| Author: | | Pentaxian Registered: March, 2008 Location: Quebec city, Canada Posts: 9,363 | | Review Date: March 26, 2010 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Easy to use, auto mode works well, full swivel, reliable | | Cons: | Underpowered | |
I got this flash at a flea market, along with a Super program. I bought it for next to nothing, not knowing if it worked with the K20D.
In auto mode, it works flawlessly. The camera detects the flash, adjusts the exposure time and aperture accordingly (in P mode), and syncs as expected.
The flash head swivels 90º left, and 180º right. It also tilts from -15º (for macro) to 90º, with hard stops at 0, 45, 60 and 90º.
The flash uses 4 AA batteries, and recycles pretty fast in low power mode. The battery door is flimsy but has not broken off after almost two years of use.
At the back of the flash, you have controls for viewfinder display, shooting mode (manual, auto, TTL) and a test shot button. There is also an exposure slider but it controls nothing, it merely informs the user on how to manually set up the camera. Very useful for manual lenses, and very accurate.
The flash might be slightly underpowered for some, but it's also generally inexpensive on the used market. Its bounce capabilities and ease of use make it a very reliable flash, that I'm glad to own.
| | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: March, 2007 Location: Nove Zamky, Slovakia Posts: 7,183 | | Review Date: March 27, 2010 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | easy to use, "talks" to K digital bodies, bounce and swivel | | Cons: | lack of power, lack of zoom head (even manual) | |
For the price it's excellent flash, but if you are bit demanding you'll run into deep water soon.
Pros:
It's decent size, not too heavy, it can bounce and swivel, the auto settings are reliable, unless you don't bounce, and it communicates with my K10D. For example, with K10/20 in Sv mode, and this flash on changing the ISO on camera results in automatic change of f stop to match the power of the flash.
Cons:
I'd love zoom head on this one (even manual would do), little bit more power would be nice and AF assist too... but then I'd have to pay much much more...
All in all great starting flash unit
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: November, 2007 Location: Eau Claire, WI Posts: 2,717 | | Review Date: April 5, 2010 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Very good value for the $$ | | Cons: | Full power flash only on P-TTL bodies | |
First used on my *ist DS - worked great. Then used in on my K200D - while not a P-TTL flash, it was very easy to regulate.
Now I use it occasionally on my K20D with little to no problems - all in all, a very nice flash and the batteries seem to last forever.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: July, 2008 Location: t'North Posts: 166 | | Review Date: April 11, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $40.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | head adjusts for tilt, swivel, macro etc. Perfect with K10 indoors | | Cons: | Slightly heavy, dodgy looking battery door, limited manual settings | |
how can this be less than a 9 ? It is powerful, has useful A modes and costs almost nothing, even mint in the box with a case that smelt new, it cost me £23 in 2010 ! Seen them on UK ebay go for half that
For almost no money you can have a reasonably powerful, flexible flash that works fine with Digital. In Auto Red or Auto Green modes the flash meters the light itself (amazingly, something later Pentax flashes don't do). In my experience, green mode works fine for portraits etc out to c4m, direct or bounced and red mode is fine for Macro. You may need to tinker a little to get the camera (in M mode) to the right aperture or even use ND filters
Pentax assured me it is perfectly safe with any modern Pentax DSLR and it works a treat on my K10D for indoor portraits - offering great bounce control in landscape or portrait format shooting. Running Eneloops it seems to last for ever and the 8 sec recharge time barely changes before the batteries die
The battery door looks flimsy but seems fine, the mount plate seems badly made but it also fine. To select the -15 degree you must press the button on the side, don't know why they made it that way, but if you don't you will break it
The issues in use I have encountered are:
Owners of K10D (and digital models beyond) complaining it wont work with their camera - from the K10D model TTL sensors were not fitted to Digital bodies so you need to use this in Red or Green A mode
Power can be limiting for some use (eg bounce from wall behind me with a good sized group shot), but this is me expecting too much - the AF280 has a GN of 30 at 28mm/100ISO (not 28 as quoted above) and the "more powerful" 500 is only slightly more at 32;
Manual control is either full power or 1/12 - this is limiting/annoying. 'Thinking' about ambient light and using the Aperture helps. Using a Rogue or similar adds to the control;
The flash head has a slightly tapered shape and does accept accessories well - the JJC diffuser wont stay on and the Rogue can be a bit flaky
For me this is money well spent on my K10
| | | | | | | Junior Member Registered: September, 2009 Location: Si chang mai nong khai province Posts: 33 | | Review Date: September 28, 2010 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | very reliable | | Cons: | none what so ever | |
I have had my 2 flashes for over 20 years now bought them when I bought my 2 645 bodies.Yesterday I ran a few tests with them & my k7 set at 200asa on (p, sv, tv, av, tav & m) 6 shots each flash mode (m, msl, msh, auto red, auto green, & ttl auto.)I am happy with the whole lot of pics I also have the af500ftz but that just blows every thing out. af280t guns work just fine for me.Ian
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: March, 2008 Location: Oslo Posts: 309 | | Review Date: January 10, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Powerful, compatible (and useful) with all Pentax models | | Cons: | Battery door, lack of power selector | |
Simply a very nice and affordable flash. A very good choice for most uses, at least if you don't shoot much manual flash (it only provides 1/1 and 1/~16 power steps in addition to auto and TTL). Auto mode works wonders on non-TTL (and PTTL) -bodies, and the swivel/bounce makes it very flexible. The downwards 'macro' tilt is a nice touch, it makes a quite allright combo with e.g. the Tamron 90/2.8 Di, even at 1:1.
The battery door, as mentioned, is somewhat of a weak spot. It seems to be worsened by batteries which are a bit longer than the 'standard' (typically Ni-MHs), but as long as the door may be pushed flush with the body, there is a way to correct it easily. In the picture, I've put two small pieces of wood cut from a match underneath the plastic 'spring'. My pieces are a little too big, but seems to work very well.
 | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: January, 2011 Location: The Canadian WetCoast Posts: 384 | | Review Date: March 24, 2011 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Simplicity & reliability | | Cons: | Long recycle time on Full power | |
This is the Energizer Bunny of my flash collection - just keep going and going for years without a problem. It works fine with dSLRs on the red or green Auto mode as well. I agree with other reviewers that the battery compartment design can be improved, but mine never pop open accidentally.
Long full power recycling time is the only issue I have with this petite & sleek flash.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: February, 2010 Location: Northern Michigan Posts: 6,176 | | Review Date: May 19, 2011 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Durable, inexpensive, produces excellent light | | Cons: | Only two levels of variable output | |
Of the older, pre-P-TTL flashes, this is one that works best with Pentax's digital cameras. In P and Tv modes (and several other modes besides) the camera will set the appropriate aperture when one of the auto-flash settings are chosen on the flash. The camera also notes, in the viewfinder, when the flash is ready to fire. This provides a level of automation otherwise difficult to find in a non-P-TTL flash.
Despite the limited feature set (only 2 auto-flash settings, only 2 variable output settings), it's a surprisingly versatile flash. The low variable output setting, for example, is very useful in macro work; and sometimes I have used this flash in preference to my Sunpak 333, with it's five levels of manual output, simply because of the better light produced by AF280T.
The flash becomes even more versatile when combined with the AFW1 and AFT1 flash coverage adapters. The AF280T is fixed for 28mm coverage (on FF). Being able to change the angle of coverage is very useful. The AFW1 not only increases coverage to 24mm, but diffuses the light, producing better results.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: April, 2009 Location: Ohio Posts: 293 | | Review Date: October 29, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $80.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | TTL compatibilty from Pentax LX to most of last AF 35mm SLR cameras | | Cons: | No future P-TTL compatibility with most Pentax DSLR cameras | |
PENTAX AF 280 T TTL Electronic Flash Unit
The best TTL electronic flash produced for the LX, A series and PZ, Z, ZX, MZ, *ist 35mm film SLR camera models and even PENTAX 645 film cameras. Additionally, It can work as non - TTL dedicated automatic unit for earlier PENTAX cameras (and with Pentax DSLRs such as the K10D) and even manually with any other camera with a hot-shoe. It’s flash head can be redirected vertically, horizontally or both to bounce it’s light form ceilings, walls and even upper wall and ceiling corners.
It’s best features:
Guide number: 90, in feet at ISO 100
Flash covered angle: equivalent to 28mm lens in 35mm film format; equivalent to 45mm lens in 645 format
TTL Auto range: 0.8 to 65 ft with 50mm f1.4 lens
Dedicated Automatic mode with 2 level auto-aperture settings that can be used with Pentax DSLRs
Bounce angle capability: Vertical: -15 degrees to 90 degrees; Horizontal, right: 0 to 180 degrees; Horizontal, left: 0 to 90 degrees
My customers and friends can attest to the excelent results of the photos I shoot for them with the flash set to TTL and hotshue-mounted to my Pentax LX, ZX-5n and ZX-L.
Currently, the areas that need some concern are the TTL - Auto -Manual switch (may break and leave you stuck on the last flash mode set) and the Phillips screws holding the hot shoe (they may unscrew due to vibration over time and get lost). Even if the flash can be currently be used in non-TTL dedicated mode (Red or Green), it can be a very usable flash unit that can be mounted in the hot shoe of even a PENTAX digital SLR camera with the shutter speed set manually to X - synchronization speed or used in manual mode as a bounce light connected to an optical slave flash trigger while you set your built in flash at -1 or -1.5 power.
Hint: setup your Pentax DSLR camera to Aperture-Priority, turn on flash and it will turn shutter-speed to x-sync or slower for you to try flash and ambient photos.
Shooting macro? The AF280T can be inclined downwards (-15 degrees) to shoot those subjects with direct light if bounce can't fill the bill.
Portraits? You can use it as main bounce light source alone or with a cheap slave flash trigger in addition to your own built-in flash used as lower power fill light.
Of course, is not as powerful as later Pentax offerings and won't do P-TTL as most recent flash units, but is more powerful than built-in camera units. If you still have one, don't discard it; if you have some change, get it to give it a try.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: October, 2008 Location: Great Plain, Hungary Posts: 204 | | Review Date: January 27, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $20.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Very versatile, spot on exposure with my cameras | | Cons: | Bit slow on recycling time | |
I had had no flash until I bought my istD years ago. Then I thought I need a flash so I bought a powerful Sigma EF 500 DG ST that I soon regretted. The Sigma was a nightmare to use, exposures were over-underexposed in a very unpredictable way. Our relationship lasted for about a year of which the Sigma spent its time in the box 360 days 
Then I sold it and bought the AF280T for its bounce/swivel head and simple operation and felt no regret since. I use it with my film cameras and the ist D without any problem.
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: March, 2007 Location: Long Island, N.Y. Posts: 1,124 | | Review Date: January 29, 2012 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Dependable Reliable Predictable unit | | Cons: | coming up on 30 years old - NONE | |
Bought as the primary flash for my new Pentax Super Program, way back then. It's been dependable and reliable ever since. Last year my two year old Af360FGZ need to go in for repairs and (of course) I needed a flash for a nephew's college project. I dug out the old AF280T, put in new batteries, set it for auto and shot away. Perfect results first shot and (almost) every shot.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: July, 2011 Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Posts: 647 | | Review Date: February 3, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Seems well built, powerful, great swivel/tilt feature | | Cons: | Battery door is the weakest part [we always say that, but it resisted years and years, so...], mine came with some kind of trouble to turn on (i have a trick to turn it on) | |
So, my AF280T came "dead". It arrived and i was very excited, i put some batteries and...nothing. Turns out i needed to let the capacitor charge for a couple of minutes, and then i kept messing with the buttons, and then suddenly it turned on.
Now, like 6 days after it arrived, im facing a problem : the only way my flash turns on is letting it there on for like 15 seconds, then i put the on-off switch stuck in the middle of the two positions, and then press it to on again.
But besides that, it's great. The bounce feature rocks! It creates some shadows that are amazing, and coupling that with a good retouching plugin, like Imagenomic's Portraiture, you can create some professional looking portraits easily anywhere. Highly recommended
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: January, 2012 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 951 | | Review Date: September 25, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $30.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Can be had very cheaply, works perfect with TTL. | | Cons: | Hates rechargeable batteries, manual mode near worthless. | |
With its era taken into consideration this flash is excellent. I use it with my Super Program and even picked up a second one dirt cheap because it came with a hot shoe cord (allowing me to use 2 at once) and the wide angle and telephoto adapters I wanted.
The swivel and pivot action are great, and quite critical for bounce flash. I have no idea why anyone would be stupid enough to design a flash without them.
The battery door issue seems to come from people repeatedly forcing the door shut without releasing the latch, if you treat closing it like you do opening it and use the release lever first, the latch will essentially last forever though the spring pressure does make it bulge a bit.
This flash HATES rechargables, most if not all the issues with slow charge times or not turning on are caused by rechargable batteries, its lucky to even power on most of the time. Stick regular AA's in it and it works like a champ. If you need this flash enough to be guzzling batteries you really needed a newer one anyways. I have heard reports that higher end rechargables like Eneloops or whatever they are called will work ok with this but I stick with the buy anywhere AA's as they always work better.
The whopping 2 settings for manual mode make this near worthless in my opinion for manual stuff, and it works ok in low and high auto mode with a newer DSLR but I don't quite have the knack of it on my K20D yet, its a bit clumsy. Haven't tried it on the K1000 since the darker viewfinder and reduced low light metering ability make it not worth while for me to use it that way.
Where it really shines is where it was intended to be, stuck on top of a Super Program and set to TTL mode.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: February, 2013 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 391 | | Review Date: March 2, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $550.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Swivel head, easy functions, compatible with just about every Pentax camera | | Cons: | None really | |
I got this from my grandfather, and at first I wasn't a big fan of it. I was going to get a new flash from Pentax (which was well over $300) all the third party ones were no less than $200. One thing I really like about this flash is the swivel adjustment of the flash head. Up, down, left, right. I also really like the fact that it is compatible with nearly every Pentax camera ever made, with the loss of some minor functions, that most people wouldn't use any way. I'd say this flash is still the single best flash unit you can buy for a Pentax camera, and it is far cheaper than any other unit out there, at about $60 or less. Mine was purchased when it was first released, back.. Many, many years ago. So, before you say this is out dated, spend the small amount of money for the best Pentax flash available.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: June, 2011 Location: Berlin Posts: 197 | | Review Date: November 23, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | reliable, flexible rotating head | | Cons: | a little big, two power levels | |
My use
I used this on my film camera and also my K-r (for macro setup). It's very good and easy to use -- as long as you understand the instructions on the rear. Most of time I used the "Low" mode to take pictures in short range (~ 8m), so I didn't need to wait for the flash to recycle.
I've sold this flash, because I don't have much chance to use it. I will miss it.
Cons
The flash looks a little big. My cameras are all small (P30, Kr/K30), and it's a bit ugly to have flash on the top.
This flash doesn't have P-TTL so you have to use M-mode in your digital camera. However, it has TTL to use on the film camera, e.g, P30.
The battery door is not persistent. It's almost broken in my case.
Pros
Cheap, just works. And just work very well on film camera. Very flexible rotating head. The marco angle is not very good for long lens, though.
No high speed sync for daylight shooting (pls. use ND filters instead  )
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