[photodad]

OK everyone,
I just recieved my second AF360FGZ flash in as many weeks. Neither one functions. Both came from Adorama.

Both units emit a beeping noise NOT the zoom noise from the head and they will not go into A zoom mode, they stay in M zoom mode. When in any mode the flash LCD flashes 24mm for the FL. When the shutter is depressed half way, the display reads 16mm. The unit will not zoom no matter what I do. I am trying to use it on an istDL. I was concerned that maybe the hotshoe on my camera was faulty but I get exactly the same reading when off camera.

I am getting really frustrated with the apparent lack of quality in these fairly expensive flash units and the lack of compatibility. I'm getting sick of Pentax always taking a back seat to Nikon and Canon. I am so frustrated, I am actually considering switching to Nikon. Someone talk me down!

Enough of my whining,

Good Night.

Ed

[Marc Langille]

OK everyone,
I just recieved my second AF360FGZ flash in as many weeks. Neither one functions. Both came from Adorama.

Both units emit a beeping noise NOT the zoom noise from the head and they will not go into A zoom mode, they stay in M zoom mode. When in any mode the flash LCD flashes 24mm for the FL. When the shutter is depressed half way, the display reads 16mm. The unit will not zoom no matter what I do. I am trying to use it on an istDL. I was concerned that maybe the hotshoe on my camera was faulty but I get exactly the same reading when off camera.

I am getting really frustrated with the apparent lack of quality in these fairly expensive flash units and the lack of compatibility. I'm getting sick of Pentax always taking a back seat to Nikon and Canon. I am so frustrated, I am actually considering switching to Nikon. Someone talk me down!

Enough of my whining,

Good Night.

Ed

That's a tough spot to be in...

Can you confirm that the flash does/does not work on another Pentax (local store perhaps)? What is the lens you're using (just curious)?

Or try the flash on another unit? You need a second DSLR - there, I've validated your CBA (camera buying addiction)...

Seriously, good luck and hang tough - keep us posted!

Cheers,
Marc

[photodad]

Marc,
I don't have a store anywhere nearby (about 40 miles from here.) I feel bad taking this flash that I bought from Adorama in to see if it works . . . . . The price difference BTW is $100.

Pentax told me I had a bad unit when I told them about the first one - no hesitation just a simple statement. They said to return it ASAP. No one I know has a Pentax - everyone has Nikon or Canon.

I tried both the 18 - 55mm kit lens and the 50 - 200mm DA lenses. The flash unit will only read 16mm when the shutter is depressed.

Lack of accesories is really starting to frustrate me. I've been a Pentax shooter for almost 30 years and have some nice old screw mount lenses but I am getting to the point where it feels like the battle isn't worth it. Just give in and get a Nikon with a couple of zooms and an SB600 and call it a day.

Ed

[jfdavis58]

from ED: "I was concerned that maybe the hotshoe on my camera was faulty but I get exactly the same reading when off camera."

From this I surmise that you powered the flash off the camera, got a beep not a charging whine/zoom motor grind and nothing else?

OK, got mine in my hand: in green mode, wireless to M, side slide to up position, turned power to on. Hearing Charge whine, seeing P=TTL A.zoom, 24mm, 0.0 comp, flash symbol/left triangle black, head tilted.---coming Straight from powered off in bag.

OFF THE CAMERA:
Can you cycle MODE P-TTL to A to M to SB to P-TTL?
In P-TTL can you put the light ON? It times out and goes off automatically.
In P-TTL (light on or off) can you cycle Zoom (A-zoom, M,zoom (24,28...)with the return to 24mm from 85mm a louder distinctive grind?
Try these same variations in other modes.
With the S button:
>>>In P-TTL does compensation function?
>>>In A can you set aperture and shutter speed?
>>>In M can you set power?
With the side switch down can you get to the Format, channel and modeling functions?

There are a couple hidden function that require press and long holds on certain buttons-find these in the manual and try them.

If all this stuff works then you need to do a step by step set-up of mating camera to flash starting with both units in factory default positions and powered off. The flash boots from default, the camera will need a reset through the menus. Use a pencil eraser to lightly rough-up the camera hotshoe contacts--a couple of scrubs.

I'll keep watching for your results; don't give up!

[jfdavis58]

BTW: that jump from 24mm to 16mm is supposed to happen.

[photodad]

from ED: "I was concerned that maybe the hotshoe on my camera was faulty but I get exactly the same reading when off camera."

From this I surmise that you powered the flash off the camera, got a beep not a charging whine/zoom motor grind and nothing else?

OK, got mine in my hand: in green mode, wireless to M, side slide to up position, turned power to on. Hearing Charge whine, seeing P=TTL A.zoom, 24mm, 0.0 comp, flash symbol/left triangle black, head tilted.---coming Straight from powered off in bag.

OFF THE CAMERA:
Can you cycle MODE P-TTL to A to M to SB to P-TTL?
In P-TTL can you put the light ON? It times out and goes off automatically.
In P-TTL (light on or off) can you cycle Zoom (A-zoom, M,zoom (24,28...)with the return to 24mm from 85mm a louder distinctive grind?
Try these same variations in other modes.
With the S button:
>>>In P-TTL does compensation function?
>>>In A can you set aperture and shutter speed?
>>>In M can you set power?
With the side switch down can you get to the Format, channel and modeling functions?

There are a couple hidden function that require press and long holds on certain buttons-find these in the manual and try them.

If all this stuff works then you need to do a step by step set-up of mating camera to flash starting with both units in factory default positions and powered off. The flash boots from default, the camera will need a reset through the menus. Use a pencil eraser to lightly rough-up the camera hotshoe contacts--a couple of scrubs.

I'll keep watching for your results; don't give up!

John,
the flash functions all work in each mode EXCEPT the zoom function. It will not zoom no matter what i do. The flash unit also will not come out of manual zoom mode.

When I power up I get a loud beep for about 3 seconds and NO zoom noise at all from the head.

I even measured the pin distance on the shoe and compared against the connections on the camera hot shoe to make sure they would align.

I did try setting the camera to default settings with no flash on it and then turned it off, reinstalled the flash, powered up the camera, waited for camera to be fully ready to shoot and switched on the flash - all the way to the right (not in Wireless mode). In every instance, the result is the same, the beep when powering, and then M zoom and NO zoom function in the head.

Because it acts exactly the same off camera, it leads me to believe that it is another faulty unit. Pentax had no difficulty beliving it was bad, they didn't hesitate, they just said send it back as soon as you can and get another.

I am calling Pentax now.

I'll let you know what I find out.

Ed

[jfdavis58]

OK, I'm clear now-sounds defective.

What I'm going to suggest now is quite ugly-are you sure you didn't get the same flash back during the last return? It's not supposed to happen; but twice in recent years I've gotten stuff from dealer stock or dealer shelves that was actually returned merchandise, restocked when local techs couldn't verify problems.

All the Pentax major items are serial numbered. On the 360 it's front flip head vertical, just above the Assembled in*** label. Seven numbers on mine. Make a note before you return the unit. If you have the number from the first failure, check against second too.

You're in 'lemon law' territory with a second return; a third return is automatic refund. That might actually be your only option NOW as the entire shipment could have been damaged in a single accident. It's a matter of how well you express your indignation to customer service.

My heart and best wishes go out to you sir; best of luck as well.

[photodad]

Thanks John,

it could not be the same flash as it was scanned in NJ the same day mine left California. I did not think to check s/n however, and that might be a good idea.

Pentax was little to no help, they suggested sending both camera and flash in to service and they would review and probably fix them under warrantee. When I repeated the part about the flash behaving the same way off camera, they waffled. Then they said to send it back. After that they told me to just send the flash because it did not sound as if my camera could have caused the problem. I asked if the tone was normal (btw John, do you get a 3 second audible tone when you power yours up?) and he could not answer the question. I was then informed that returns were processed in an average of 15 working days not including shipping. I immediately called Adorama and they are overnighting a third replacement . . . . . we'll see.

Thanks for all your feedback.

Ed

[photodad]

BTW: that jump from 24mm to 16mm is supposed to happen.

John, I missed this one. What do you mean the jump from 24 to 16mm is supposed to happen? It flashes 24mm before I depress the shutter button and then when shutter is depressed 1/2 way it goes to 16mm no matter what focal length the lens is set at. This is not normal is it?

In manual mode, it will not cycle to any other zoom length on the flash either.

does your emit an audible beep for about 3 seconds on start up?

Thanks,

Ed

[photodad]

OK, I'm clear now-sounds defective.

What I'm going to suggest now is quite ugly-are you sure you didn't get the same flash back during the last return? It's not supposed to happen; but twice in recent years I've gotten stuff from dealer stock or dealer shelves that was actually returned merchandise, restocked when local techs couldn't verify problems.

All the Pentax major items are serial numbered. On the 360 it's front flip head vertical, just above the Assembled in*** label. Seven numbers on mine. Make a note before you return the unit. If you have the number from the first failure, check against second too.

You're in 'lemon law' territory with a second return; a third return is automatic refund. That might actually be your only option NOW as the entire shipment could have been damaged in a single accident. It's a matter of how well you express your indignation to customer service.

My heart and best wishes go out to you sir; best of luck as well.

John, I just re-read this post and I know it isn't the same unit but it could have been a return. I noticed some smudges on the flash like it had been handled a bit, maybe it was return that they couldn't pinpoint the problem on . . . . . . .

Ed

[JohnV3]

The symptoms you describe are the exact same as the defective flash I got from Amazon ( M zoom only, no zoom, 24mm flashing). My replacement flash works fine. Your flash came from New Jersey and mine came from Nevada so it seems they would have been in different lots or different shipments. Maybe these flahes are very fragile and get easily damaged in shipment. The flash works great on my DS, even when using my M lens. The built in flash blew the photo out (white out) even on the f22 setting when trying to use with the M lens.

[photodad]

John, I am sorry you have had the same problem but I am glad to know I am not the only one! This has been very frustrating!

Do you use the flash in manual for the manual focus lenses?

Thanks,

Ed

[JohnV3]

Ed: I just did some testing and took 30 photos using both the manual, AV, auto pict, and program mode. It didn't seem to make any difference. All except four (human error) seemed to be properly exposed. In AV the shutter speed is 180. In the manual mode, the shuuter speed is 125. The aperature was set in the mid range.
The lens is a Pentax 50mm, 1.4, M series. The mode shifts automatically from P-TTL to TTL when the shutter buttom is pressed halfway. I've been reading that the K10 doesn't support TTL so I know what you can expect.
I'm less than a novice so maybe someone on the forum can sort things out.

[ccallana]

Hey Ed - if you want to hook up to test on another camera sometime, let me know - my 540 has been working fine on my DL - a bit different than your 360, but should behave the same. This could give you an idea of where the problem might lie.

Lets just hope you flash doesn't kill my body, or your body kill my flash!

[photodad]

Hey Ed - if you want to hook up to test on another camera sometime, let me know - my 540 has been working fine on my DL - a bit different than your 360, but should behave the same. This could give you an idea of where the problem might lie.

Lets just hope you flash doesn't kill my body, or your body kill my flash!

Thanks Chris,
Adorama expedited shipment of the third flash in as many weeks. It is due at my house today. if I have another problem, I will take it all to Action Camera in Roseville tomorrow for diagnosis. If I do end up with a bad third flash, i will likely try a Sigma 500 Super from Action - especially since I can try it before buying it.

If that doesn't work out, I will send you a note and we could meet for lunch.

I appreciate your help,

Ed