[lovemehate]

I think ill go ahead and get the 560. I liked the reviews I saw On It, well they both got great reviews but It has that zoom so that may come In handy later

[jjhenders]

I don't know if anyone is still reading this thread (I am, for the second time--still a lot of things I don't get), but I have 2 questions: On Amazon it lists the Sigma 530 dg st for canon and nikon for around $120 and for pentax at $300. Is it the same flash? Can I buy one that says for canon or nikon and use it on my Kx? Second question, I find the manual flashes to be an intruguing way to go, but in the real world of trying to capture kids with all their movement (or anything else that moves quickly and a lot), is a manual flash a practical thing to buy? I can see it as being useful for things sitting still, but I'm not so sure about moving things.

[jjhenders]

follow up to previous questions, regarding the sunpak models that were suggested, do they also have to be labeled as pentax specific? I suppose this same question would apply to any flash I might see on ebay or elsewhere. Thanks, Jim

[Frogfish]

jjhenders - the pricing should be almost identical. At that price difference it's not the same unit. No you can NOT use a unit labelled Canon / Nikon on your Pentax camera (power values, for one thing, will be different) - same applies to any flash unit with TTL, however the same doesn't apply to manual flashes - THOUGH YOU MUST MAKE SURE THE VOLTAGE IS COMPLIANT WITH YOUR CAMERA !

Manual flashes can be an excellent, and much cheaper, way to get into strobing. However whether you need P-TTL or not depends on your specific uses.

At home the Yongnuo 560 (and any other manual flash like it with a rotating zoom head) is great because it has excellent controls and you will want to be bouncing the light of ceilings and walls anyway - for direct light just use your pop-up with a little cloth or other diffuser on it and control the amount of power output via your on-camera flash control.

Outdoors any dedicated flash unit will have far more power to throw the light further.

Moving Subjects : Simplifying matters to an extreme : flash freezes the subject (your shutter speed doesn't matter so much with moving subjects - the flash is only on for about 1/10,000 of a second and it's THAT that freezes motion.

You'll get more 'keepers' with P-TTL as it automatically controls the flash output for subject distance, but you'll still get a lot of great shots with a manual flash unit.

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Last edited by Frogfish; 04-25-2011 at 03:47 AM.

[jjhenders]

Thank you. That was quite helpful. Manual flashes don't have to be camera specific. PTTL and TTL flashes are camera make specific. Does anyone happen to know off hand about the Nikon SB 24, 25, 26, 28? Are they fully manual or semi-automatic and do I have to buy a Nikon SB for Pentax or can I buy just any Nikon SB? Thanks.

[Frogfish]

Nikons are made for Nikons ... not for other brands so I'd forget them (voltage may be different too).

[dasuhu]

Thank you. That was quite helpful. Manual flashes don't have to be camera specific. PTTL and TTL flashes are camera make specific. Does anyone happen to know off hand about the Nikon SB 24, 25, 26, 28? Are they fully manual or semi-automatic and do I have to buy a Nikon SB for Pentax or can I buy just any Nikon SB? Thanks.

I just ordered a Nikon SB-28 from Adorama. From what I read they should work perfectly fine on manual and auto mode, although its ttl mode doesn't work with Pentax. Nikon flashes are made for the Nikon hotshoe in terms of their pins, but the center pin lines up, which makes it good enough for auto and manual (the other pins that don't line up are for ttl) on Pentax body. The voltages are safe for use on camera hotshoe.

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Last edited by dasuhu; 04-25-2011 at 02:36 PM.

[jjhenders]

I think one thing that is tripping me up is the difference between auto (you say the nikon can be used on auto) and ttl or pttl. To me, auto means you put it on the camera and take a picture and everything comes out okay without setting anything. Like the way auto on your camera is supposed to work. How is this different from pttl?

[selar]

Auto uses a light sensor on the flash itself to measure the light reflected back from the subject. You dial in the aperture and iso into the flash, and it stops producing light when the sensor on the flash measures the light reflected back and it judges enough light has been shed on the subject.
With TTL the camera measures the light hitting the film and tells the flash when to stop.

P-TTL is similar to TTL except that instead of measuring off the sensor, the camera uses a pre flash to measure off the focusing screen.

[SOldBear]

Nikons are made for Nikons ... not for other brands so I'd forget them (voltage may be different too).

You'll be missing a lot for not considering Nikon SB units. I have about a dozen flash units, only two copies of Pentax 540 are made for Pentax (but can be used on other cameras thanks to auto mode).

Does anyone happen to know off hand about the Nikon SB 24, 25, 26, 28? Are they fully manual or semi-automatic and do I have to buy a Nikon SB for Pentax or can I buy just any Nikon SB?

SB 24/25/26/28 are great. They all:

- are solidly built.
- have auto mode with 6 or 7 aperture settings. The light sensor is very accurate.
- have manual mode with 6 or 7 ratio settings.
- have heads that can bounce and swivel.
- have zoom head from 20mm (or 24mm) to 85mm (35mm format FOV equivalence).

Other SB units are usable too. But they don't have as many features (e.g. SB-16 has less settings in auto mode and in manual mode), or are less powerful, or require special batteries (e.g. SB-22).

There is no such thing as "Nikon SB for Pentax." Nikon flashes are built specifically for Nikon cameras. Other cameras (e.g. Pentax) can use SB flashes but not all of the features.

[lovemehate]

wow keeps making me want to ask more questions lol, I havent ordered my Yn-560 yet...but for my first flash I think Itll be great.

however...I had 2 questions,

1) can It be set to stay on at all times? (like a light bulb)
2) am assuming Its safe for the Pentax K-x hot shoe....right?


thanks again to everyone who has read this and helped!

[jjhenders]

thank you selar and soldbear for your explanations. both very helpful and i actually think I might get it. I remember seeing the nikon recommendations in another thread, soldbear, but it's a bit confusing since it seems most flashes you have to buy the one that is built 'for pentax'. But with the nikon sb's, they are all the same and can be used on any camera. Are there others like that? I'm thinking the sb flashes might be the way to go since there are lots of them and for pretty good prices on ebay. Thanks.

[selar]

The best flash under $100 new that i got was the Sigma 530 ST. Powerful flash with P-TTL.

[newarts]

I use a $100 P-TTL Rokinon flash on camera or with a cord. It works well.
Rokinon TTL Pentax-compatible Digital Camera Flash | Overstock.com

[SOldBear]

wow keeps making me want to ask more questions lol, I havent ordered my Yn-560 yet...but for my first flash I think Itll be great.

however...I had 2 questions,

1) can It be set to stay on at all times? (like a light bulb)
2) am assuming Its safe for the Pentax K-x hot shoe....right?

(I'm not trying to persuade you from buying the YN-560, just write it as I see it).

One of the drawback of the YN-560 is the lack of auto mode. Of course you can manipulate the aperture and the ISO settings on the camera, plus the power ratio on the flash to achieve the result you want. But it takes time, and life is full of things we can't predict. How many times during a wedding reception do you have time to stop and estimate the distance from you to the people you want to photograph?

I'd rather have a flash with auto mode and no p-TTL than one with p-TTL and no auto mode. This is particularly true if you use multiple cameras of different brand (as I do). For example, something like a Metz 48AF-1, because of the lack of auto mode, is of very limited use with my Canon G5 and my Ricoh GX200.

...t's a bit confusing since it seems most flashes you have to buy the one that is built 'for pentax'. But with the nikon sb's, they are all the same and can be used on any camera. Are there others like that? I'm thinking the sb flashes might be the way to go since there are lots of them and for pretty good prices on ebay.

You don't have to buy Nikon SB flashes. They are not the only ones that are of great value. In addition, many people have recognized their value thus the prices have been going up.....

Flashes from Metz, Sunpak, Vivitar, ... are also good. Here are excerpts from my post in another thread:

"If you don't mind a handle mount flash, I suggest Sunpak 555. The running price is about $70- $80 a decent used copy. It is powerful (GN 160 @ ISO 100 I think), has 7 aperture settings in auto mode, and 7 power settings (full to 1/64).

If you'd rather have a shoemount flash, I suggest a Nikon SB 24/25/26/28. Their prices vary from $50 - $100. SB-26 is worth a bit more because of its built-in optical slave.

More reasonably priced are Sunpak 422D (or 30DX in Europe), 433D, and 444D (or 36DX in Europe), or Super 383 (or its clone Quantaray Q383). They are compact and powerful for their size (GN from 100 to 140 @ ISO 100), has 5 power ratio settings (full to 1/16), and 3 aperture settings in auto mode. They run about $40 - $50 a copy. I'm not sure why the Super 383 normally costs more than the 4xxD. IMHO, the 4xxD is of equal or better value. The 422D has "power save" mode that turns off the flash after some inactive time. You may not want that in a wireless setup.

All units mentioned above have safe trigger voltage and head that can bounce & swivel.

If you need power, check out the handle-mount Sunpak 622, Metz 60-CT4, Metz 45-CL series. They are very well built and feature-rich, but tend to cost more. The Metz 45-CT series costs less but may have high trigger voltage."