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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-27-2010, 04:16 PM
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I just put 7700 on my K10D today.
Glad it's got plenty of life left in it as I don't plan (or need) to upgrade as it does everything I need a camera to do.
Photography Rulez |
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
08-27-2010, 01:52 PM
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Yes, I just upgraded mine while in debug mode and the camera is still in debug mode currently after the successful upgrade.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
06-24-2008, 10:55 AM
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I've started a how to on debug mode and I will do an AF mode shortly.
You can find it here - Photography Rulez
Glad someone has more technical know-how than me. I guess our buddies over there have all that free time in the winter to dig into the technical details.
Here in Florida the weather's to nice to be stuck indoors all the time. LOL
Seriously though, thanks for this software.
Tim
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
01-11-2007, 01:40 PM
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I'm looking for a source of hot shoe replacements for my AF-540FGZ.
Not just the plastic housing, but the guts also.
Is this currently only available from Pentax and official repair shops?
Thanks,
Tim
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
12-11-2006, 07:09 AM
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All the usual disclaimers apply. Try this at your own risk. I am not liable for any damage you do to your self, camera, or flash.
One word of caution I will give you as it happened to me. Do NOT fire your flash when it is face down on a flat surface. It will fire at full power (unless in manual mode and dialed down) and scorch the surface it is on (a swede shoe in my case) and melt the flash housing enough to stink like burnt plastic. I got lucky and my flash still works 100%, but I write this so someone won't lay the flash on their leg and fire it. We're talking 3rd degree burns here.
OK, one more word of caution here, there is the potential for 300VDC on the hotshoe contacts (from the flash, not the camera) so don't go holding the hotshoe connector in your hand when the flash in on, it may fire accidental. It won't kill you (much) but it will feel like it did. And no, it didn't happen to me.
The idea for me was to make a Sync Cable out of parts I had on hand. It would not be economically feasible to purchase all these items separately just to make a cable.
I wanted the ability to use varying lengths of cable so I opted for multiple lengths of CAT5 cable with RJ45 couplers at each end.
The roll of copper cable is enamel wire for wrapping coils. I got a 3 pack of different gauges at radio shack for a radio I was building. You have to scrape the enamel off the plug end so it will make contact with the flash socket. The end that fits in the RJ45 connector you don't need or want to scrape.
The pen I used was from a pack I bought at walmart one day. They just happened to be about the right size to fit into the flash. They were a little loose so I found a piece of vinyl tubing that I scavenged from an old computer UPS and it makes a nice snug fit into the flash socket. I used silicon sealant inside the pen tube to hold the wires in place. I used cooking spray (PAM) on a cotton swab to lubricate the flash socket with the homemage plug in place while the sealant dried overnight). It wiped off easily and no sealant stuck to the flash. You will have to prop the cable while it's drying so it won't sag and misalign the pins.
The PC board is just a universal type. Hold it with some needle nose pliers along the 6th row and you can snap it by hand very easy. I soldered blobs of solder where I thought they would make contact and filed them down so they fit into the camera hotshoe without tearing it up. If all you want is a manual sync cable and you have a standard hotshoe adapter available, use it instead and save yourself the headache.
Again, unless you have the majority of these items laying around already, it's probably not feasible to make your own cable. I'm just broke and can't afford to lay out $100 for a cable and hotshoe adapter. Id rather spend another $100 and buy an AF360.
Hope this helps someone out, just be careful. Saving a $100 is not worth emergency room bills or damaging $1000 in camera equipment.
Tim
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
12-11-2006, 06:39 AM
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OK, here are the results. I could still not get P-TTL or zoom to work and I assume it's because the hotshoe contacts are not aligned correctly.
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
12-10-2006, 08:15 AM
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Having a problem making a reliable hotshoe. :(
I can get the flash to fire but there is no zoom or P-TTL.
Works fine in Auto and Manual mode.
Let me get the photos together and I'll post later today.
Tim
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
12-06-2006, 05:59 AM
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Thank you so much!
I'll have the project complete this weekend and post the results here first since I got a response from here.
Tim
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
12-05-2006, 03:51 PM
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I would very much appreciate it! :)
Tim
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-30-2006, 04:18 PM
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Another option to close up lenses are extension tubes (similar to converters but no internal glass) that allow closer focusing distances.
You can also reverse mount another lens (usually 50mm) on the front side of your kit lens and do macro that way with magnification.
You can combine these two methods also. The upside to this is cost savings, the downside is image quality. I have seen beautiful macros with tubes and reversed lens, but I have yet to produce results anywhere close with my equipment. Still working on it!
Tim
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-30-2006, 04:12 PM
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My Tamron 75-300 LD Macro lens (not the wide angle you were asking about) stays stopped down if pulled off the camera when DOF button is used. I own a DL and not a 110D
I think that function is built in to the lens itself and not the camera.
Maybe some others can reply with other specific 3rd party lenses.
Tim
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Forum: Digital Processing, Software, and Printing
11-30-2006, 07:25 AM
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In your price range, or very near it, the Acer 22" wide screen is great bang for the buck.
As far as the *best* monitor.. I dunno if fits that category, but any monitor in your price range won't be the *best*.
The Acer is reasonable as a photo monitor and I am very happy with mine as I use it for video also and it doent have any ghosting that I can notice.
Tim
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
11-28-2006, 12:03 PM
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Just use hot shoe flashes with a wireless trigger system. You can make very light light-kits with umbrella diffuser/reflector buy using camera flashes.
If you buy 2 AF-360FGZs or a 540FGZ and a 360FGZ you can do wireless via IR with line of site/distance/bright daylight limitations.
google strobist
Tim
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
11-28-2006, 11:48 AM
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Hi,
Could some kind soul who has a Hot Shoe Adapter F tell me the pinouts to the 5 pin socket?
I've homebrewed a plug for the flash and fabricated a hotshoe, now just need to know what pins go where.
I'll post my method once it's complete and working correctly.
Thanks,
Tim
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