[Yarf]

Hi. I have this flash and camera combination. I am a n00b btw so am looking for help from anyone on a problem I am having.

This flash has been working fine for the two weeks I have had it until this weekend. I hooked it up as usual, turned it on and took a photo. The flash fired but the photo is black just like I had fired with no flash. I can get no usable image in low light, the flash fires each time but it's almost as if it is firing too early.

If I switch from P-TTL to Automatic the flash works as expected.

I expect that I have done something stupid, any idea what I have done?

Thanks for any assistance anyone can give me. And yes I did RTFM and google like a crazy man before asking here.

[fwbigd]

Check to make sure your shutter speed is set at 1/180th of a second or below.

[Quicksand]

Frustrating, isn't it?

You are far from the only person to find that the AF360FGZ underexposes pretty badly -- frequently, routinely, but not always repeatably.

p-ttl underexpose - Google Search

Not just the 360, but other Pentax P-TTL-compatible flashes too.

Many workarounds have been proposed (e.g., using "Auto" mode as you noted, or linking the autofocus point to the metering point, or dialing in some compensation manually), but none of them is really a solution.

Personally, I have found that the flash works pretty well with my FA 50 f/1.4 lens, and I get decent exposures, but with the kit 18-55mm lens I usually get significantly underexposed shots. But not always, so I can't just dial in a positive flash exposure compensation value and leave it there, or I'll get some overexposed shots.

Argh.

[Yarf]

I believe the flash is faulty, I spoke with a support rep at Pentax today who said that there was a possibility of the flash misreading the charge on the batteries and failing to allow P-TTL mode to sync correctly. He suggested I return the flash since I had only had it a couple of weeks. That's what I did. Shame it seemed useful when it worked