[mcgregni]

Sorry, just spotted your reply there Clackers .... Yes, the TTL Passthrough feature adds a lot of versatility. I do this with my Cactus V6 to mix radio manual and P-TTL flashes together (like for a 2-flash HSS solution with a Pentax 'controller' on top the V6 ).

The big question surrounding the Acon triggers appears to the the multi-flash options .... Once you go past the simplest 1 transmitter plus 1 receiver set-up it all seems to go pear -shaped. As I laid out in that other thread where the guy was having all that trouble, the Acon manual has no information on any Group control or how it reacts to a multi receiver set-up on the same channel. The only conclusion I can draw is that it is a single slave flash solution only ....

[andy888]

Sorry, just spotted your reply there Clackers .... Yes, the TTL Passthrough feature adds a lot of versatility. I do this with my Cactus V6 to mix radio manual and P-TTL flashes together (like for a 2-flash HSS solution with a Pentax 'controller' on top the V6 ).

The big question surrounding the Acon triggers appears to the the multi-flash options .... Once you go past the simplest 1 transmitter plus 1 receiver set-up it all seems to go pear -shaped. As I laid out in that other thread where the guy was having all that trouble, the Acon manual has no information on any Group control or how it reacts to a multi receiver set-up on the same channel. The only conclusion I can draw is that it is a single slave flash solution only ....

Hello, mcgregni. The acon R930 can make group individual power settings, by firmware update.I have a test version to try. I think this should be released sooner , you can see this link to find that.

http://forum.xitek.com/thread-1591533-1-1-1.html

before this , the R930 fire a Pentax flash. which is set at wireless. this flash optically fire other Pentax flashes set at slave wireless. this is low cost for the ones don't use the 2nd receiver.

Any way , I think it is mainly a full function PTTL trigger, making all function of a Pentax flash wireless. For the power remote or groups. just better than none.

[mcgregni]

Thanks. With the information available in English at present it seems impossible to recommend this product for anything other than a single radio controlled P-TTL flash. That's still very useful of course, in some situations, certainly where we might have used an extension cord before it adds the radio advantage of range and removes the line of sight restriction.

However, using additional dumb optical slaves kind of defeats the real point of radio triggers I feel. I really look forward to a solid user report from someone using multiple Acon receivers with multiple flashes to really trust any of the 'group' features you refer to as reliable and real .....

[rawr]

you can see this link to find that.

Thanks for the xitek / youku video links. I see about five Acon 530 video's on youku, so clearly there are many Acon users out there.

The R930 model shown in the video below looks newer than the one I have. Interesting.

acon R930 ????????????????????????

[mcgregni]

I can see people fiddling around with the devices and firing blinding flashes straight into their lenses!

OK, fair enough .... it appears that the guy is switching on and off 4 group buttons on top of the Acon ? Is that right? So he's showing that each flash responds to its particular group setting, and there seems to be lights that blink on the receivers to confirm that the signal is being received. But still, more questions than answers .... what's not clear is whether he is changing any manual power settings for each group or whether the flashes, when firing together, create a 'normal' P-TTL blended / combined exposure or ratio offset imbalance.

[bdery]

I have the exact same question as the OP. My few days with the K-1 convinced me that in many cases, high ISO will not let me wishing for fill from a built-in flash (when I don't have the Metz 52 AF-1 with me). I also have three Godox manual radio-controlled flashes for the studio.

But sometimes I just want to trigger the Metz off-camera, while using PTTL. I could There doesn't seem to be a simple way to do this.

Pentax 360 v2 flash is not that big & heavy

The 360 is fine, but relatively large and expensive.

The Pentax AF201FG doesn't act as a wireless master (or slave, I think). The Metz 24 AF 1 and 26 AF 1 and 2 don't seem to, either (the 26 models act as wireless slaves, but not masters-controllers).

What I'd like is a simple replacement for the built-in flash of, say, the K-3, able to act as a wireless TTL control.

In fact, if such a thing existed, it would give me a good reason to sell the K-3. Nothing fancy, no tilt-swivel, no heavy power, just a VERY compact and inexpensive controller.

[mcgregni]

As others have said here, the Acon triggers provide the smallest unit that can fulfill the role you want. If you must have another P-TTL flash on the camera (perhaps for some bounced fill light), then nothing beats the Pentax AF-360 FGZ II for compactness and full functionality.

---------- Post added 08-07-16 at 15:42 ----------

No amount of high ISO performance, not even from a K1, can make up for a lack of flash lighting.

[andy888]

I can see people fiddling around with the devices and firing blinding flashes straight into their lenses!

OK, fair enough .... it appears that the guy is switching on and off 4 group buttons on top of the Acon ? Is that right? So he's showing that each flash responds to its particular group setting, and there seems to be lights that blink on the receivers to confirm that the signal is being received. But still, more questions than answers .... what's not clear is whether he is changing any manual power settings for each group or whether the flashes, when firing together, create a 'normal' P-TTL blended / combined exposure or ratio offset imbalance.

There is Red group, Green Group, I switch between these group, red leds and green leds. the mark indicate the corresponding strength of power. so I up and down the power for each group. It is very straight forward.

the first settings. left (green group) brighter. at the second settings. right is brighter. this can be seen in the screen.

[mcgregni]

Thanks. I can't believe there's no explanation of groups in the Manual I saw online! Acon are doing a poor job of selling their triggers through the ' explanation and education' route. More the 'buy then try' method.

This is one area where I give full marks to Cactus .... They have made a great effort to ensure the features of their products are fully detailed, and they even offer up some practical context information as well. That's something that people have long wanted to see included in Pentax camera manuals.

Cactus make it very easy to buy their products with confidence and understanding of exactly what they do and how to do it.

[Paul the Sunman]

What I'd like is a simple replacement for the built-in flash of, say, the K-3, able to act as a wireless TTL control.

When I first saw the Metz 26 I thought "Clever! Metz is offering a simple replacement for the pop-up being lost on many high-end DSLRs". But no, they missed the point entirely. A major reason for using the built-in on a good DSLR is to trigger off-camera flashes (with TTL capability). The Metz 26 doesn't do this. So "Not clever".

[bdery]

When I first saw the Metz 26 I thought "Clever! Metz is offering a simple replacement for the pop-up being lost on many high-end DSLRs". But no, they missed the point entirely. A major reason for using the built-in on a good DSLR is to trigger off-camera flashes (with TTL capability). The Metz 26 doesn't do this. So "Not clever".

Exactly. They almost got it right...

[JimJohnson]

Indeed! It seems a very basic and obvious requirement.

And a big reason I prefer the K-3 over the K-3ii or K-1. I am often limited in the weight/size gear I can travel with (especially by air) and that means one external flash. If I want to use P-TTL flash off-camera, the often despised pop-up is invaluable as the master.

[xmeda]

Hopefully next pentax bodies will have build-in flash again.. it was very bad idea to remove it.

[Class A]

Hopefully next pentax bodies will have build-in flash again.. it was very bad idea to remove it.

I disagree.

The pop-up flash

• does not support HSS.
• will produce reflections in images, even in "commander" mode.
• has limited reach.
• does not support effective multiple off-camera flash control.
• is pretty much useless as a light source.
• cuts down the battery life of the camera.

AFAIC, the limitations of a pop-up flash are incompatible with the ambition associated with the use of a camera like the K-1 or K-3 II.

An HSS-capable radio trigger weighs almost next to nothing and is a far superior choice.

[JimJohnson]

I disagree.
An HSS-capable radio trigger weighs almost next to nothing and is a far superior choice.

And I'll counter...

The pop-up flash

• will produce reflections in images, even in "commander" mode. Not if you use a shield that passes only IR.
• has limited reach. But is very effective when you need a bit of fill to balance background lighting.
• does not support effective multiple off-camera flash control. Really? I've used two off-camera P-TTL flashes several times.
• is pretty much useless as a light source. See the second item in the list. Plus it is always there.

AFAIC, the limitations of a pop-up flash are incompatible with the ambition associated with the use of a camera like the K-1 or K-3 II.
However, there are times ALL the room I have is for the body and one lens - and I've had to separate them to get them into my personal carry-on. No extras, and that includes radio triggers.

These are the very reasons why I chose the K-3 a few months back over either the K-3II or K-1. Each photographer has his/her own needs. I still want and make good use of a pro-level body. Given the choice of the built-in flash and its value to me, versus an astrotracer and its value to me, the flash won hands down. I think the GPS with its connection to store image metadata could be fitted into a pro-level body without sacrificing the built-in flash - and I certainly hope Pentax realizes that many of its serious photographers are not going to settle for a mid-range body to keep the flash.