[novsky]

No, typical complaints of pentax users who need third party gear to get the job done, want to hear one of the most stupid?
You need a hotshoe adapter with a sync port to be able to use an industry standard pocket wizard with an af540, no way you're going to plug the thing directly into the flash,and same goes for every trigger without an hotshoe.
I understand most people probably just put the flash on the camera and bang it the subject's face, but there's people trying to do other things out there.
Probably there is many photographer's who find having to repeatedly deal with workarounds fun, but I'm sure there is a number of other ones who would like to have normal working tools at times,
I don't care, I don't need to religiously defend the brand I shoot with, it's just a tool.

Totally agree with u Neo, if u wanna do strobism with the AF series its unbearable !
Idem if u wanna use the HSS applicability !
Pentax really need compatibility with third party accessory !!

[Uluru]

I own 7 flashes and none of them is a Pentax one,
Af540II Aw?
Sure... old unreliable p-ttl is still the same, stone-age wireless capabilities still the same, useless 5 pins port still the same... and I do no usually go to the swamp to do my strobist stuff...
don't see any real improvement, serious stuff is still missing, no groups, no manual ratio wireless control from camera, no ttl / manual assignable groups possible, no strobo, limited zoom range, no pc-sync port!!, no fry protection, updatable firmware?, still 1/180th sync...come on...

... at least to an extent that we know of right now, before all new cameras are released. Please note that it may as well be that flash specs are presented like these to suit current Pentax cameras, (legal reasons, they cannot advertise something not currently obtainable or controllable, especially if flashes become available and new cameras delayed for whatever reason). So it is not revealed in any way what flashes can do with future camera models.

[jonny1986]

Typical complaints made by someone who is more concerned with the limitations of their gear rather than the limitations of their own vision.

Typical complaints from people who used flash in highly creative way like i do....try to shoot model without an assistant with pentax gear, spendinghalf thetime to. Ajustfalsh. Manually.
Now I stopped and prefer using my manual godox. I will probably inves. In elinchrom quadra and godox big quantum stle flash so i can control the power and other function in camera.
But i will miss the capability to use wireless pttl with on camera. Adjustment.
Canikon can buy tons of chinese flash with much more advanced function than these new flashes at 1/4 of the price. Actually i bought a triopo flash with ettl and radiotransmitter as a gift to my sister and i paid 145 euro, and even if they are cheap they are superbly build. My godox flashes that cost 50 bucs are much better buil than my pentax flash.
Pentax was great for price ratio performance .It was id say.

[jonny1986]

No, typical complaints of pentax users who need third party gear to get the job done, want to hear one of the most stupid?
You need a hotshoe adapter with a sync port to be able to use an industry standard pocket wizard with an af540, no way you're going to plug the thing directly into the flash,and same goes for every trigger without an hotshoe.
I understand most people probably just put the flash on the camera and bang it the subject's face, but there's people trying to do other things out there.
Probably there is many photographer's who find having to repeatedly deal with workarounds fun, but I'm sure there is a number of other ones who would like to have normal working tools at times,
I don't care, I don't need to religiously defend the brand I shoot with, it's just a tool.

I completely agree with you. If you use flash pentax is years behind any brand, even olympus.
And 28 plastic gasket are useless. I have a plastic cover for under rain. In addiction. Using flash underrain is very rare event. I travel and shoot everything in many condition, including sport and news, i struggle toremember more than 5 event i use flash under rain. And in that case i used the plastic cover no probelm at all.
I will keep my 645d and a minimal k5 kit i think and move to nikon. Is totally useless towaut for pentax insome fields.

[Digitalis]

No, typical complaints of pentax users who need third party gear to get the job done, want to hear one of the most stupid?

No, I have issues with people who complain about hardware they don't own. Yes, the Pentax flash system has its idiosyncrasies and quirks, but they don't stop me from getting the job done. I don't let the flash system get in the way of my ideas, even when i'm working solely with pentax flash equipment. I do have better options at my disposal like Nikon with their fantastic CLS system - but even when I do work with it I sometimes put in a few pentax wireless flashes in amongst my Nikon ones when I need more options when I need to light a subject on-location. But in the studio for professional work use Elinchrom flash heads with their own RF triggers, for 90% of my work pocketwizards aren't needed.

Cameras aren't a religion to me - I have used so many different ones over the years from many makers - and in my mind all cameras are imperfect in their own way.

[jonny1986]

No, typical complaints of pentax users who need third party gear to get the job done, want to hear one of the most stupid?
You need a hotshoe adapter with a sync port to be able to use an industry standard pocket wizard with an af540, no way you're going to plug the thing directly into the flash,and same goes for every trigger without an hotshoe.
I understand most people probably just put the flash on the camera and bang it the subject's face, but there's people trying to do other things out there.
Probably there is many photographer's who find having to repeatedly deal with workarounds fun, but I'm sure there is a number of other ones who would like to have normal working tools at times,
I don't care, I don't need to religiously defend the brand I shoot with, it's just a tool.

I agree with you again. I love my pentax gear but its time to acceptthe limitsand watch other gear. Lot of good third party lenses and flashes not available. Secon class af and flash system.
And i have never complaint about this limits....i always tried. To live withthem. But time show that pentax cannot fix these limitis. Not even release new interesting lenses. Just rebrand existing lenses at higher price.

[jonny1986]

No, I have issues with people who use third party equipment and complain about hardware they don't own. Yes, the Pentax flash system has its idiosyncrasies and quirks, but they don't stop me from getting the job done. The only system that I work with that doesn't have such issues is Nikon with their fantastic CLS system - and even then I sometimes put in a few pentax wireless flashes in amongst my Nikon ones when I need more options when I need to light a subject on-location. But in the studio for professional work use Elinchrom flash heads with their own RF triggers, for 90% of my work pocketwizards aren't needed.

Cameras aren't a religion to me - I have used so many over the years from many makers - and all cameras are imperfect in their own way.

I have all pentax flahs i have all metz flash. I know my gearbelieve me.
I have never complained about flash system used in camera, even pttl work for me.
Simply put thewireless system is preistoric. The photo uou posted don' t proof nothing.
Wireless flash can help creating superbimages. Now we can use aokatec system to control pttl wireless reliable. But again no ratio no group...you need always to change everything manually and when you shoot anevent or a model this means stopping the rithm of the shooting.
That'swhy i will buy the quadra and godox tristo...so i canchange the power incamera

[jonny1986]

Says the guy who lives in Italy. Some people live in places like Seattle.

600 dollar for a preistoric flash with some gasket...buy a 30 dollar cover from aquatech..surely much reliable.
With 600 dollar youbuy the canon 600 just to make an example.

[Clavius]

600 dollar for a preistoric flash with some gasket...buy a 30 dollar cover from aquatech..surely much reliable.
With 600 dollar youbuy the canon 600 just to make an example.

Same here, how much extra do we pay for our "weather sealed" cameras and lenses? The WR on my K-5 failed in a slight drizzle. While a plastic baggy costing <1$ provides 100% protection. I think Pentax themselves are contemplating their WR strategy, if you consider that most of their recent lens releases have been non-wr.

[JinDesu]

Same here, how much extra do we pay for our "weather sealed" cameras and lenses? The WR on my K-5 failed in a slight drizzle. While a plastic baggy costing <1$ provides 100% protection. I think Pentax themselves are contemplating their WR strategy, if you consider that most of their recent lens releases have been non-wr.

I had a rainsleeve fail on me. And when it fails, you don't know until your camera fries. And when your camera fries under a rainsleeve, there is no recourse.

Mine failed because the sleeve stuck to my arm after it got sweaty (oh yeah, that's one other weakness of rainsleeves - you get warm under them), and then it stretched at the viewfinder hole. It was a tiny little stretch, but it was enough for rain to start accumulating at the viewfinder and leak down onto the body.

I would rather have a weathersealed lens and camera, and then bag it on top for extra protection.

[Neo_]

No, I have issues with people who complain about hardware they don't own. Yes, the Pentax flash system has its idiosyncrasies and quirks, but they don't stop me from getting the job done. I don't let the flash system get in the way of my ideas, even when i'm working solely with pentax flash equipment. I do have better options at my disposal like Nikon with their fantastic CLS system - but even when I do work with it I sometimes put in a few pentax wireless flashes in amongst my Nikon ones when I need more options when I need to light a subject on-location. But in the studio for professional work use Elinchrom flash heads with their own RF triggers, for 90% of my work pocketwizards aren't needed.

Cameras aren't a religion to me - I have used so many different ones over the years from many makers - and in my mind all cameras are imperfect in their own way.

I've owned just about any brand of camera starting from Sony, Fujifilm, Canon and Pentax, the only missing one is Nikon, you're not the only one capable of doing studio without getting stopped by the gear



this was done with far less gear then the one you're listing, I know what Pentax flashes can do, that's why I chose metz (pentax mount) over them, and even these have their limits due to the pentax system, I can also push my gear, that doesn't mean I can light the world with it.

[psychdoc]

I think people are missing the point on why Ricoh is making a WR flash.

-Brand Identity: maybe someone has mentioned this already but differentiating from C/N/S- Pentax-Ricoh now has a fully WR system that is relatively inexpensive. [its all relative] It does not matter whether people are looking to shoot in the rain with flash. Most people dont use their SUV's off-roading either!

-It really does not matter whether you USE flash IN the middle of rain. You maybe planning to do outdoor photos and using some amount of flash. However the weather report may say 'episodic rain'. You can take your flash along and you are shooting in non-rainy weather and it starts raining, you dont need to run or find something to hide your flash in. Of course, whether you want to pay the extra for this is another question altogether.

-One persons use scenario: I shoot soccer every year in the middle of the pouring rain. [K5 with 50-135 mostly]. WR has never failed even though water is sometime pouring over the camera and lens like a waterfall. So WR does work. But I dont use a flash in this situation. HOWEVER, for before or after the game, I sometimes take informal portraits of the players outdoors in the shade and a flash can be useful. Soemtimes I am standing in a drizzle kind of rain while the player is in the shade under an awning, I would try this in these kind of situations. Now if I bought this flash I will no longer need to pack the flash in a waterproof bag of any sort. I will just stuff it in my jacket. maybe I will stand in the drizzle and bounce the flash off the awning...

-I am not a professional of any sort, but I found pttl not that reliable and just use manual flash. That works fine for my limited needs. If I were someone who needed multiple flashes and complicated scenarios I dont think the pentax flash system would have been enough. But then I will never know as I am not that kind of user. [On the other hand, my friend who uses a Nikon system and is also a non-professional like me. He also says he uses manual flash as it is more reliable , so for people like us auto flashes may not be needed]

-Finnaly the million dollar question: would I actually buy this flash? Its expensive right now. I would have bought this flash if it were on sale. I would then play around with the pttl system some more and see when and where it can be used. However in 2 years my son will no longer be playing soccer. He will be in college and he is good but not good enough for that level, so I am not sure whether I would even need a WR camera much less a WR flash that much...

[Aristophanes]

WR flash is a peace of mind feature, is something the other guys don't have, justifies a more premium price point, and makes the product line more consistent.

I strongly suspect that WR on a compact lens design with manual focus and quick shifts would end the pancake and small size philosophy for technical reasons. That said Pentax could use a WR prime (24mm?) below the 100 and 55mm.

[repaap]

It is just so funny every time, with new updated product. Rant, OMG! This is Bullsh!t and wayy too expensive I'll go to canikon...

Whoa. No one even has laid their fingers on any of these things and seen that what is coming later on.

Then later, after someone brave buys and tries they see that it was ok. Maybe even better than that, worth that premium.! Wondering what was that all speak of not worth it ect. Rumors after rumors and little imagination and lot of experts from other opinions around web...

Well fun to read, maybe little sad too. If people are happy with their cheap alternative of would be happy with other cameras, why not make a move and give others some joy on these new and exiting news.? Just to say, I told you so?

I'm exited of that flash AND led light for movie. And WR too...btw, this has been on wishlist long for flashes at forums, on these updates... No one mentioned that. Oh well. Enough for me. While I'm saving my pennies for this flash, I'll get my pentax is doomed and sky is falling badges ready. 5th. Of september is coming.

[mecrox]

My Metz flash just broke, and if their service centre here wants funny money to repair it then I'll be looking very closely at the smaller of the two new Pentax flashes. Two features I have found useful on the Metz: first, you can update the firmware by usb so the electronics in the flash can always take advantage of new models of camera with slightly different flash software inside them (provided Metz produce the updates which so far they have); and, second, I can set it to manual at 1/64 or 1/128. I find this really useful to lift macro shots just a little, subtly, in circumstances where anything stronger at that close distance would kill the image. It will be interesting to see how Pentax handle the "light touch" aspect.