some more thoughts... I've always heard that pttl doesn't work all that great, so I never bothered getting the 80 dollar hot shoe for my Metz 54. I always used it in auto and hand fed it settings and used the dummy hot shoe. This worked beautifully and I could adjust EV on the flash. That flash died. I can plan on fixing it, but I needed a flash now. I was using a borrowed speed light, but found it much less accurate than the Metz and had no EV compensation grrr. Sure cycled fast, I'll give Nikon that. To be fair it probably works great on a digital Nikon body.
So a friend offered me an old Pentax swivel flash. Af280 I think? Its cute, compact and has a great autothyristor. I can get accurate exposures pretty easily and I think the flash is communicating with the camera somewhat as it gives flash ready indication in the viewfinder. I like it. It swivels and rotates 360 degrees. Powerful enough to bounce. Seems really reliable too. I paid 40 for it. Its even strong enough for 200mm and some distance. I honestly don't know the guide number. He used to use it with his 67. Mmmm 67.... I prefer manual flash control for controlled setups anyways. Best to just preset everything. For covering say an event, I love auto flashes. I can use aperture and iso to quickly adjust exposure it needed. If I were to buy a high end flash, I would get an older Metz like the first 58 AF. The Pentax flashes forgetting settings is a real deal breaker. So is the preflash. I want one flash and that's it. You get soooo much less blinking....I don't hear much good about pttl, so who cares about that? Autothyristors are superior regardless of system IMO. I know I'm not alone in this thinking. TTL was superior to everything that followed. Too bad only the list supported it. Funny how they could make it work back then...... Bruce Walker <bruce.wal...@gmail.com> wrote: >Stan, sounds like your project includes using two or more flashes at >once. It should simplify your decision process a bit to know that >P-TTL is essentially useless with more than a single flash; or at >least I've never gotten it to work in 5 years of AF540 ownership (I >have two of them). > >It's great to have at least one P-TTL capable flash in your kit, and >in my experience the Pentax flashes are solid bricks. You cannot >overheat them, they don't misfire, they run for hours on a set of >batteries; so for event shooting with flash on camera in P-TTL they >rock. And if you have a Pentax P-TTL flash it is pretty-much >guaranteed to work with all Pentax bodies. I also find them pretty >easy to configure. You need the manual at first, but they are no worse >than most other complex electronics and simpler than most cheap >digital watches, for instance. > >But as soon as you are trying to get sophisticated and use them for >portraiture, real estate interiors, studio work, etc., you are going >into a galaxy of grief if you try to use P-TTL and wireless with them. >That probably includes the Sigmas, Metz's and Promasters too. (I think >that only Nikon has multiflash x-TTL worked out.) > >For studio-like shooting, especially multi-flash, I employ fully >manual flash using a light meter for setup. So I now use my AF540's on >manual, with the power-saver mode disabled so they stay alive and >retain their settings. I use cheap radio triggers rather then the >Pentax optical wireless for more flexibility and reliability. > >But for the price of a single AF540 you could buy a Sekonic lightmeter >and a couple of Yongnuo flashes. The Yongnuo's are being recommended >by the Strobist crowd. I don't own one yet so I can't say for sure >that they're good, but were I adding more flashes to my kit I'd try >one right away. > > >On Mon, Jun 24, 2013 at 10:40 AM, Stan Halpin ><s...@stans-photography.info> wrote: >> I don't use flash often, have never taken time to master the process. >But I have an upcoming project that provides the incentive to revisit >this aspect of my photography. >> >> I have the Pentax AF360 FGZ that I bought long ago to pair with my >MZ-S and which I have used occasionally. >> >> I am considering adding the AF540 FGZ. Two things holding me back at >this point: >> a. IIRC Pentax is coming out sometime soon with a replacement >for the AF540. >> b. I have noted discussions here about Metz and other >alternatives. >> >> So, my questions: >> a. Has anybody heard anything more about if/when and for how >much we'll have an AF540 replacement? >> b1. If I go with Metz or other system, do I lose >functionality on my K-5ii? i.e., will I still have the same capability >for wireless triggering, the use of two-flash setups, etc? >> b2. Other than cost, are there any advantages to the Metz or >other systems? >> b3. Other than Pentax and Metz, which other alternative >brands should I look at for good, fully capable, reliable flash in the >AF540 range? >> >> Thanks! >> >> stan >> -- >> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >> PDML@pdml.net >> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above >and follow the directions. https://www.facebook.com/zosxaviusphotography -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
