Help - flash beginner (K100DS)

Is there such a thing as a "budget" flash, ie under £100 new or s/h that will work on my K100D Super.

I have read that the camera needs a P-TTL flash, which all seem rather expensive. Does that mean that non P-TTL flashes will not work at all, or do you just lose some functionality?

Thanks
Ed

As for P-TTL flashes -
There's the AF-200FG from Pentax (current £75 from www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk )
The AF-360FGZ does come up second hand every now and then (e.g. www.mxv.co.uk, www.lcegroup.co.uk, www.ffordes.co.uk )

You can use non P-TTL flashes only in "A" and "M" mode - like the old days It's no big deal. Only when you try and use a TTL mode on the DSLR will you get trouble - the flash will completely discharge and you'll end up with a massively overexposed shot (and people with sore eyes!).

It depends what you want to do! If you want flash for portraiture (for example), then fully manual mode is ideal. You can even use the old style "PC" cords to move the flash away from the camera. This is a really, really cheap option and will give great results!

To be honest, I like both approaches - it depends what I'm doing. I use the wireless features when using two Pentax flash guns (AF-360 & AF-540) and use them in manual mode when doing portraiture. Depends on the situation.

Hope that helps!
Matt

Agree with Matt. Horses for courses.

And if cash is tight, go the manual route with cheap old guns. Loads on Ebay.

G

Thanks for the very helpful information.

Is it relatively easy to use the older ones in either "M" or "A" mode?

Could you give me a brief idea of what needs to be done when taking a shot?

Many thanks

Ed

In both modes, set the camera to Manual, and the shutter speed to the flash sync speed.

The aperture should be set to the aperture on the gun in Auto mode, and to whatever the table tells you in Manual.

Or throw away the table, and just use trial and error. That's the beauty of digital.

G

The only other thing to watch is the ISO setting on the camera. With film, this was "forced" on you, but with digital you can adjust it from ISO200 to ISO3200 (or ISO100-1600, or 100-3200 depending on which Pentax DSLR you have).

With the older flashes you look up the f-stop based on the power output and the ISO rating of the film. (That's one of the advantages of the P-TTL flashes - you can change all values and the flash is told what's changing in the body so it can keep up. One reason they are so expensive!)

But, as George says, it's a piece of cake to do it by trial and error. For portraiture I'm up and running after 2 or 3 test shots

Matt

One thing I have noticed with the K10D and AF-500FTZ, I have never been able to get this combo to work in A mode but using it and the K10D in manual mode is a breeze with 1/1 through to 1/32 power setting, you also get swivle as well a bounce. a powerfull flash that can be picked up nw for a very reasonable cost.

I just got a Sigma 530ST, haven't used it in anger yet but it seems to be fine considering it's a £109 flash with bounce and swivel.