Veteran Member Registered: August, 2012 Posts: 678 | | Review Date: August 19, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $78.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Flexible adjustments, secondary strobe for fill flash, muti-dedicated design using interchangeable hot shoe modules | | Cons: | No built-in cable connections, no slave mode | |
I bought this flash from Ritz Camera in 1999 when the dedicated flash that had come bundled with my Minolta X-570 SLR gave up the ghost after 15 years of faithful service. Until recently, I had no idea who had actually manufactured this flash but it turns out to be a re-badged Promaster FTD 5600. This is a multi-dedicated unit that can be configured for different brands of cameras by replacing the interchangeable hot shoe module (sold separately, of course). I bought a Minolta module when I got the flash and then was lucky enough to find one for Pentax (Module PX) when I acquired my first DSLR in 2012, shortly before Ritz Camera closed its doors, making this the only piece of gear other than the odd filter that I've been able to move from my 35mm Minolta kit to my digital Pentax kit.
This is a dual-strobe unit with the main strobe mounted on a tilt-and-swivel head with a telescoping fresnel lens to adjust the angle of light dispersion for the type of lens being used. A sliding scale on the back of the flash head shows the effective distance of the flash based on ASA (ISO) and lens type (tele, normal, wide). The smaller secondary strobe can be used as a fill flash to supplement the main strobe. This can be quite useful when the main strobe is angled upward. A switch on the front of the flash allows you to fire both strobes or just the main strobe alone. The secondary strobe cannot be fired separately.
The dedicated hot shoe module for Pentax (Module PX) has a sensor on the front and offers two manual modes (full and 1/16) and an auto mode for TTL metering on those cameras that support it. I'm not sure what the auto mode does on cameras that do not support TTL and many newer ones don't.
Powered by four AA batteries, and designed for on-camera use, the QTB-7500A came out as as the transition from film to digital was beginning and it is on the trigger voltage safe list for DSLRs. It won't fry the camera. One of its minor drawbacks is it doesn't have any cable connectors, nor does it offer an off-camera slave mode. That said, I have used it off-camera with a hot shoe cable that connects between the camera's hot shoe and that of the flash unit.
Since I do most of my shooting with available light and occasionally with the built-in flash, this unit doesn't get a whole lot of use but it always rises to the occasion when I need it.
UPDATE--These flashes are going dirt cheap on eBay these days. I started looking for a module to use this flash with my Nikon D50 and ended up finding the module--with a flash attached--for $6.50! I needed another flash like I needed another hole in my head but at the price, how could I refuse?
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