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07-19-2012, 02:16 PM   #1
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Af540

Hello,

I just got the AF540 and I must say it is complicated.

Can some one point me or provide a detailed explanation to the following:

1. Put it on auto so it will work automatically?
2. how do I use it as fill flash? what is fill flash and what situation I use it and how to configure the Flash.
3.how to configure the flash when shooting evens like a club party?


Thank you.

07-19-2012, 02:24 PM   #2
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I don't have this flash so I can't answer all of it.

2. Fill flash is when you are shooting in broad daylight (preferably against the sun), and your subject who is standing in front of the sun is severely underexposed due to the sun overpowering from the back, causing the meter to think that it's going to underexpose the background if it doesn't compensate, it underexpose the front to balance out the back... With any flash gun, including your built-in camera flash, you can shoot the subject with the flash brightening it up while exposing perfectly for the bright background. You can play around with EV compensation steps by doing -2 if you feel the flash is brightening up the subject/foreground too much, or turn it up to +2 or more if you feel like it's still too dark.

Here's a picture of pre-fill flash and after-fill flash I just google image'd up. (Not my picture).


3. For shooting at a club, I would rather bump up the ISO over using a flash, however if you are shooting up-close shots of people and don't want to turn up the ISO, you can use flash for that. Why not just use P TTL?
07-19-2012, 04:22 PM - 1 Like   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by karelson Quote
1. Put it on auto so it will work automatically?
Put the On switch all the way to the right. Put the switch between the On/Off switch and the round dial all the way to the left so that it's lined up under the green flash arrows. Put the switch on the ride side of the body, by the battery compartment, up so that the yellow/gold color shows. Press the Format button until you see the screen display "Digital" in the upper left-hand corner. Put the switch on the right side of the flash body down so that the gray/silver color shows. Press the Mode button until you see the screen display "P-TTL" in the upper left-hand corner. Make sure you have the diffuser slid into it's storage slot. Press the Zoom button until you see "A. Zoom" display in the top middle of the screen. You should be set to go.

Good luck!
07-19-2012, 04:46 PM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by TomTextura Quote
Put the On switch all the way to the right. Put the switch between the On/Off switch and the round dial all the way to the left so that it's lined up under the green flash arrows. Put the switch on the ride side of the body, by the battery compartment, up so that the yellow/gold color shows. Press the Format button until you see the screen display "Digital" in the upper left-hand corner. Put the switch on the right side of the flash body down so that the gray/silver color shows. Press the Mode button until you see the screen display "P-TTL" in the upper left-hand corner. Make sure you have the diffuser slid into it's storage slot. Press the Zoom button until you see "A. Zoom" display in the top middle of the screen. You should be set to go.

Good luck!
Wow! Probably easier to do than write but whatever happened to "Set the camera for normal exposure, ensure the shutter speed does not exceed the flash sync speed (if it exceeds flash sync fill flash is not possible), set the flash to 1/4 power, go take some pictures?"

07-19-2012, 04:49 PM   #5
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Several helpful video tutorials about built-in and on-camera flash (none are Pentax specific though):
(related to fill flash)
(covers fill flash)

There's going to be some overlap between these videos. And if you don't like the host, well, sorry.

Last edited by TomTextura; 07-19-2012 at 04:59 PM.
07-19-2012, 05:14 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by Pioneer Quote
Wow! Probably easier to do than write but whatever happened to "Set the camera for normal exposure, ensure the shutter speed does not exceed the flash sync speed (if it exceeds flash sync fill flash is not possible), set the flash to 1/4 power, go take some pictures?"
That advice is still valid but "normal" exposure is something additional to explain and 1/4 power might not always be optimal, and that's manual not auto. When doing manual off-camera flash 1/4 power is usually a great starting point if you don't have an obvious reason to start higher or lower than that. Not sure about other flash and camera combos but if I have the AF540 on my K-5 and it's turned on the camera won't let me select anything faster than 1/180 shutter speed in any of the shooting modes. When I use my Nikon SB26 flashes on the K-5 it doesn't communicate with the body so I can have a shutter speed faster than 1/180 but then the flash doesn't fire because the camera won't tell it to.

Last edited by TomTextura; 07-19-2012 at 05:20 PM.
07-19-2012, 05:43 PM   #7
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All more reasons why I keep that same flash unit "hidden" from my sight ... too darn complicated !

JP

07-19-2012, 06:35 PM   #8
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Pentax should really look at some Metz flashes, they are much simpler. (I have a Metz 58, 54 and Pentax AF540).
07-19-2012, 06:42 PM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by TomTextura Quote
That advice is still valid but "normal" exposure is something additional to explain and 1/4 power might not always be optimal, and that's manual not auto.
Thanks Tom. Your description was great. I actually had to look it up myself. But I sometimes find it amusing that in many cases it seems that our newer, "automatic", equipment has really made our life more complex. Admittedly we don't have to do any flash calculations any more (which really weren't too difficult in the 1st place) but if you aren't using some feature, like external flash, everyday, or at least quite frequently, the directions to make it happen actually require a look at a manual that has 300 pages.
07-19-2012, 07:36 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by Pioneer Quote
Thanks Tom. Your description was great. I actually had to look it up myself. But I sometimes find it amusing that in many cases it seems that our newer, "automatic", equipment has really made our life more complex. Admittedly we don't have to do any flash calculations any more (which really weren't too difficult in the 1st place) but if you aren't using some feature, like external flash, everyday, or at least quite frequently, the directions to make it happen actually require a look at a manual that has 300 pages.
You're welcome!

Whenever possible, I use my strobes off-camera and with a softbox or umbrella. It's pretty much that or available light for me. For this reason I almost always use my strobes in manual and just fire off some test shots first to chimp and make sure I'm getting the results I want. I have a flash meter on my PCB Commander but don't use it a lot since viewing the test shots on the back of the camera is usually good enough. I'm much more disciplined about my exposures when using strobes and enjoy it a lot. The rest of my shooting is generally done in Hyper Program, Av, or TAv modes. I'm lazy like that. Anyway, learning how to dial in manual exposure and manual flash is definitely worthwhile. Pentax makes it easy for use to shoot in M mode too with the green button. I see that TAv is catching on, at least with Nikon. That mode makes so much sense!

The manual for the AF540 is notorious for being crappy. I read a lot of less then positive reviews about the AF540 before buying it but went for it anyway. I actually tried the AF360 first and didn't like it all. The build was just awful; it seemed to be half way falling apart fresh out of the box. Not being able to rotate the flash head from side to side was a much bigger drawback than I expected too. The AF540 has the AF360 beat with its build quality, power, swivel head, and ability to use a power pack. I am actually pretty happy with the flash. There are two things that negatively impact my using of it: (1) it doesn't remember the manual power settings when you turn it off and then back on, (2) and the flash head's up/down joint isn't stiff enough to hold up a small 9" softbox well that I like to attach to it. I can do both these things better with my Nikon flash units. They're great to use; I have three of them! I actually think my Nikons might have a smidge more power output too. Plus, the Nikons have standard PC sync ports instead of the proprietary 5 pin connection from Pentax, which makes it much easier to connect radio triggers. I still use the AF540 as my main unit because of the faster recycle times I can get with the power pack.

I'm carrying on here more than I need to now. I just happened to be pulling out all my strobe gear at the time I saw this thread because I'm giving it all a go over before a band shoot I have this Saturday. I didn't have to look at the manual to give those instructions a couple posts back but did have to pick the flash up and go through the paces with it. Anyway, I have eneloops to recharge and need to figure out the smallest way to pack everything so that I'll be ready.

Well, if you couldn't tell, I think flash photography is a lot of fun and believe it can really enhance portraits whenever you have anything less than ideal available light.
07-19-2012, 09:27 PM   #11
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Tom, you obviously have a lot more experience using flash than I do. I tend to prefer using available light whenever possible but I have found that I like my family shots a whole lot better since I have started working with fill flash. It is pretty easy on my 645Nii but I always struggle with the K7. As a result I frequently default to my old habits and work it in manual mode. That doesn't help me learn the new methods but at least I usually get the shot that way.

I personally was not impressed at all with the AF540 and ended up selling it. I have an older AF500FTZ and an AF280T that I am used to working with on medium format and the AF500 seems to work with the K7, although I obviously am not able to use the P-TTL functions. I do use TTL with my film cameras but that usually isn't too difficult. Fill flash with the 645Nii and TTL is pretty easy and only involves dialing in a little flash compensation.

I do own a couple of old Vivitars and have been playing with some off camera stuff using those but I am definitely at the beginning of the learning curve. Me and the Strobist site are frequent companions right now.

Anyway, good luck with your upcoming shoot. Hope it all works out for you.
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