Hi Doc,
I have a Metz 24 AF-1, which looks to be the same flash as the Bolt mentioned above (but at a higher price). The same flash seems to also be offered by Vivtar as the DF 183 (at an even lower price than the Bolt). It's
P-TTL only, the reflector tilts to 90°, but does not swivel, GN is 78.74' (ISO 100, 35mm). I don't know if there are any internal differences between these brands.
Vivitar DF183PEN Digital TTL Auto-Focus Flash, Pentaxl DF183PEN Metz mecablitz 24AF-1 Digital Flash for Olympus /MZ 24312OPL B&H
I also have a Metz 20 C-2 which is the essentially the same flash with the same features except GN is rated at 66' at the same settings, and it is manual at full power only, or Auto Thyristor with 2 auto levels.
Metz mecablitz 20 C-2 Auto FlashMZ 20220 B&H Photo Video
I also have 2 of the Sunpak PF 20 XD. This is the smallest of the hotshoe flashes that I've found. GN is 66' (ISO 100, 24mm), it does not tilt or swivel, is manual with 5 levels (1, 1/4, 1/8 1/16,1/32), Auto Thyristor with 3 levels, includes a retracting diffuser, and can be used as a slave which can be set to fire on the first or second flash, so it can trigger from the preflash from the Q's popup. Despite being the smallest (about 1/8' taller than the Q body's height, and about 1" less wide than the Q body, not including the foot ), It's got a lot of features, and takes 2 AAAs which makes it lighter in use than either of the Metz.
Sunpak PF20XD Auto/Manual Digital Slave FlashPF20XD B&H Photo
I like the Metz 24 because it's essentially brainless and so much smaller than any of the Pentax flashes that I own that I don't feel encumbered carrying it all the time. It's about twice as powerful as the popup on my K-5 and 3x as the Q's popup, so if additional light is needed or bounce is desirable, then I have it in the bag. The main downside is blinkies from selected people.
The Metz 20 is good if I want to eliminate the blinkies, and packing both of the Metz units takes about the same space in the bag as my AF 540 FGZ. I usually don't need the power of my bigger Pentax flashes, and Auto Thyristor is easier than fully manual, so the two smaller flashes usually can do the job. The 540 does still get used if I want to use one of my many flash modifiers to get better quality light from a camera mounted flash though.
The Sunpaks are very cool, and slip in a pocket easily. I originally bought the pair to use as dual slaves for macro shooting, but they fit into the Q kit very nicely, and they can be very useful in their slave configuration to provide very compact mutidirectional lighting with miniscule bulk or weight.
I have used all of these flashes with my Pentax DSLRs as well as the Q.
Scott
BTW, one tip for using optical sensor slave flashes -- you can fashion reflectors from aluminum foil and tape them on the flash body to direct more of the triggering flash's light to the sensor if you are positioning the slave where it's sensor is not in direct line of sight to the subject or the flash on the camera.
Also there are clip on IR pass filters that you can attach to the popup flash to block it from effecting the exposure. I have one that came with my Metz MS-1 Macro Slave flash.
Last edited by snostorm; 08-09-2013 at 05:26 PM.