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01-23-2008, 10:18 PM   #1
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Pentax 360 or 540 or other for K10D

I'm looking at getting a new flash for my K10D. 360, 540 or other ? What are the pros and cons of each?

I have the 16-45 lens, the 35-105 A (from my 35 mm days) and want to get the new 55-300 zoom just announced.

What would you suggest/ I want to be able to take 16 mm wide angle shots, telephoto, portrait.

Thanks for any suggestions.

01-24-2008, 08:46 PM   #2
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QuoteOriginally posted by lesmore49 Quote
I'm looking at getting a new flash for my K10D. 360, 540 or other ? What are the pros and cons of each?

I have the 16-45 lens, the 35-105 A (from my 35 mm days) and want to get the new 55-300 zoom just announced.

What would you suggest/ I want to be able to take 16 mm wide angle shots, telephoto, portrait.

Thanks for any suggestions.

the best answer is buy as much flash as you can afford...its easy to grow into a better flash than to buy 2 ....

mine is a 540
01-24-2008, 09:27 PM   #3
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I agree with jeepinandcamping. OTOH, I could only afford the 360 flashes, and they do just fine for me. I wanted wireless capabilities, and having two was necessary for that (at the time I bought them, I had the *ist DS, which could not control wireless flashes). I miss the swivel of the 540 sometimes. Buy it if you can afford it.
01-25-2008, 11:38 AM   #4
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I am a complete noob with lighting and flash, so let me just add my .02

I first bought a 360, for two reasons really. 1 it was a pentax, and 2 I failed, for once, to do a ton of research on it. It isn't a bad flash.

I just got my second flash, a Vivitar 285v, which personally I like a lot more, from my limited experience with both. The 360 has a nice LCD screen and whatnot, but to me on the fly it just seems too annoying to dial in. the Vivitar has a little knob you turn up or down to control flash power. I like that. It's simple....

plus, the viv can be had for under 90 bucks new, and is a popular flash among the strobist crowd. Just thinking out loud here, but if you went the vivitar route, you could grab several plus the cactus v2 wireless triggers and still be spending no more than you would for 1 pentax branded flash, but you'd have gotten a lot more flexibility in terms of placement and whatnot.

Tho, take my thoughts for what they are, I am by no means an expert at all. Just think tho, if I could have a flash do-over, I'd go for a couple vivitars and skip the pentax flash for now (also seems like the viv recycles faster, but that could just be my experience or impression)

01-25-2008, 06:47 PM   #5
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4 shots from a 44, no less no more???

Seriously, I think it all depends on how deeply you want to get into flash photography. jmdeegan has some good points about the Vivitar 285HV. Certainly, if you're planning to go the Strobbist route the 285 is a good choice. I have one, and plan on getting another one. But I also have a Pentax AF360 FGZ which I don't regret having purchased, and have no plans to discard. The beauty of the 360 and the more expensive 540 is you don't have to think. Put it on the camera, turn it on in the P-TTL mode, and enjoy the party. The flash does all the thinking for you. Also these strobes offer high speed sync which the 285 doesn't. This means you can take satisfactory pictures of back-lit subjects. This can also be done with the 285, but it's considerably more complicated. You might want to go to www.strobist.com and study the material there at length before investing your money and then maybe later regretting it.

CN
01-25-2008, 10:57 PM   #6
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I have a Vivitar 285 HV (High Voltage) from about 25 years ago. It's a great flash and I use on all my film cameras.

It's a powerful flash that I like very much. Still working as good, now, as it did all those years ago...but it is a high voltage and I've read and been told that it will fry any digital, including my K10D.

So I don't dare use it. I think that there are modern 285's that are ok to use on a digital, but I can't find any of them for sale up here in Canada.
01-26-2008, 01:32 AM   #7
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Of course, the HV (high voltage) in the Vivitar 285 HV model name does not indicate a high trigger voltage. Instead, it is a reference to the fact that this particular model (versus the previous version) accepts optional high voltage power sources (wall adapters, battery packs, etc) for faster recycle times and more flashes. Modern versions of this flash unit have a relatively low trigger voltage that is indeed safe to use with most digital cameras.

As for myself, I have three AF-540 FGZ flash units to use with my K10D. One is used occasionally on the camera as a regular flash, while the three (combined with the on-camera flash as a wireless controller) are used off-camera as a location lighting system.

stewart

01-26-2008, 01:52 AM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by stewart_photo Quote
Of course, the HV (high voltage) in the Vivitar 285 HV model name does not indicate a high trigger voltage. Instead, it is a reference to the fact that this particular model (versus the previous version) accepts optional high voltage power sources (wall adapters, battery packs, etc) for faster recycle times and more flashes. Modern versions of this flash unit have a relatively low trigger voltage that is indeed safe to use with most digital cameras.

As for myself, I have three AF-540 FGZ flash units to use with my K10D. One is used occasionally on the camera as a regular flash, while the three (combined with the on-camera flash as a wireless controller) are used off-camera as a location lighting system.

stewart
Stewart, how are you powering those AF-540 FGZ units? Are you using batteries? Or are you using an external power source?
01-26-2008, 08:14 AM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by lesmore49 Quote
I have a Vivitar 285 HV (High Voltage) from about 25 years ago. It's a great flash and I use on all my film cameras.

It's a powerful flash that I like very much. Still working as good, now, as it did all those years ago...but it is a high voltage and I've read and been told that it will fry any digital, including my K10D.

So I don't dare use it. I think that there are modern 285's that are ok to use on a digital, but I can't find any of them for sale up here in Canada.
It's my understanding that the older 285's do, indeed, have too high a trigger voltage to use on a digital camera, but my new one checks out at 4.5 volts. Does Henry's not stock them? Does B&H not ship to Canada?

CN
02-09-2008, 04:11 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by Clem Nichols Quote
It's my understanding that the older 285's do, indeed, have too high a trigger voltage to use on a digital camera, but my new one checks out at 4.5 volts. Does Henry's not stock them? Does B&H not ship to Canada?

CN

I did a check (internet) to see if Vivitar (new pnes) flashes were still sold in Canada. I couldn't find any reference to them, so I'm assuming Vivitar no longer imports them.

I looked at a Voltage chart for older flashes and there seems to be some variance in volt power with the 285 HV and the recommendation on whether to use the 285HV on a modern DSLR was answered as a 'your call'.

I may try to use the 285 HV as a slave to whatever digital flash I get for my K10D. It is a very powerful flash and still works perfectly after 1/4 of a century.
02-09-2008, 09:44 PM   #11
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Best bet would be to check the trigger voltage of your 285 yourself, and then you will know for sure if it is usable (instructions on how to check are in a thread here in the accessory forum).

I did quite a bit of looking around to find a new 285hv in Canada. Vivitar does not seem to have a Canadian distributor, and Henrys and Vistek don't carry their flashes. After hitting 5 stores, I eventually managed to find one that had been sitting on the shelf at a small local place for years and they cut a deal (price was marked at $200 !) to get rid of it. The package I wound up with seems to be a little different than the ones currently sold in the States as it didn't come with a sync cable, so I built my own with audio cables and a bit of soldering.
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