Flash gun advice

I have decided to take the plunge a purchase my first flash gun, hopefully before the Whitby Goth event, if you forgive the pun I'm a bit in the dark. I would like to use it for occasional portrait and off camera for fungi and so on. Any advice offered including throwing your second hand kit in my direction will be gratefully revived.

hi graham
i got one of theses the other week
went it to my local currys and they told me which
store have them in stock
neil
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/pentax-af360fgz-auto-flash-unit-00778739-pdt.html

So what do you think of the AF360FGZ then Neil?

I used to use the Sigma EF-530 DG Super. Never had any problems with it. But I admit I never have got my head around flash.

I have the Samsung badged version of the Pentax flash. It works very well and the built in wide angle lens and catchlight panel work well. My only criticism is that build quality of the battery door doesn't exactly inspire confidence and I wish the adjustment wheel overlapped the body a tiny amount. Battery life is surprisingly good.

No confidence at all
One of my clips broke off a long while ago. Then I treated it with more care... and eventually the corner of the rear case started cracking with the extra strain it was taking.

In the end I fixed it myself. It was a complete and utter PITB (making sure the capacitor was discharged of course! :shock. A nightmare to disassemble. But glued the corner, and mounted a small metal tag to replace the broken plastic one. Before you ask - it's totally uneconomical to repair (but I couldn't bear to see an otherwise excellent flash go to waste)!

So my advice is - treat the battery door with a LOT of respect while it's good

Matt

Anvh wrote:

I agree! The Metz is a good quality flashgun with a decent output and a wide range of options. It is true that the UI is a little cumbersome, whether more or less so than the similar models from Pentax and Samsung I cannot say, but if you can manage with all the menus and sub-menus and various settings on the camera body, then I don't believe you'll find them impossible to master.

Even though Curry's are selling off the PENTAX AF360FGZ cheap, I would still get the Metz which can be had for a similar price or possibly less for two main reasons:

i) it has better features

ii) spares are easily obtained and, in my experience (I had to replace a damaged battery cover recently), not prohibitively expensive; which I doubt very much is true of spares for the Pentax.

Jon

hi graham
still play with it trying to master the it off camera
i know the metz 48 as better features and the same price
but i wanted to buy it cash and not card
neil

Well thanks for the advice folks, really appreciated. Time to go hunting for a bargain now, I will keep you in touch with the outcome.

Graham

Just taken the plunge and ordered a Metz48 from SRS.

You will like it though but it can get really complicated with a flash though since you actually add another dimension to your photography to consider
To a look at the sites like the strobist.com 101 to get the basics.

I hope so Stefan

Well the Metz 48 has arrived, time to start ploughing through the manual

Edit SRS as per usual were spot on with speed, price and yes they remembered my discount

Well my first discovery was that the wide angle diffuser is quite hard to get out for a person with short nails. On the upside I had not realised that my k7 worked in wireless master mode ( I had skimmed over that bit of the manual )

Graham