Maybe in todays litigious world someone should claim that not having an upside down left/righthanded camera is a breach of their human rights..

What makes anything "art" ? Public perception and acceptance I suppoes. I sometimes wonder at what the apparently self-opinionated art critics see in some of the highly acclaimed works of art... like a cow in formaldehyde or an unmade bed...and even more astounding is the money some of these people shell out for those monstrosities.. But that's just me.. I guess I'm just not an "arty person"...

I'm on PSP X6 too.. which does everything I need, so attractive as the blurb and the price are.. I'm not considering upgrading at this time.

Unless you have explored all the available variations in how your current camera produces your images... how can you compare it with other cameras about which you have no idea what settings the other photographers were using.. ?

I did check one site which had a long Pentax cable.. but it had a screw plug on each end and in order to use it with an off-camera flash you needed an adaptor to sit on the hotshoe and another to attach it to the flash (unless the flash had a socket which mine doesn't).. The cable was £120 and the adaptors were £40 each.. which seemed rather steep to me...

I've got a Pentax K500 and a Sigma EF610 DG Super flash and have been looking at a way of using Hi-speed off-camera flash... which doesn't appear to be possible using the "wireless" mode.. I bought an extension cable which does facilitate it.. but the cable is way too short and limits the distance between the camera and the flash and there doesn't appear to be a longer one available.. My question is.. would it be feasible to connect 2 or maybe 3 of these short cables together and the system would still function or is the fact that a longer cable not being available mean that the length of the cable is critical..

If you don't want TTL there are plenty of Flash Trigger Sets on Amazon... a simple Tx mounts on your hotshoe and the flashguns mount on the Rx... I've had a set for years and they've never failed either outdoors nor in the studio..

Some of us who own other makes will rise above the petty arguments that occur with monotonous regularity between those two inferior brand owners ... :-D

Fact.... In hi-speed sync.. GN decreases with increased shutter speed... If it didn't.. why would the makers of the two flash guns I have say it does ... If it made no difference they'd be shouting it from the rooftops..as a great selling point ! If you are getting perfectly exposed images at shutter speeds as high as you claim...either the birds are close enough to be eating out of your hand... or you have one almighty powerful flash...

This is crazy.. It all in part started because I mentioned that the flash GN would decrease with shutter speed in hi-speed sync... Clearly if you are within almost touching distance of the bird, you are not outside the range of the flash at the exposure value you are using..That much is obvious to anyone...But that does not alter the fact that GN decreases with shutter speed increase.. That was my initial statement which I stand by.. Of course the manufacturers of the two flash guns I have could be wrong and are giving me false information.. However. why would they do that ? .. Surely if it makes no difference they'd be shouting it to high heaven..

oldtigger...I have a Sigma EF-610.. The info for Hi speed Sync in on Page 17/18 wherein it tells you that Gn Number will change and refers you to Table 2 on Page 134..
I also found this article which confirms what I said at the outset..
http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/technical/canon_speedite_high_speed_sync.html
[Quote} The use of high-speed sync results in the effective illumination (guide number) of the flash dropping as shutter speed is increased. At very high shutter speeds (very narrow shutter slit widths) the total illumination from flash is greatly reduced (just as ambient light is greatly reduced by fast shutter speeds), which means that the flash range is correspondingly reduced. In addition the fact the flash has to produce multiple rapid pulses during h-speed sync operation also reduces output power. In fact the total output power of the flash in high-speed sync mode is only about 1/4 of the power in normal sync mode. [Unquote]

I agree...why else would the manual for my Sigma EF-610..in Table 2 quote a whole range of different guide numbers for different shutter speeds... I think I'd believe the manufacturer over some third party...

As others have already suggested Hi-Speed Sync is the way to go... but be aware that the higher the shutter speed you select, there will be a decrease in the GN of your flash which you can compensate for by using a higher ISO setting..

Thanks for all the replies.. Some very useful info in them.. Lukan.. I did go out yesterday and do a trial restricting the ISO range to 100-200-400... and checking them full-size there is no noticeable difference.

It was drummed into me many years ago during my early days with film, that the lower the ASA (now ISO) rating, the less grain there would be.. and hence better quality. Consequently, during my time using DSLR's I have tended not to deviate from the lowest available rating.. ie 100 ISO... So my question is, just how good are modern DSLR's at coping with some of the seemingly "outrageous" ISO settings some sport...for instance... my Pentax K-500 has a max ISO of 51200.. I'm guessing it will depend largely on which make you use... but I wondered in general at what rating does the "noise" become obtrusive in the final image.