[WMBP]

Couple questions. I have been taking lots of test shots and I may know the answers - but my tests produce sometimes inconclusive results, so I'm looking for confirmation.

1. When the Pentax 540 FGZ is mounted on the K20D's hot shoe, camera in P mode, most of the time the flash can only be put into P-TTL mode (or SB, but never mind about that). Seems that the flash is not supposed to be used in Auto or Manual mode when the camera's mode is P. RIGHT?? (I'm pretty sure this is right.)

2. So if the camera is in P mode, why is it then that sometimes the flash will indeed go into Auto or Manual mode?

3. When the 540 FGZ is NOT mounted on the camera's hot shoe but is instead mounted on a bracket and configured for wireless triggering (camera = controller, flash = slave), it seems that the flash CAN be put into Auto and Manual modes every time I try. Why is that?

4. If the camera is in P-TTL mode, wireless triggering (as in #3 above), with Auto Zoom selected, is the flash supposed to zoom to match (roughly) the focal length of the lens? I ask because tonight when I was testing, the flash in Auto Zoom was not zooming. (I confess that I'm not sure how this would work. The preflash could tell the 540 what the camera's focal length is - but I don't know that the flash could zoom fast enough to take the picture. On the other hand, if this is simply impossible, then I would kind of expect that, when the flash is set to wireless mode, Auto Zoom would simply not be an option.)

Thanks in advance.

Will

[tomtor]

1: Yes, auto or manual mode only works in M mode according to the flash manual. This is the way Pentax designed the camera/flash to work, but there is no (good) reason for that. The Metz58 flash DOES work in auto or manual work when the camera is in P or Av mode.

2: Perhaps the contacts between the flash and hot-shoe are dirty so that the camera and flash sometimes don't see each other? It assumes it is used on a non Pentax camera or with radio/optical triggers in in that mode auto and manual should be possible to use. Or you change the flash setting when metering is off? (the camera sleeps till the trigger is pressed halfway)

3: First because you can use the 540 as a dumb optical slave when you set it in a special mode.. In addition it could be triggered by the middle contact by a radio trigger or optical slave? Does it fire in auto or manual when you try to trigger it wireless with the camera in pttl slave mode? I'll have to test this but I think it is good that the flash can be fired with the middle contact even if the flash switch is in wireless slave mode, so that you can use it with other triggers even if the wireless switch is in that mode.

4: Setting the zoom in wireless mode does not make sense, because the flash may be oriented in any way. So the system wants you to set the flash manually which is correct IMO. You are right in the assumption that the flash could not zoom fast that fast anyway and that the auto-zoom option should be disabled.

[WMBP]

2: Perhaps the contacts between the flash and hot-shoe are dirty so that the camera and flash sometimes don't see each other? It assumes it is used on a non Pentax camera or with radio/optical triggers in in that mode auto and manual should be possible to use. Or you change the flash setting when metering is off? (the camera sleeps till the trigger is pressed halfway)

No, I'm not turning the camera off or even letting it go to sleep. I have simply been playing around with the flash a lot and switching modes both on the camera and the flash.

I think there may be a problem with the connection between the flash and the hot shoe. That's one reason I'm experimenting with wireless again.

4: Setting the zoom in wireless mode does not make sense, because the flash may be oriented in any way. So the system wants you to set the flash manually which is correct IMO.

Yes, I understand now. Thanks very much for the quick replies.

Will