External flash with adapted lenses

**jpzk** · 12-19-2012, 09:51 AM

Originally posted by barondla

Using the Pentax Q-PK adapter and Pentax AF540 flash, I shot about 20 P-ttl flash images. The flash worked every time. Have you used a Pentax flash for any of your shots? Granted, it should work properly with other brands too.
thanks
barondla

Timely post, thanks!

I was tinkering with the idea of using the huge AF 540 flash on the Q during Christmas season ... kids are coming home and I will take quite a few shots.

This would be with Q lenses though, and not with the adapter.

Did you have any success with this formula?

Cheers!

JP

**crewl1** · 12-19-2012, 10:41 AM

Originally posted by jpzk

Did you have any success with this formula?

It works but hand holding it is difficult because the flash is three times the size of the camera/lens. On a tripod you should be golden.

**jpzk** · 12-19-2012, 11:07 AM

Originally posted by crewl1

It works but hand holding it is difficult because the flash is three times the size of the camera/lens. On a tripod you should be golden.

I'll have to handle the camera with the flash itself then !

Thanks, I'll try this tonight!

JP

snostorm · 12-19-2012, 11:58 AM

Originally posted by crewl1

In my testing the popup worked perfectly and did not miss a beat.
Just waited for the flash to charge, you can see the little flash arrow turn from red to white when it is ready.
I shot over 20 pics one after the other at 1/1000 and it worked fine.
Perhaps Scott, you weren't waiting for it to be ready?

Hi crewl1,

I waited for the flash charge indicator to turn white. I think that pop up firing reliability with the Pentax adapter and the Q might be production run dependent, which is a bit strange.

I just tried it again, with the same results -- on my older black Q (bought right after introduction) I could not get more than 7 consecutive shots (most of the time 2-5) where the flash fired. I tried both "flash auto" and "flash on" settings in the flash menu. All of these were at 1/1000 -- I'll try other flash menu settings sometime.

Then I switched to my new white Q, and it was better -- avg 7-10 consecutive shots when the flash fired. Again, this is only using flash on and flash auto in the flash menu. This, for me, is not too bad, and I could live with this.

The way I would use the pop up flash for macro would be to fire "digital" optical slaves (optical slaves that can be set to ignore the preflash). My Metz 15 MS1 is a remote wireless TTL flash with my DSLRs, fired with the pop up as the controller, but since the Q can't do wireless remote TTL, the Metz could be set up to fire as a digital slave, and that would be fine with me. I also have two Sunpak PF20 FDs which are tiny manual/auto thyristor flashes that can be used as digital slaves (or, BTW, as probably the most compact hotshoe mounted external flashes around for the Q, but they can't bounce and are manual or auto thyristor only). I also have a very cool Fotopro macro dual arm macro flash bracket (imagine two legs of a gorillapod that can attach to the camera body on one end and have micro ball heads with cold flash shoes on their ends) to mount the Sunpaks on.

I can now fire either of these 100% reliably with either of the small Metz external flashes I have or apparently with 85-90% reliability with the pop up on the white body if I want the whole package to be a bit lighter and smaller. That's good enough for me, but I'm relatively easy to please.

I still want Pentax to give us fully reliable flash protocols for the Q.

Scott

**crewl1** · 12-19-2012, 12:14 PM

That is very strange Scott. I'll do some more detailed testing later and record the parameters and results.
You have some great flash options there, looking forward to your macro shots.

**crewl1** · 12-19-2012, 04:41 PM

I just did a 30 shot sequence using interval mode so I wouldn't have to press the shutter each time.
I set it to 10 second intervals to let the flash recycle.
Camera was in manual mode 1/1000 with the adapter set to position 2, using a DFA100WR lens.
Target was approx 1 foot away.
Flash was in 'on' setting and popped up.

All 30/30 shots were lit by the flash, it did not misfire or fire incorrectly. For this small test the on board flash was 100%.

In the set below the black squares are how it looked without flash, the first shot was in AV then I switched to M.

SonDa5 · 12-20-2012, 11:56 AM

Isn't there a setting on the camera to set the flash to work manually by trigger?

Alot of threads on bad flash behavior from Q. In manual mode it seems like the camera should behave like manual trigger.

**barondla** · 12-20-2012, 07:17 PM

Snostorm could your flash troubles be related to the flash used? Aren't you using a Metz? Crewl1 is using a Pentax 540. I am also using the 540.
thanks
barondla

snostorm · 12-20-2012, 07:35 PM

Originally posted by barondla

Snostorm could your flash troubles be related to the flash used? Aren't you using a Metz? Crewl1 is using a Pentax 540. I am also using the 540.

Hi barondla,

Actually, the Metz flashes both work 100% with adapted lenses after the FW update, so I have both P-TTL and manual/Auto external flashes that I can rely on. My issue at this time is with the popup flash. I still have a few things to try to see if there might be some way to get it to fire 100% with adapted lenses. It's just that it would be convenient to just use the popup to fire remote optical slaves as the camera would be that much lighter, but I can live with using the little Metz externals for that if I need to.

Scott

**crewl1** · 12-20-2012, 07:38 PM

My 30 shot test above was on the Q popup flash where Scott had noted inconsistencies with the adapter.

12-19-2012, 04:41 PM	#21
crewl1 Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Los Angeles, CA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,807	I just did a 30 shot sequence using interval mode so I wouldn't have to press the shutter each time. I set it to 10 second intervals to let the flash recycle. Camera was in manual mode 1/1000 with the adapter set to position 2, using a DFA100WR lens. Target was approx 1 foot away. Flash was in 'on' setting and popped up. All 30/30 shots were lit by the flash, it did not misfire or fire incorrectly. For this small test the on board flash was 100%. In the set below the black squares are how it looked without flash, the first shot was in AV then I switched to M. Attached Images Last edited by crewl1; 12-19-2012 at 04:54 PM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Overexposing with external flash and manual lenses	ChooseAName	Troubleshooting and Beginner Help	13	09-24-2012 09:00 AM
External Pentax flash with X100?	abieleck	Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands	3	07-27-2012 01:29 PM
Using Built in Flash in Wireless mode with External Flash i.e AF-360fgz	disco_owner	Flashes, Lighting, and Studio	7	05-16-2012 07:41 AM
External flash with kx	ldmlkn	Troubleshooting and Beginner Help	14	12-03-2011 03:00 PM

12-19-2012, 09:51 AM	#16
jpzk Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Québec Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 8,251	Originally posted by barondla Using the Pentax Q-PK adapter and Pentax AF540 flash, I shot about 20 P-ttl flash images. The flash worked every time. Have you used a Pentax flash for any of your shots? Granted, it should work properly with other brands too. thanks barondla Timely post, thanks! I was tinkering with the idea of using the huge AF 540 flash on the Q during Christmas season ... kids are coming home and I will take quite a few shots. This would be with Q lenses though, and not with the adapter. Did you have any success with this formula? Cheers! JP

12-19-2012, 10:41 AM	#17
crewl1 Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Los Angeles, CA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,807	Originally posted by jpzk Did you have any success with this formula? It works but hand holding it is difficult because the flash is three times the size of the camera/lens. On a tripod you should be golden.

12-19-2012, 11:07 AM	#18
jpzk Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Québec Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 8,251	Originally posted by crewl1 It works but hand holding it is difficult because the flash is three times the size of the camera/lens. On a tripod you should be golden. I'll have to handle the camera with the flash itself then ! Thanks, I'll try this tonight! JP

12-19-2012, 11:58 AM	#19
snostorm Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Chicago suburb, IL, USA Posts: 1,535	Originally posted by crewl1 In my testing the popup worked perfectly and did not miss a beat. Just waited for the flash to charge, you can see the little flash arrow turn from red to white when it is ready. I shot over 20 pics one after the other at 1/1000 and it worked fine. Perhaps Scott, you weren't waiting for it to be ready? Hi crewl1, I waited for the flash charge indicator to turn white. I think that pop up firing reliability with the Pentax adapter and the Q might be production run dependent, which is a bit strange. I just tried it again, with the same results -- on my older black Q (bought right after introduction) I could not get more than 7 consecutive shots (most of the time 2-5) where the flash fired. I tried both "flash auto" and "flash on" settings in the flash menu. All of these were at 1/1000 -- I'll try other flash menu settings sometime. Then I switched to my new white Q, and it was better -- avg 7-10 consecutive shots when the flash fired. Again, this is only using flash on and flash auto in the flash menu. This, for me, is not too bad, and I could live with this. The way I would use the pop up flash for macro would be to fire "digital" optical slaves (optical slaves that can be set to ignore the preflash). My Metz 15 MS1 is a remote wireless TTL flash with my DSLRs, fired with the pop up as the controller, but since the Q can't do wireless remote TTL, the Metz could be set up to fire as a digital slave, and that would be fine with me. I also have two Sunpak PF20 FDs which are tiny manual/auto thyristor flashes that can be used as digital slaves (or, BTW, as probably the most compact hotshoe mounted external flashes around for the Q, but they can't bounce and are manual or auto thyristor only). I also have a very cool Fotopro macro dual arm macro flash bracket (imagine two legs of a gorillapod that can attach to the camera body on one end and have micro ball heads with cold flash shoes on their ends) to mount the Sunpaks on. I can now fire either of these 100% reliably with either of the small Metz external flashes I have or apparently with 85-90% reliability with the pop up on the white body if I want the whole package to be a bit lighter and smaller. That's good enough for me, but I'm relatively easy to please. I still want Pentax to give us fully reliable flash protocols for the Q. Scott

12-19-2012, 12:14 PM	#20
crewl1 Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Los Angeles, CA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,807	That is very strange Scott. I'll do some more detailed testing later and record the parameters and results. You have some great flash options there, looking forward to your macro shots.

12-20-2012, 11:56 AM	#22
SonDa5 Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 70	Isn't there a setting on the camera to set the flash to work manually by trigger? Alot of threads on bad flash behavior from Q. In manual mode it seems like the camera should behave like manual trigger.

12-20-2012, 07:17 PM	#23
barondla Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: midwest, United States Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,715	Snostorm could your flash troubles be related to the flash used? Aren't you using a Metz? Crewl1 is using a Pentax 540. I am also using the 540. thanks barondla

12-20-2012, 07:35 PM	#24
snostorm Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Chicago suburb, IL, USA Posts: 1,535	Originally posted by barondla Snostorm could your flash troubles be related to the flash used? Aren't you using a Metz? Crewl1 is using a Pentax 540. I am also using the 540. Hi barondla, Actually, the Metz flashes both work 100% with adapted lenses after the FW update, so I have both P-TTL and manual/Auto external flashes that I can rely on. My issue at this time is with the popup flash. I still have a few things to try to see if there might be some way to get it to fire 100% with adapted lenses. It's just that it would be convenient to just use the popup to fire remote optical slaves as the camera would be that much lighter, but I can live with using the little Metz externals for that if I need to. Scott

12-20-2012, 07:38 PM	#25
crewl1 Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Los Angeles, CA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,807	My 30 shot test above was on the Q popup flash where Scott had noted inconsistencies with the adapter.