I don't see detail enhancement. OK the smaller details are more contrasty in the third image but they are all there in the first image, and to me, more how I would see them in real life. 
What I dislike the most of all though is the colour changes.  I suspect I would prefer the colours of the original image to any of these artificial ones.
Could you perhaps do a comparison by using the enhancement but keeping the colours the same as the original from the camera ?

I'm not saying you shouldn't shoot at higher speeds than 1/250 - but that is the speed your camera syncs at I believe.  

There is no reason to change the iso unless you do not have enough light to get the shot with iso 100.  

Not sure what a-dep is but I think it is some kind of auto focussing thing ? 

Personally I would turn the strobe light power right down and move it to the front a bit.  This would make the yellow light your main light source and the strobe light the fill. 
Try turning down the iso on your camera to get rid of some of the noise 400 iso is unnecessary as is a shutter speed over 1/250.

hth

Not so sure about key ingredients all mine were taken on a compact cam, Canon  G6

Can the TV run on rechargeable batteries or has it got to be plugged into a main supply ?

lol - Glad you found that

Your TV is not very portable - I thought you wanted something to shoot on location with. The idea is the same though . That is exactly what you would get with a portable dvd player (make sure it has a video in socket ).

You can shoot tethered using software such as Canon EOS utility or perhaps other makes have similar. There is other software such as Capture One Pro but that tends to be expensive as used by professionals.

Download images to a netbook and view them - but not in real time.

Connect a dvd to video out on camera and video in on dvd player and it is just like the lcd on your camera. You won't get a pic on the camera lcd but on the dvd screen.

Have you got a portable dvd player ?
Plug your camera into it via the video in socket.
Voila - you got a better lcd than on the back of any camera.

or

Go fully tethered and shoot using a laptop or netbook (if it has a connection). 

Hi Miranda
The style of lighting you are trying to emulate uses a lot of lights, but the basics are as per Eddies excellent post on a lighting set up. I think Dave Hill uses the basics, then adds lots of accent lights to increase the contrast ratio and add drama to the image.  The accent lights are very directional so only lighting the selected part of the scene which the photographer chooses.  With this in mind your first two images are closest .
In the newer postings, with your lights, the first image has the contrast ratio, but not the general lighting, the second is mid way and the third a lower contrast with more even light.  Watch out for light areas closer to the camera than the subjects face - illustrated in the third image where the hand is better lit than the subjects face. This will occur because light loses its strength very rapidly the further it travels.  Something only slightly closer to the camera , but in the same light, will appear twice as bright as something slightly further away from the lens.   
The best way to learn is to master the basics, and then lots of experimenting and being critical of the results you get.
To reinforce what Eddie has already said on a basic lighting set up here is a link to illustrate the technique in graphical terms what has been said in words above.
http://www.mediacollege.com/lighting/

hth
Richard

So you're going to be a guerrilla knitter now Joe, and yarn bomb all over town.

It is very fashionable, I think it is the new photography  

Knitted cosys are appearing everywhere now, all over London, on lamp posts and railings, knitted tulips in park flower beds etc etc.     Crazy !  

'tis only a fashion though, and I've heard cats can be quite dexterous with a ball of wool too.

Excellent review - thanks very much for posting this .

How Much !!!!!!

I use a white lens cap which fits onto the Lee filter ring.  The lens caps cost: £3.20 for three - err that's about $1.50 each I think . OK I know you have to be using the Lee filter system to use these lens caps. Just seems that the system in the link has a bit too much added value for my liking, a version of the Lee lens cap is all that is needed and costs would not be more than $2. 
http://www.speedgraphic.co.uk/prod.asp?i=12222&1=Lee+Adaptor+Ring+Caps+%283%29

Yes the idea does work, it is a lot more convenient and practical than carrying a grey card.

So there yer go Bruce get on the phone to some far east factory and get them to knock out millions of white plastic lens caps, in various sizes, and your fortune is made  

Pile 'em high and sell 'em cheap - packs of three assorted sizes for $10 

For an idea of the area and its potential you can't go far wrong with : http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/in_pictures/your_devon/
Nice thing is they are all labelled where they are taken.

For inspiration just look at your favourite landscape photographer - OK it might not be Devon he is showing you, but be assured Devon and Cornwall has it all there ready to be photographed.

A personal favourite is the walk from Lynton to Watersmeet , along side the River Lyn - loads of photo opportunities and lunch at the NT cafe at Watersmeet House.  Valley of the rocks is nearby too as is Exmoor and the associated coast line .

I can't answer for Photomatrix as I have not tried it.

However if you have Photoshop, or similar,  why not get the result you want with that ?

Taking your two exposures and applying a layer mask to the the top layer,  then use the gradient tool to fill the mask with a gradient from black to white.  This achieves the effect of using a soft ND graduated filter. It also has the advantage you can touch in areas of the image to bring the exposure down if you so wish, or create a grad. filter that does not have a straight line.  

Personally I prefer to use the filter on the camera for my own satisfaction of doing it that way. The disadvantage of using software is if the clouds (or anything else) move.

 Noooooooooooo ---  no need for such drastic action as telling the wife you got it wrong !!!

The scene above didn't use the benefits of the filter to the best advantage, it doesn't mean there are not loads of shots where it will perform so much better.  

Firstly in the shot above you are fighting a very difficult battle because because you are working against the light rather than with it.  Now imagine if you had lowered that tripod down to its unextended height and set up on the grass next to the stream in front of you. The shot from there would have been a more abstract nature of the water and rocks, zoom halfway to 15mm to get rid of the vignette and the filter would have given you a lovely shot of water movement over the rocks and down the fall.  The warming effect of the filter would enhance the image, you don't have any sky or clouds to go funny colours, but a nice warm tone cast onto the rocks and water. No tripod shadow either, if you use that lens on an extended tripod it will always capture any shadow that is there.
Imagine the lovely quality the filter would give to a sunset by the sea. The warm tones would be working with the light and the light reduction from it will give a super effect to the waves motion.
The filter has many uses but it may mean using it on shots where its benefits come into play and don't work against the light that is already there. 

Getting the best from filters and very wide angle lenses takes a bit of practise and techniques that are unique.  Anyone who has tried has made all the mistakes and more. I am no expert the only knowledge I have is from practise and talking with professionals who specialise in this type of photography.  That lens works best when up really close to the foreground, hence the low tripod. It has a very close focusing range and I tend to think of it as almost taking a macro shot of the foreground with the rest of the field of view contributing to the overall effect of the image. I try to use F11, or as near as possible, because that is where you will get the sharpest image with a C size sensor and at that aperture with focus on the middle ground everything will be in focus from a few inches to infinity. I like to use filters to balance out light where needed or to alter shutter times as you have here.

Well I hope that is helpful, as it is intended to be, and doesn't put you off experimenting with wide angles and filters. It is a very interesting genre of photography and one which I love if only I had the time to use it.

Richard.