[czl]

I hope, I'm in the correct forum. I'm looking to purchase a flash unit for my K5 iis. Any thoughts about the Pentax AF360FGZ II compared to the Metz 52 AF-2. I'm a casual photographer with 7 grand kids. Thank you in advance.

---

Last edited by czl; 09-13-2016 at 03:01 PM. Reason: forgot info

[Adam]

Both are great, though the Pentax one has weather sealing and a video light, if that's of any interest to you.

[czl]

Thank you. At the moment there's a $70 difference for the Pentax unit. Something about staying in the Pentax family appeals to me . . . of course .

[mcgregni]

Just to add a few things about the LED light on the newer Pentax flashes .... as Adam says, it can be used for video, as a continuous light source. It can be configured also to serve as a 'catchlight' creator, and the model does not have the traditional 'catchlight panel' that many flashes do because of this LED light. The always front-facing LED light has an advantage as a catchlight because it always faces towards the subject, on the front of the flash. The traditional pull-out panel would turn around with the flash head when using bounce away from the front (and thats always a good way to bounce!), so was useless in that configuration. The LED can also be selected as the only light source during a stills photo exposure, if that is wanted.

czl, download a copy of my Guide for Pentax flash ( use the link in my signature below this post) .... although there is no comparisons with Metz flashes, there is plenty of info on the Pentax units including images of the controls, which should prove helpful.

[C_Jones]

I have the AF360FGZ and it works great. The advantage of the AF360FGZII is that it has left-right swivel and the body is WR (weather sealed). All of my 3 flashes are Pentax.

[Yoda boy]

I would recommend the Pentax flash. I have this unit and use it regularly on both a K5 and a K3 body with no issues whatsoever. Reports are that it is much more robust than the Metz and has the already mentioned bonus features of weather resistance and swiveling. Also, you know that it will work with a Pentax body because that is exactly what it was designed for. "As Good As" is never quite so.

[sawitar]

New Pentax flashes have white AF assist light that makes people squint (fortunately it can be disable and camera will fall back to use build in AF light).

I couldn't find info on Metz 52 AF-2. Did you mean 52 AF-1?

[Saltwater Images]

I have an original AF360FGZ and have been using it for 8 years. This flash has never let me down. It's reasonably compact and pairs well with a Sto-Fen Omni-bounce diffuser. The 360 series is a little underpowered. It works well for P-TTL and is capable as a manual flash. The downside is the lack of swivel capability for portrait orientation bounce. On-camera it's a solid unit.

Now to offer a slightly different perspective. TTL (Through The Lens) flash can let you down at times. It relies on the cameras metering system to emit a controlled burst of light. Since getting more into flash photography - I have moved over to off-camera, radio controlled manual flash but still use manual flashes on camera. These days my go-to flashes are Cactus RF60's and a V6 transceiver. The RF60's are more powerful and have the same guide number as the higher end Pentax AF540FGZ. Experimenting with off-camera manual flash will open up a world of creative options. You could pick up a Cactus RF60 and V6 for less than an AF360FGZ. Throw in a shoot-through umbrella and light stand and you'll have a super kit!

[czl]

Thank you all for your feedback. As always, I find the information in our forum to be very reassuring. I'll stay in the Pentax family.