| Author: | | Senior Member Registered: August, 2011 Location: San Diego Posts: 228 | | Review Date: January 30, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $1.50
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Size, controls, power | | Cons: | none | |
This has everything you could ask for in a small flash.
| | | | | | | Forum Member Registered: December, 2008 Location: Fishtown, Philly PA Posts: 55 | | Review Date: July 27, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $15.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | price, size, ease of use | | Cons: | no tilt or swivel or easily found diffuser | |
bought a few of these on ebay for "strobist" type use.
they have more manual settings that other vintage pentax units so should be useful for cheap trigger set up for product photography.
took one of them on a recent trip to england in lieu of my metz af-58-1 because I wanted a light kit and didn't want to worry about carting around a $400 flash unit while travelling (security).
used the af-200t for some group shots of students on a study abroad trip and as well as some dark interior candids and it was perfect for that application.
I also used the vintage pentax wide angle diffuser (AFW-1) to take a little harshness away and that made it work just fine for the interior candids-- with the wide end of the 18-55 kit lens and the auto settings on the flash.
I think this is a great value and you can find them for less than $20 on ebay.
so, another nice value from pentax in the used arena.
Just be careful when you buy, the contacts can erode if batteries are left in them for long periods and I had one unit show up DOA for that reason.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: April, 2009 Location: Ohio Posts: 293 | | Review Date: April 30, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $42.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | compact, wider manual power settings | | Cons: | fixed flash head, not enough power | |
The AF 200T is a versatile entry-level analog TTL flash unit designed for full use for the Pentax LX, ZX/MZ series 35mm film SLR cameras and possibly workable with the ist-D DSLR. With later DSLR cameras it can be used as a dedicated automatic unit with 2 level auto-aperture settings. When powering on, it switched the shutter-speed of all electronic powered cameras to X-synchronization or slightly slower so flash pictures didn't come out 'cut' due to missed synchronization.
On TTL mode, it read subject light from the same camera sensor on the LX, Super Program/Super A and was quite accurate within its range.
I used it on my mostly film days and it was very useable at close distances (10 feet or less) and as a flash-fill unit for daylight shooting with a variety of power settings from full to 1/8 power. Like its bigger sibling, you can use it off camera with a Pentax-supplied or third-party hot-shoe to flash cable.
I disposed of it before I got my Pentax DSLR, but based on a similar unit that I still use, the bigger AF 280T, I can tell you that it can be usable as dedicated automatic unit (meaning that you take camera of AUTO ISO, setup ISO to same fixed value in camera as in the flash, be sure the dedicated aperture is matched in both flash and camera and power-on the flash unit letting it set the x-sync speed automatically). Hint: setup your Pentax camera to Aperture-Priority, any fixed ISO you like. If I was going to acquire one of the new Pentax K DSLR cameras without built-in flash, I may get one of them to match.
Of course, the AF 200T is not as powerful and cannot swivel the flash head as the AF 280T or most recent flash units, but built-in units can't either. If you still have one, don't discard it; if you have some little change, get it to give it a try.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: April, 2012 Location: Melbs Posts: 1,239 | | Review Date: February 8, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $25.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | they are all but forgotten | | Cons: | light build | |
I stumbled upon these looking for another AF200s The T's of course have manual control on the back which was what I was really after,
Initially I expected an update on the AF200s body, they are sightly different, the T's being just smaller and lighter but with the GN staying the same.
The built quality feels a little less secure if one can say as much. The door to the batteries feels a little thinner and just all round they give the impression of being just a titch more delicate.
Having said that, I bought 2 second hand for $50 and they work a treat, For a cheap "strobist" flash that will work in TTL when you are lazy, these appear to be great. I'll update when my wireless triggers arrive and I can begin having some proper fun with them.
#EDIT!
How silly of me. They do not work in TTL because TTl is not PTTL  But that is ok. It really is.
Because they are great as manual little flashboxes!! Consistent, recycle times is instant at 1/4 and 1/8th power, and they are light enough to hang off the top of some cheap Chinese wireless triggers.
Excellent!
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Site Supporter Registered: June, 2008 Location: Florida Hill Country Posts: 17,377 | | Review Date: June 17, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $8.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | form factor | | Cons: | non swivel | |
Has ttl capabilities and works well on my SuperProgram, MZ-3 and *istD. Also has auto thyristor modes and fully manual with 4 power level settings.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: May, 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Posts: 12,991 | | Review Date: April 17, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $15.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Easy manual control, small and light, good build quality | | Cons: | No tilt or swivel | |
While this flash is not going to compete with modern flashes with many more features and higher power it is an incredible bargain for what it is. It would not deserve a '9' going up against other classes of flashes but in its niche I think it deserves the rating.
I use this off camera on manual settings. The lack of tilt / swivel doesn't hurt since I mount it on a swivel bracket on top of a light stand. This is one of the few Pentax flashes with easy manual selection of power levels. It has 4 settings from Full to 1/8 power. The 20 guide number doesn't hurt in this application because you can move the flash around and for product photography it works great.
Although I normally use it in manual, off-camera, and I think that is where it shines, it does have ttl and could be used on-camera. It would work fine in small settings where a big guide number is not needed. The small size and light weight are a big advantage here. In larger settings or outdoors I think it would be very under powered.
These are available used for very little and mine has been very reliable.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: May, 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 1,418
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 27, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $15.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Light weight, small size, manual output control, cheap | | Cons: | head doesn't turn or tilt | |
I mainly use them (I've got 3 of them) with radio trigger, the manual output control make them very easy to use. I use it several time on K10D hotshoe also. set the ISO value then set the F stop as shown on the flash and shot away. 
due to the small size I can pact three of them all together in a slot and they are light so I won't feel tired at all carry them around. Of course they are cheap too :P
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