Site Supporter Registered: October, 2008 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 8,093
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 7, 2015 | Not Recommended | Price: $10.00
| Rating: 5 |
| Pros: | Small, light and inexpensive. | | Cons: | Under powered and on the flimsy side. | |
Pentax in the 1970’s had a great lineup of cameras and lenses, however when it came to flashes things were not so good. Until the very late 70’s Pentax had a total of ONE flash available, if you lived in the USA during the Honeywell period then the total was zero!
The AF-16 was released in 1977 and it replaced the Autorobo as the only flash in the Pentax line-up. The MFSP in January 1978 was $49.95.
Pentax obviously went for small & economical when it released the AF-16, keeping with the “M Series” miniature trend. The AF-16 was half the size, one third the weight, half the cost and used two instead of four AA batteries compared to the Autorobo flash it replaced.
Unfortunately the AF-16 is pretty weak in flash power (GN 16) and you are going to have to either sacrifice DOF or use a higher ISO to compensate. Remembering that when this flash was released most folks shot 64 or 100 ASA film. Shooting at a subject with a typical distance of 10 feet or 3 meters, you would have to set your lens to f/4 with 64 ISO or f/5.6 with 100 ISO film. That limits your DOF with most lenses and the older Autorobo was one stop better (GN 24).
The AF-16 was typical of flashes of that period with two Auto settings and a manual. The AF-16 is not capable of communicating with any camera and does not swivel.
I found my AF-16 at a local camera swap meet and it looks like it was used only a few times and came with its original soft case. I was hoping it would be a smaller alternative to the heavier Autorobo flash that I had been using on my “K Series” film bodies. But after trying it out and checking its specifications, the AF-16 is just too under powered to be your main flash. The only situation I would ever use it for might be a head shot with a portrait lens using 400 ISO b&w film. That way I can get decent DOF and distance.
Otherwise I’ll keep using the older Autorobo as the main flash on my “K Series” film bodies.
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Veteran Member Registered: September, 2010 Location: Somewhere in the Southern US Posts: 12,285 | | Review Date: March 15, 2012 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Small | | Cons: | very limited functionality and weak | |
I got the AF16 in a box of lenses and other equipment I bought as a sort of grab-bag of Pentax equipment so it effectively cost me nothing.
First the good:
- It works on the K-x and K-5 and reports are that the voltage is not a problem with these cameras
- Sync speed is 1/60th
- It has 3 settings - manual - red - blue
- it sits higher than the built in flashes and therefore is slightly less likely to result in red eye but more importantly it can shoot over larger diameter lenses without a shadow
- its slightly more powerful than the K-x flash
- it takes 2 AA batteries
- its small so it doesn't take much space in the bag
Now the less than good:
- It's weak at 16
- It's not going to interact with the camera like modern flashes
For free its not a bad flash to have to set off slaves or to shoot over a larger diameter lens.
10/19/18: It's been a few years and the flash has seen occasional use primarily on my Q's. It works, keeps working, and it's more powerful than the built-in for the Q. It can also shoot over the 10-24 and other ultra-wide lenses hoods as needed for fill light. Given it is now 40+ years old - it's a reliable, basic, flash.
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