Pentax P-TTL Flash Comparison

mattdm · 12-03-2008, 08:33 PM

As I'm sure has been apparent from all my recent messages, I'm working on a very thorough comparison of all of the available P-TTL hotshoe-mount flashes for Pentax dSLRs.

I had originally envisioned this as a Google Knol, but the amount of information has quickly grown beyond the "single unit of knowledge" that system is designed to handle.

So, while I think I'll still maintain the Knol site in some fashion (not sure exactly how -- maybe as a truncated version), I've moved instead to my own site:

Pentax P-TTL Flash Comparison: The Definitive Guide.

<http://pttl.mattdm.org/>

This lets me have better organization, better version control, templates for charts, and some javascript widgets in the future.

Let me know what you think, and if you happen to notice any errors or anything lost in translation between the Google-based site and this one please alert me. (And to any other errors as well, of course.)

I'm going to add some different views of the same data in the form of entry-level, mid-range, and high-end specific guides, so people with an idea of what they're looking for already can get to the point more quickly. And I'm going to make a specific page for each flash, containing its flash-burst profile, links to documentation, etc. I'm also open to other ideas!

Arpe · 12-04-2008, 02:44 AM

Looks nice and clean anyway. I'll have a decent look through later, not that I know anything about flashes, but I can spell!!

Clicked on a Google ad too.

mattdm · 12-04-2008, 05:38 AM

Originally Posted by Arpe

Looks nice and clean anyway. I'll have a decent look through later, not that I know anything about flashes, but I can spell!!

Excellent — that's importtent too.

dantuyhoa · 12-04-2008, 10:59 PM

matt

It's nice job you do there ! I learn a few tricks already . Thanks .

Tran

WheresWaldo · 12-05-2008, 07:41 AM

On the Feature page you have SIGMA 530ST marked as needing the Promaster Module to zoom to 105mm.

Great pages, I learned more about flash than I ever thought I wanted to know.

mattdm · 12-05-2008, 08:12 AM

Originally Posted by WheresWaldo

On the Feature page you have SIGMA 530ST marked as needing the Promaster Module to zoom to 105mm.

Good catch — I had 7 and 8 switched around.

The wiki site I'm using has some nice automatic footnoting features, but unfortunately they don't interact well with the tables, so I made the numbered list by hand.

Originally Posted by WheresWaldo

Great pages, I learned more about flash than I ever thought I wanted to know.

Heh.

mattdm · 12-07-2008, 09:00 PM

I've updated the site with individual pages describing each flash in brief, with pros, cons, links to product pages and manuals, and references to other sections on the site which are relevant.

For example, the entry for the Metz 48 AF-1:

Pentax P-TTL Flash Comparison: Metz Mecablitz 48 AF-1 Digital

As always, your feedback is really helpful.

Oh, and I've also added an automatic note at the top of the front page showing when the site was last updated and linked to a list of recent changes. I've already seen a post or two wondering if the site is current, so I added this so you'll always know the answer to that.

mattdm · 12-20-2008, 11:04 AM

I've been slowly adding more information to the site over the past few weeks, by the way. For example, today I created a little section for the F5P sync port on the AF540FGZ...

bobsome · 12-26-2008, 02:24 PM

I have a couple of questions not answered by the guide (which is very thorough, BTW), so I'll post them separately:

The K10D manual states that wireless mode is only available if TWO external flashes are used. Is this really true? That is, if I have one external flash, do I have to have a wired connection?

Thanks,
Bob

bobsome · 12-26-2008, 02:26 PM

Does anyone know anything about the AF540FTZ?

In particular, is it a variant of the AF540FGZ? Is it newer or older? Does it support wireless, P-TTL, etc.?

The Pentax support site does not mention this unit, but it clearly exists...

Any info would be very much appreciated.

Thanks,
Bob

mattdm · 12-26-2008, 06:06 PM

Originally Posted by bobsome

The K10D manual states that wireless mode is only available if TWO external flashes are used. Is this really true? That is, if I have one external flash, do I have to have a wired connection?

It will work with the built-in flash. The trick is that this was added with firmware 1.10. Since the original out-of-box firmware can't do it, the manual is out-of-date.

I should probably put that in the guide, although that section is getting large.

Originally Posted by bobsome

Does anyone know anything about the AF540FTZ?

In particular, is it a variant of the AF540FGZ? Is it newer or older? Does it support wireless, P-TTL, etc.?

The Pentax support site does not mention this unit, but it clearly exists...

I'm not aware of one. There was an AF500FTZ.....

dosdan · 12-29-2008, 05:48 PM

Matt, thanks for your website. Currently, I'm gravitating towards the Sigma EF 530 Super.

While reading about the HSS feature, I found that your explanation did not really indicate why I would use this feature. Under what circumstances would you want to fire faster than 1/180s with flash?

Pentax P-TTL Flash Comparison: High-Speed Sync

Hopefully, at a later stage you be able to include an animated diagram of the the front & rear shutter curtains in action, and shots taken with & without various flash features.

Dan.

mattdm · 12-29-2008, 07:57 PM

Originally Posted by dosdan

Matt, thanks for your website. Currently, I'm gravitating towards the Sigma EF 530 Super.

It's pretty popular and offers both power and features at a very good price.

Originally Posted by dosdan

While reading about the HSS feature, I found that your explanation did not really indicate why I would use this feature. Under what circumstances would you want to fire faster than 1/180s with flash?

In some ways, this is intentional — the focus is on comparing differences in the flashes, not explaining how to use them. However, I think there's definitely room for me to expand on that original idea into more of an overall educational resource.

After the holidays.

ITW · 12-30-2008, 03:38 PM

Thx fore an great guide, helped Me a lot, in my choise of flash.

I only have one question, My plan is now to buy yhe Metz 58 over the Pentax 540.

When I buy the Metz 58 what will I be missing out of, that I would have if i bought the Pentax 540?

I cant se to find any reson to not buy the Metz..
But I no nothing more about these flashes, other than what I have learnd in your guide

*bogiesbad* · 01-01-2009, 07:45 AM

Thank you sooo much for taking the time to put this info together and make it available Matt. You have saved me much time and probaly money as well. Happy New Year to you!