Originally posted by Aleighn8 are there any other reasons to choose Pentax or Metz over the Sigma or the Shanny?
None of the other flashes offer the weather resistance of the new Pentaxes. For some shooting, that's certainly very useful. Helps get the shot, and also may extend the life of the flash.
Metz are good flash makers - I bought my first Metz over 25 years ago, and it still works fine. And they have decent support, inc firmware updates via USB for the more recent flashes. So they get a big plus for reliability and support.
Sigma flashes like the EF-610 work fine on most Pentaxes (I had a Sigma EF-530 for many years and it never missed a beat), and their flashes seem to be well supported by Sigma, but their Pentax models are becoming hard to find in stores. And the newest Sigma flashes like the EF-630 don't include Pentax support, so the 'writing is on the wall' for Sigma Pentax flash. But the EF-610, if you can find one, is a super powerful flash at a decent price.
According to user reviews, the Shanny seems a great flash overall (ditto the Yongnuo). The low cost also means you have literally little [$] to lose by choosing either.