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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
07-02-2018, 06:24 AM
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I've had my K-1 for two years now. In that two years I've sold most of the older Full Frame lenses I had and upgraded to newer lenses. The K-3 is no slouch but the K-1 can find all the flaws at the edge of the lens that the K-3 could not. With that being said the K-1 is a monster compared to the K-3. It is simply a better camera. I still use the K-3 when I want something compact but the K-1 is my go-to camera. I am 100% pleased with it and would recommend it to any photographer.
obin:)
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
05-27-2018, 02:29 AM
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The complaints are valid. Cactus' claims did not match reality. I clearly illustrated that their claim about the V6 being able to learn flash profiles was misleading. It did not work as advertised and I'm not the only one that had problems with the V6 performance when it did work. A competitor's product (Radiopopper) worked flawlessly whereas Cactus did not.
Obin
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
05-24-2018, 08:15 AM
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I had a similar bad experience with Cactus products.The supposed advantage of the Cactus triggers was far outweighed many times over by their unreliability. I switched to using Radiopopper units and had no problems at all. I found the Cactus flash triggers to be of poor reliability and are extremely frustrating to use compared to the flawless and simple Radiopopper products.
I ditched Cactus and would never recommend any of their products to anyone for any reason whatsoever. They are simply not worth the hassle especially when there are so many other proven triggers which will work with Pentax as well as other brands.
Obin :)
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Forum: Sold Items
05-01-2018, 01:46 AM
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I am looking for a Sigma 140-400mm DG APO lens to use with my K-1. If you have one for sale please let me know.
:)
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Forum: Sold Items
12-30-2017, 05:13 AM
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Forum: Sold Items
12-29-2017, 03:39 PM
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PM sent. Is this still for sale? I am in Jacksonville, FL as well and could drive over to pick it up. Thanks.
edit: does this vignette on the K-1?
obin :)
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
12-28-2017, 07:48 PM
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Cactus Wireless Flash Transceiver V6 | CACTUS
"If a flash model is not listed, the V6 may even learn its flash profile and then be able to control the power output of the flash. (See note on compatibility)"
Notes on compatibility:- Cactus V6 does not work with any other flash trigger model including Cactus V4, V2s or V2;
- Cactus V6 does not transmit TTL information wirelessly;
- Cactus V6 is not compatible with flashes or strobes with reversed polarity connectors."
None of that indicates that it would not be compatible with the Metz flashes or learning the flashes and simply triggering them.
If it works as described then why are there people out there who have problems with the system right out of the box? Why do we not have problems with other systems? I'm using two Flashpoint 320M monolights that work every single time. EVERY SINGLE TIME. I'm using RadioPopper Nanos as well. Guess what? They work EVERY SINGLE TIME.
With the Cactus V6 on six different cameras I had problems getting them to work as advertised. How come I didn't have this problem with any other photographic equipment?
The answer is simple: Cactus' claims are misleading. They have sold an incomplete product and depended on the public to finish their beta testing. Otherwise they would have released a statement saying that their wireless transceivers only work with a select few flashes and are not guaranteed to work with any others. They knew if they did that then the product would not be as appealing nor would it sell as much. They suckered me into buying four units for my camera and flashes so I guess their shady business practices worked once on me. They won't fool me again though. I'm not falling for Cactus' misleading claims ever again. As I said before I regard their products to be nothing more than low grade electronic trash. I will never recommend any Cactus product to anyone I know.
obin :mad:
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
12-26-2017, 01:46 PM
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My review is here: Cactus V6 Flash and Camera Trigger reviews - Pentax Camera Accessory Review Database
"I prefer using Metz flashes as they are easy to upgrade the firmware on. I've never had a problem with Metz and I use them on both my Canon and Pentax cameras. I heard that the Cactus V6 would allow me to trigger the Metz flashes as well as control the output level so I was excited to purchase them. I bought four: one for the camera and three for my flashes.
I first tested the system on my Pentax K-3 and I had issues getting the flash to fire every time. After some troubleshooting I got it to work but the output level was not remotely controllable so the supposed advantage was neutralized. At least the Cactus V6 worked as a remote so I took it out to the field on a shoot. Once in the field it would not work like it did at my house. I switched from using my K-1 to my K-3 and the same errors popped up. The flash would simply NOT trigger every time. I switched modes, changed camera settings, turned everything on and off but I had no luck. When it worked the results were great... but the system malfunctioned more often than it should have.
I set up the system again for portrait shots. I figured that inside in the studio they would work well but I was sadly mistaken. I still had misfires, the output level was not working properly, and the flash would fire once and then take an unacceptable amount of troubleshooting to work again. I ended up wasting far too much time trying to get the system to work.
I contacted Cactus tech support, I put posts here on Pentaxforums, and I read multiple troubleshooting trees and watched multiple videos. No matter what I could not get the Cactus V6 to work properly with three different Metz flashes. After being disappointed so many times in the Cactus V6 I just gave up and ordered optically triggered monolights that work every single time. I don't have time to waste on trying to get these things to work properly. They are unreliable to say the least and my experience with them was very frustrating."
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So yes after reading this:
Cactus Wireless Flash Transceiver V6 | CACTUS
...and it not living up to the specifications at all I consider the Cactus V6 system to be low grade electronic trash. I wasn't even expecting P-TTL: I was just expecting reliable triggering and I never got that on six different cameras using three different Metz flashes. The system that replaced it works every time unlike the Cactus V6.
obin
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
12-26-2017, 06:25 AM
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I had significant problems with the system and after much anguish in trying to get it to work I simply sold all four triggers at a loss. I heard that they were compatible with my gear before I bought them and was disappointed. I hear that they've fixed the problems I was having but I believe that wasting my time on Cactus gear again would be a mistake. I have no faith in their customer service, firmware updates, product support, or supposed list of compatible equipment. Cactus triggers are and will remain garbage as far as I'm concerned.
obin
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
12-26-2017, 04:14 AM
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I have found the Cactus flash triggers to not be worth the money either. I had nothing but problems with them. I tried them with Metz flashes on six different cameras and got nothing but inconsistent and substandard performance. They were extremely frustrating to get working. My solution: I got rid of all of them (at a financial loss) and replaced them with optically triggered monolights. They fire every time.
Cactus = garbage. I will never buy their products ever again nor would I recommend them to anyone.
obin
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Forum: Pentax Q
06-01-2017, 05:40 PM
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Pentax Q7 + 02 Lens.
obin :)
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
04-17-2017, 01:03 PM
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I have also started blocking the lights in the background using an umbrella on a light stand. I find that now there is no yellow tint from the fluorescents at all. By the way here's another set of photos taken on the white foam board with the two Flashpoint monolights and Metz flash on the K-3. The background is a curved piece of craft paper tucked under the back edge of the foam board. I took these photos for a Mid Century Modern group on Facebook.
As you can see a piece of foam and a curved piece of paper work great.
obin :)
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
04-10-2017, 12:15 PM
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Without looking at image quality I can say that Nikon's confusing menus and poor ergonomics are the main reason I switched to Pentax years ago. For me when it comes to Nikon vs. Pentax it's a no brainer: Pentax.
obin :)
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
04-08-2017, 05:53 PM
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I took your advice and I took this photo at a much higher shutter speed. This Kalimar tambor door storage cabinet is sitting on a piece of foam and the background is a piece of construction paper that is curved up against the wall. I used two Flashpoint 320M monolights to evenly illuminate the cabinet. If this is the sort of thing that the original poster is looking for then you can see it's not hard to do with monolights and construction paper.
obin :)
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
04-08-2017, 09:32 AM
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Thanks for the tip!
obin :)
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
04-08-2017, 05:23 AM
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The Flashpoint 320M monolights are VERY powerful. You could easily get away with using these:
Flashpoint Budget Studio Monolight Flash, 120 Watt Seconds BF-120W
I need the big monolights for taking photos of furniture. Here's some photos I took of furniture and you can see I need a lot of light to illuminate them and eliminate as many shadows as possible. To get the background white requires a bit of tweaking. It ends up being a little yellow due to the fluorescent bulbs in the ceiling. Sorry for the second image looking a little blurry because I bumped the camera slightly. I just wanted you to get the general idea.
obin :)
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
04-06-2017, 07:04 PM
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This is a photo I just took with my K-3 for an eBay auction. I used two Flashpoint 320M monolights bounced off of the ceiling along with my Metz 64AF-1 flash. The sculptures are sitting on a piece of foam board I bought at a craft store. This is the same kind of inexpensive foam you see being used for signs or displays. Before I got the monolights I used to just bounce the flash off of the ceiling. It worked but I still had to fight shadows once in a while. The monolights eliminate most if not all of the harsh shadows and give an infinite depth look to the image.
obin :)
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Forum: Accessory and Memory Articles
04-05-2017, 05:52 PM
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So does "not supported" mean that if I pressed the button on the V6 then it would trigger the flash but if I pressed the shutter on the camera it would not flash? That also means that the flash profiling would not work as well? What would have caused the first photo to be overexposed and all the subsequent ones to be underexposed?
Hopefully the new owner will be able to use them. He got a good deal if you like the Cactus V6.
obin :)
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Forum: Accessory and Memory Articles
04-05-2017, 02:40 AM
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48 AF-1, 58 AF-1, and 64 AF-1. I couldn't get the profiling to work even when following the instructions perfectly.
I'm not worried about the Cactus V6 problems anymore. I got rid of all four of them for $100 shipped. Another member can enjoy them and hopefully they will work with his equipment. I just took it as a learning experience. I'm sticking with monolights from now on.
obin :D
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Forum: Accessory and Memory Articles
04-04-2017, 02:08 PM
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I couldn't create custom profiles with any of the three Metz flashes I own. The V6 would return an error and I could not profile the flashes.
If Cactus came out and said "we tested the V6 with Metz flash firmware version X.XX and can not guarantee they will work on any later version" then I wouldn't have been so annoyed. I'm not going to back-date my Metz flashes to work with the Cactus product so they don't work well with my Pentax cameras.
obin
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
04-03-2017, 04:55 AM
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So why does the first flash always over-expose and then the subsequent ones under-expose then after that they don't fire at all? Why does it work at short range in my house and then outside it doesn't? Why will it work and then I put everything away then when I take it back out of the box without changing settings it won't work? This is with three different Metz flashes that work perfectly fine when attached to the cameras.
obin :mad:
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
04-02-2017, 04:41 PM
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I understand. If Cactus just came out from the very beginning and said "hey these don't work as advertised with Metz flashes" then I never would have wasted the time. I would have just found another product from the beginning. After wasting the money on four of them however I am more than infuriated. I can't say enough bad things about these flash triggers and my horrible experience in trying to get them to work properly.
obin:mad::mad::mad:
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Forum: Pentax Camera and Field Accessories
04-02-2017, 11:43 AM
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This is a thread bump in order to report that I got a very nice Induro aluminum tripod from KEH a week ago. They've been selling these aluminum tripods that are used but in excellent condition. Mine looked to be barely used. If anyone is still looking check keh.com and they may have some.
obin
:)
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
04-02-2017, 11:37 AM
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That's exactly my plan. I am selling the triggers and moving on to using Monolights. For radio triggering I am interested in the Paul C Buff Cyber Commander system. It looks to be a bit more reliable and easier to use. The company has a better reputation as well. I'll let someone else fiddle with these Cactus triggers and hopefully they have much better luck than I did.
obin
:)
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
04-02-2017, 10:04 AM
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I tried everything and I couldn't get them to work consistently. The V6 triggers required too much fiddling to get working right on six different cameras.
obin
:mad:
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