sorry...another 'which flash for K10' question

Feel free to just point me in the right direction.
I have discovered the hard way that the on board flash is not very powerful so I am looking for a versatile flash for general use, the odd product shot or location shoot.

I am still getting to grips with all the camera settings and don't have much of a budget, so an expensive flash with a million functions will possibly result in worse pictures than a simple set up. However I do like to experiment and be creative.
So is the Vivitar 285HV a good choice or should I stump up for a dedicated Flash so I don't end up frustrated. If I buy the vivitar will I be able to use it as a slave later?

wow! 158 views and no replies...
in that case, can someone tell what's wrong with this question?

Give us a clue! How much do you want to spend?

Nothing wrong with the question as such, but it has been covered pretty well in various other threads already.

Personally, I avoid the use of flash if at all possible. Natural light every time. Studio flash is useful for portraits, but a single on-camera flash is not.

As for product shots, I think you need more than a flashgun. Natural light from a large window plus some reflectors would be much better.

But there are two Pentax flashguns available that will do the job if you really want a portable flash unit.

well I am trying not to spend any more than a vivitar but I suspect I'll be dissapointed. £150 ish preferably less!!
I recently had to take shots in a factory and ended up taking two - one with, and one without flash and compositing them together to get anything usable.
on this I used the slow sink to get the operator's arm moving but also 'stop' the client's print job coming off the press. the 'no flash' shot was used to fill in the factory and properly expose the press.

Taking this example, I don't think you would have got a different image with a flashgun. You could have done this in one exposure, manual exposure to expose for the factory, and a little slow-synch fill flash to lift the colours and give some definition to the man (perhaps set the compensation to -1). But you'd need a serious lighting rig to light the whole thing with flash.

Dan

I would have tried a slow exposure with the camera tripod mounted. Various effects of different shutter speeds could be tried.

Yes, should have mentioned the tripod too.

Dan

it was tripod mounted.
As soon as I saw the guy whipping the job off the press I just had to capture everything. the slow exposure was fine but captured nothing of the operator who moved very quickly. The slow sync (1 sec I think) essentially got this image but the press was over exposed and the factory al muddy and 'orrible.
Actually, on reflection this is a bad example. This wasn't the fault of the flash and as you say Dan, I needed a rig to light the rest.
No, just walking around taking snaps, the flash was too puny. I don't use flash either if I can help it, but sometimes, there's no alternative.

Depending on how 'ish' you are in reality, rather than in your hopes, the Samsung equivalent of the Pentax AF540-FGZ is periodically on sale at Amazon for £181 delivered.

It's the SEF-54PZF, and well worth waiting for, at that price, IMHO.

thanks, I was joking about the price of course.
I know absolutely nothing about flashes. That flash looks like a good place to restart my research.

It is functionally, and as far as anyone seems to be able to tell, electronically identical to the Pentax AF540-FGZ, which is the most powerful and newest flash from Pentax that is compatible with the K10D.

The only apparent difference is that it says "Samsung" on the front, instead of "Pentax".

The Pentax badge isn't worth approx £120 to me, on a flash gun at least, so I got the Samsung, and it's been fine.