[Azzy]

well I gave the flash too much praise too early. It already stopped working today, first time I'm using it heavily.
The flash would not fire most of the time now even with fresh set of batteries. The indicator light that says the flash is ready is lit but the flash still won't fire even on manual mode. I sent email to their support to see how can obtain warranties.

[DaveHolmes]

Oh no!!

That's not good!

Let us know how Gadget Infinity resolve this...

[Azzy]

By "heavy use" I mean ~35 shots in 20 min (which doesn't really qualify as heavy use IMO) before it acted up for the first time which persisted until now.
After turning it on the ready light is on and I can hear the flash charging but it seem to have a mind on its own, by that I mean the flash seems to fire randomly...it could work 2-3 times in a row but then it won't work for the next 20 shots. Even when put on manual mode, 1/32 power (lowest) and me pressing the test button it still won't fire until I press the test button for about 20 times.


Very annoying because the flash is reporting to K-5 that it's ready so the shutter speed is set to 1/180 automatically but it's not firing so all the shots are pitch dark.

It was exposed at -15c temp for a bit when I was waiting for subway but all usage were indoor, plus batteries were fully charged. Tested it when I got home with other set of freshly charged eneloops with same issue.

Me thinks the control board is fritzed

I checked on gadget infinity site, they should allow return but looks like I'm gonna have to pay shipping. If not that would give me a ground to file dispute with paypal

[jeztastic]

Oh man... :-( Bad news... I was all geared up to buy this and the V5 triggers in one go. Sorry to hear your troubles, keep us posted!

[DaveHolmes]

:-( Bad news... I was all geared up to buy this and the V5 triggers in one go.

If the V5's are half as good as the V4's (which I love) then you should still go for them...

[Rondec]

v5s are great. Sounds like the flash is a little too cheaply made to last...

[Azzy]

Here's reply from gadget infinity:

Dear xxxx,

Thank you for contacting us, we're terribly sorry to hear about this.

Does the flash power up when you insert new batteries? Can you hear the charging sound of the capacitor? Aside from rechargeable batteries, could you also try a set Alkaline batteries? Please ensure to use the same type of battery in the flash.

Does the Zoom motor moves when you adjust the zoom on your camera lens? Or does the zoom motor moves when manually adjust to other zoom ranges?

Don’t worry. You are certainly covered by our 'guarantee policy' listed on our website. This is:

(1) We accept return of defective or unsatisfactory item(s) within 30 days of purchase;
(2) Upon receiving the returned item, we would either send you a replacement or refund the item price to you;
(3) The cost for returning the item(s) shall be borne by you. We will only be responsible for the shipping cost of the replacement.

You can send back for a tested replacement unit.

For all Cactus products the above policy is valid for up to 1 year.

To return, please send the item back to:

Harvest One Limited
9D On Shing Ind. Bldg.,
2-16 Wo Liu Hang Road,
Fo Tan, Hong Kong
(REPLACEMENT ORDER xxxx)


Please include a copy of our full correspondence, in the returned package for our easy handling. We will contact you within 2 working days upon item receipt.

Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you soon!


Best regards,
Antonio

Harvest One Limited
9D On Shing Industrial Building
2-16 Wo Liu Hang Road
Fo Tan, Hong Kong

============

I replied asking them to cover the shipping fee since the flash stopped working after 2 days of use or if they have a depot in US/CA where I can ship to instead of to HK. Will have to wait until tomorrow due to time difference

[DaveHolmes]

(3) The cost for returning the item(s) shall be borne by you. We will only be responsible for the shipping cost of the replacement.

I replied asking them to cover the shipping fee since the flash stopped working after 2 days of use

I should hope so... Even Amazon would arrange colection of a faulty product! That's just not right!

[Azzy]

mailed back the item today, cost $20

[Wrocky]

Azzy,

I really hope you get this resolved. My Cactus AF-50 came in on Tuesday, and aside from a few test shots to make sure it works on my K-x, I haven't had time to try it out yet. Work, wife, kids, dog, snow storms, etc. are keeping me too busy. Hopefully I'll get it out this weekend.

I chose to buy a cactus flash based on some good reviews of this and their other products. For the price, especially considering that there are no import duties or taxes, it's about half the total price of the Metz 50-AF-1 that I was considering.

Please let us know how this gets resolved.

[mattdm]

I expect that their profit margins are well under that $20 shipping cost. Rather than bearing that risk and eating the cost when they ship a bad unit, they're asking consumers to take the price risk. They're upfront about the return policy, so if you're willing to make that gamble, I guess that's okay.

[Azzy]

Azzy,

I really hope you get this resolved. My Cactus AF-50 came in on Tuesday, and aside from a few test shots to make sure it works on my K-x, I haven't had time to try it out yet. Work, wife, kids, dog, snow storms, etc. are keeping me too busy. Hopefully I'll get it out this weekend.

I chose to buy a cactus flash based on some good reviews of this and their other products. For the price, especially considering that there are no import duties or taxes, it's about half the total price of the Metz 50-AF-1 that I was considering.

Please let us know how this gets resolved.

sure, I really liked the flash so I hope my replacement would come in soon. Hopefully this is just a simple QC hiccup. I hope your copy works fine

I expect that their profit margins are well under that $20 shipping cost. Rather than bearing that risk and eating the cost when they ship a bad unit, they're asking consumers to take the price risk. They're upfront about the return policy, so if you're willing to make that gamble, I guess that's okay.

yep support is pretty good, prompt reply as well w/o broken english

[callmeraymon]

I would like to know how fast you can get the HSS to work. I've always been to cheap to pay the 200+ dollars for a P-TTL flash and would love to be able to use the flash above 1/180th, say 1/1600th.

[mattdm]

What do you need HSS for?

[callmeraymon]

Say I'm outside and want to expose at ISO800, 1/1600, f.6.7 with flash to brighten my subject.