Pentax flash system

Hi everybody,

I've been a lurker on this forum for ages and have found an amazing amount of useful information here. The vast majority of people here seem to be very polite and friendly unlike certain other forums... Now I'm trying to come to grips with the Pentax flash system and I think I need help. I've photographed mainly architecture, landscapes and tried to avoid using a flash. Now I'm becoming more interested in portraits...

I use a Z-1P, an *ist (35mm) and a 645N, and occasionally I get to borrow an *ist DL. (I hope the K10D will some day be on this list as well, but I still just like slides too much...) I have the 330 FTZ flash, and I've gotten some pretty good and a lot of useless results with it. I use it on auto mode nearly all the time. Now I think it's time to upgrade.

The new 540 FGZ seems to be the ideal model with tilt, swivel and a large guide number. But if I want to use both flashes (330 + 540) together, do I need cables and connectors or can they trigger each other off? Is there a benefit from connecting the flashes instead of just triggering them wirelessly? And will my cameras behave very differently from each other? Naturally if I want to use just one flash off-camera then a cable is needed. Or is a professional wireless transmitter absolutely necessary for a Serious Amateur nowadays?

Now that's a lot of questions, but if somebody could at least point me to a web page with some answers I'd be very grateful!

Regards
Teemu

Teemu,
I can probably answer most of your questions on this... but I think it would also be worth knowing what problems you've had with your AF330 (otherwise you may end up with double trouble )

The AF540 will be able to use TTL, A, and M modes on the Z1P. The *ist adds P-TTL and HS (High Speed) to the mode list.

If you want to use the TTL mode with two flashes then you'll need the cabling system. You can then use either one flash on camera and one remote, or two remote (and even use the pop-up as well). The set of flashes will behave as if they were one on the camera with all functions available.

From what I can see (though I'd need to check the manual) the *ist film camera can support wireless P-TTL to the AF540. In this mode, the pop-up flash will communicate with the remote AF540 and should give you excellent results. (The AF360 will do the same.)

However, when it comes to digital, only the *ist-D can support this feature. All other DSLR bodies need a combination of two (or more) AF360/AF540 flashes with one of them on the camera acting as a controller.

However, this may very well be overkill. It depends very much on your setup and what you are trying to accomplish.

If, as you say, you are getting into portraiture, then fully manual flash is definitely the way to go In any controlled environment, manual flash will give you extremely consistent results (much more than P-TTL or TTL). If using a DSLR this is extremely quick as well - you can use the camera's histogram as a flash meter. With film, you'll really need a flash meter.

If your portraiture consists of just head & shoulders, then the AF330 in manual mode, using a PC style extension cord (the old style outer & pin style) will be your cheapest option. Just get a small brolley (I use a Hama one that was around £30), and a reflector or two. The AF360 is perfectly adequate for this, so your AF330 should be just fine.

If you went the studio flash route (like the Elinchrom DLite2 kit) then that's all manual anyway - even if you use the infrared trigger.

Your best route is to borrow the *ist-DL again, get a long PC-extension (and the hotshoe-PC adaptor) and mount the AF330 on a stand with a brolley, set everything to manual and shoot away. Just experiment! (And you can always migrate that knowledge to film afterwards.)

Let us know what you think
Matt

Matt,

Many thanks for your reply! A brolly and some cables sounds like a good starting point now. Also manual use might indeed be a good starting point because of the consistency, I must seriously look into that.

The "problems" I've had with the 330 flash have been the fault of the photographer, not the flash - I just haven't ever bothered to use the flash properly. "Full auto" results have often looked like bad P&S snap shots, but I must say that every now and then I have achieved just what I've been after! No consistency there...

Getting Pentax accessories seems to be a slow process here in Finland, so it might take some time to get all the adapters and cables. Apparently the delivery time for the 540 flash is several weeks!

Cheers,
Teemu

It's not only Finland Teemu, I gave up on getting the cables for my flash here in in Holland. I waited three months before cancelling the order as they had no idea when they would get them in stock Being a Pentax user can be a frustrating business at times!