly lit subject. Six times in a row, because of the long exposure, he was looking at his camera before the shutter closed. He actually seemed to be trying to figure out what the extra noise was (the shutter closing), and, of course, why his pictures were so bad. The puzzled look on his face was priceless, but I couldn't get a picture because he kept looking up - like he was looking around to see if someone was playing a joke on him (a Candid Camera camera).

Personally, I don't mind seeing endless posts of people asking how-to questions that a lot of us in the forum already have seen numerous times before. At least with those people, they really look to learn, as opposed to those who whine about their latest and greatest acquisitions and have a sense of entitlement about them.

I don't mind answering questions either, or asking questions for that matter. I take the time to answer what questions I can because I hope someone will also take the time to answer mine. Several of us discussed the sense of entitlement thing in another thread a couple of weeks ago, so I won't go into all that again here.

stewart

[PDL]

The point of the AA solution is to give people the option. Going on an all day or weekend expedition away from power outlets, it is alot cheaper and more effective to move with a handful of cr3 batteries than with extra expensive proprietary batteries.

In the "other" gotta have on the next generation Pentax (KnxgD or KG2D) I posted that a new sensor, higher fps, higher ISO (why oh why - I just do not get it - ISO 25 or death), big buffers (new cpu - more on board memory) will require more power. AA's will not cut it. To get better or similar battery life as the K10D the KG2D (has a nice ring to it) would have to have a big grip and hold at least 8 AA's.

Gee if I wanted to buy a 4lb C*non - I would just go out and buy a big bulky, heavy, noise riddled - well you get the idea.

Next Gen wishes:
Less noise (maybe a new sensor source)
Lower ISO (25-50 tops)
Ability to lock the mirror up (set things manually - just like the good old days).

PDL

[and]

An update after trying to play with the built in flash to trigger slaves:
More control of the built in flash!!!
The preflash makes triggering slaves impossible.
Allow the possibility to turn off the preflash!
Right now the only way to do it is if you have a lens with an aperature ring you can turn it away from the a position, then the preflash goes away but the camera will always fire the flash at 1/1 power.

So I want some manual flash controls, shouldnt be hard.
Add a manual mode that does not preflash, and give it some power ratio options, 1/1, 1/2, 1/4 etcetc. Its one of those small extras that makes life easier...

[anomaly]

An update after trying to play with the built in flash to trigger slaves:
More control of the built in flash!!!
The preflash makes triggering slaves impossible.
Allow the possibility to turn off the preflash!
Right now the only way to do it is if you have a lens with an aperature ring you can turn it away from the a position, then the preflash goes away but the camera will always fire the flash at 1/1 power.

So I want some manual flash controls, shouldnt be hard.
Add a manual mode that does not preflash, and give it some power ratio options, 1/1, 1/2, 1/4 etcetc. Its one of those small extras that makes life easier...

The new Wein "Peanut" optical flash triggers are not supposed to be triggered by preflash.