540FGZ Flash Questions

[anomaly]

I have been scouring the board but am not sure I am getting the right answers.

I have a few questions about this flash unit:

1/ On camera, can it fire other flashes wirelessly via a radio or only through p-ttl?

2/ Off camera, is it fired through wireless radio or only through p-ttl?

3/ Is it reliable? I have heard some people complaining and.. well.. I can't afford 2.

4/ With the battery pack, if I use Nimh C batteries, will the recycle time be faster than the reported 4.5 seconds?

5/ What is the effective sync speed when using the flash with a pc cord?

6/ When off camera, can you manually change the flash power from the camera?

Thanks alot. I am having real trouble finding straight answers in the forums.

[anomaly]

Well I feel silly.. just found the manual..

http://www.pentaximaging.com/files/m...540FGZ_web.pdf

Incase anyone else would like to see it.

[anomaly]

As if all of that wasn't enough..

How easy is it to switch between flash channels while shooting? If it could be done with a double press of a button then I could get around slow recycle times by firing the flashes on alternate shots.

I am picturing having the two flashes, one next to the other, or on top of one another, and having one on channel 1 and the other on channel 3. That way I could shoot, press switch channel twice, then shoot again.

But this would only work if you can program a button to do that..

[AVANT]

A lot of the questions in your original post has already been answered through other threads. I recall seeing several threads that answers these exactly question. So I'm going to give you very quick answers to them and recommend that you use the search function
1) Pentax flashes only support optical wireless systems. You can purchase 3rd party radio equipment that work with pentax.
2) See 1.
3) If you can only afford 1, then the answer doesn't really matter. It reliable enough for me.
4) Yes
5) Still 1/180th, cords don't change physical shutter limitation. HSS mode can use all shutter speeds.
6) In P-TTL wireless mode, yes. Camera flash compensation stacks with flash unit's compensation.

In response to your 3rd post, that's not how channel changing is done if you are using the onboard flash as the controller. Changing channels requires the flash unit to be connected to the camera. However, you can use a 3rd flash unit that remains connected to your camera for the ability to change channels quicker. You can use this 3rd unit as a controller so that it's flash will not be included in your actual photo.

[anomaly]

Thanks alot!

I didn't make number 3 clear, sorry. I was asking whether the flash unit is reliable or if it tends to malfunction regularly, because I can't afford to buy a second one, lol.