New AF-540FGZ II WR - Key Impressions

I'm the lucky owner now of this new flash from Pentax, in addition to my older Mk1 version. They make a great pairing, and here I want to list some key distinctions and improvements over the older models, by way of comparison and to help anyone tossing up a buying choice.

Needless to say you'll see that I surely believe the new models to be well worth the premium you'd pay over an older model ...


1) Flash head zoom faster, very responsive

2) Controls tighter, more secure

3) Battery cover improved, more secure and robust

4) Smaller and lighter. Plastic casing similar in quality, but tight tolerances.

5) Red ' flash ready' light clearer.

6) Easier and simpler control layout with less buttons. More logical button functions, eg modes and the new custom function menu.

7) Flash exposure steps can be configured to display in 1/2 or 1/3 ev steps or with an auto setting that matches the camera custom setting for ev steps.

8. Increased low power performance, with P-TTL flash compensation now available down to -4.0 stops and Manual power down to 1/256th.

9) Flash head angle has button to press to release and make changes ... Easy though.

10) LED light beam is a constant light source. It must be regarded as ambient lighting, and metered for and controlled as ambient. Once switched on it can be set from full power 1/1 through to low power 1/16, and the camera exposure value indicator used to assess the required exposure. The flash head can fire as well and will still act as a standard flash exposure, while the LED combines with, or provides all of, the ambient light. Flash white balance seems to provide accurate colours with the LED as only light source.

11) Soft case is better, more padded.

12) Metal shoe slots in to camera hotshoe more easily and securely.

13) Traditional pull-out catchlight panel has gone, replaced with a catchlight function provided by the front facing LED light. This is entirely automatic during bounce operation once activated in the functions menu. There is no power control for the catchlights strength.

14) LED Catchlight function is effective during bounce flash, giving a small approx 1/3stop of ev increase to midtone areas (as assessed on the histogram). There is a handy symbol which appears on the flash control panel when LED catchlight is active.

15) Big advantage is that it is still effective even when the main flash head is bounced sideways (a catchlight panel is not in these situations as it also becomes angled to the side).

16) The older TTL mode (for 35mm film cameras) and 'Auto-A' flash mode have gone, meaning that there is no auto-exposure mode available for Pre KAF mount FA-type lenses (including all manual focus and F-series AF lenses ) . Use manual flash mode and manual exposure mode instead.

Sounds good mate.

It better be .... Cost even more than your new camera!