Cobra 700 af on Pentax K-5

axlrose · 04-21-2015, 11:56 PM

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Hi friends, i am recently about to buy a cobra 700 af flash to use on my pentax k-5 body.
Does anyone has any experience about this flash. It is an old film era ttl flash, but it is still in mint condition and has a very good buit quality.
Best thing is it's price, which is just 20 pounds. I wonder how powerfull is this flash.
I've found it's users manual and had a look to it, i am sharing it with you.

Waiting for comments, cheers...

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sterretje · 04-22-2015, 12:32 AM

The flash is reasonable powerful; a bit more powerful than the AF360; it's safe for digital cameras (according to the Botzilla site but any TTL more than likely is)

Looking at the manuals on Electronic flash, 35mm camera flash, 35mm light meter instruction manual, user manual, free PFD camera manuals, it seems to be a TTL flash; TTL is not compatible with pTTL so no automation from the camera. I could not quickly find if it has auto-thyristor mode or power settings.

If it does not have one of the latter, I think it's quite useless for 'normal' flash use. In which case it also has a cycle time of 12 seconds.

axlrose · 04-22-2015, 07:33 AM

12 seconds of cycle time? OMG, that's because it always works on full power i think.
It may cycle faster with eneloop or recyco type batteries.
But is it worth to risk it, may be i can pay a little bit more and buy a yongnuo yn560 flash instead of this one

sterretje · 04-22-2015, 08:14 AM

Originally posted by axlrose

But is it worth to risk it, may be i can pay a little bit more and buy a yongnuo yn560 flash instead of this one

I think a Yongnuo is a better bet. Only problem with manual flashes is that they are not quite convenient in fast changing environments (in my opinion).

If you want some form of automation, see if you can find a second hand Metz 45 in your price range. CT-1 (with serial number above 534000 is safe for your camera) or CL-1 have a number of aperture settings (for automation) and only full power manual. CT-4 and CL-4 have a number of aperture settings and a number of power levels. There are also CT-3 and CT-5 models if I recall correctly but can't remember the details.

sterretje · 04-22-2015, 11:02 AM

Found you a CT-4 for GBP50 in Manchester (as you mentioned GBP20); no idea how ebay works, leave it up to you.
Metz Mecablitz 45ct 4 Hammerhead NiCad Flashgun Complete | eBay

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04-22-2015, 12:32 AM	#2
sterretje Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Roodepoort, South Africa Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,561	The flash is reasonable powerful; a bit more powerful than the AF360; it's safe for digital cameras (according to the Botzilla site but any TTL more than likely is) Looking at the manuals on Electronic flash, 35mm camera flash, 35mm light meter instruction manual, user manual, free PFD camera manuals, it seems to be a TTL flash; TTL is not compatible with pTTL so no automation from the camera. I could not quickly find if it has auto-thyristor mode or power settings. If it does not have one of the latter, I think it's quite useless for 'normal' flash use. In which case it also has a cycle time of 12 seconds.

04-22-2015, 07:33 AM	#3
axlrose New Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 23 Original Poster	12 seconds of cycle time? OMG, that's because it always works on full power i think. It may cycle faster with eneloop or recyco type batteries. But is it worth to risk it, may be i can pay a little bit more and buy a yongnuo yn560 flash instead of this one

04-22-2015, 08:14 AM	#4
sterretje Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Roodepoort, South Africa Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,561	Originally posted by axlrose But is it worth to risk it, may be i can pay a little bit more and buy a yongnuo yn560 flash instead of this one I think a Yongnuo is a better bet. Only problem with manual flashes is that they are not quite convenient in fast changing environments (in my opinion). If you want some form of automation, see if you can find a second hand Metz 45 in your price range. CT-1 (with serial number above 534000 is safe for your camera) or CL-1 have a number of aperture settings (for automation) and only full power manual. CT-4 and CL-4 have a number of aperture settings and a number of power levels. There are also CT-3 and CT-5 models if I recall correctly but can't remember the details.

04-22-2015, 11:02 AM	#5
sterretje Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Roodepoort, South Africa Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,561	Found you a CT-4 for GBP50 in Manchester (as you mentioned GBP20); no idea how ebay works, leave it up to you. Metz Mecablitz 45ct 4 Hammerhead NiCad Flashgun Complete \| eBay