Best El Cheapo Flash for Pentax K-X

mattdm · 07-02-2010, 09:00 PM

Originally posted by mattdm

That's not going to happen. Assuming it's about 500 meters across the lagoon, you'd need a flash with a guide number of 700 to light a subject over there at aperture f/1.4. That's about 175× more powerful than the Sigma flash.

So, in theory, you could buy 175 Sigma flashes to do this. Or, you could use 213 Metz 48 AF-1s. The Vivitar 285 has a guide number of 36, so you'd need 379 of them. The cost of batteries may start to be a factor here.

SelfEmployedDebtFree · 07-02-2010, 09:18 PM

LOL, I guess you nailed me on that one.

I was thinking about a shot from England to Japan, not really across the entire lagoon, but I certainly see your point. I also was figuring it would (at best) only dimly lite the structure. That too may be waay out of it's ability.
I can see I still have a lot to learn, which is a good thing. I crave a good challenge.
I do have an extra, no longer used stroller I could carry all those flashes around in though...

I might look a little suspicious at the security gate though. Should I give them your name and say you recommended this?

I also think that's gonna blow my budget "just a little!".

LucVer · 07-02-2010, 11:00 PM

Here you will find what I bought. Cactus is AF45P (entax). I am very happy with it so far. Gadget Infinity :: Digital Camera :: Flash :: Cactus AF45 Auto Electronic Flash for Pentax DSLR

GerryL · 07-03-2010, 03:39 PM

Originally posted by LucVer

Here you will find what I bought. Cactus is AF45P (entax). I am very happy with it so far. Gadget Infinity :: Digital Camera :: Flash :: Cactus AF45 Auto Electronic Flash for Pentax DSLR

These are the ones made by TUMAX.
They are the same as the Vivitar, Bower, Rokinon and Digital Concepts brand...different brands, same internals and same manufacturer.
Tumax just re-brands them for whomever flashmaker wants their brand on them.

kalison · 07-10-2010, 08:16 AM

I just received the sigma 530 DG ST. It's as big as the K-7! LOL

I am not a big flash kinda guy, I use available light almost anytime I can, but I did need a decent flash for those times when flash is a must. For the price this is a really nice flash. It's not as full featured as others, but as I said before, I don't use them that much.

The K-7 hot shoe has a notch that doesn't allow the gun to secure fully forward, which bothers me but it seems very secure.

Anyway my K-7 is literally huge with thing on it. I just can't believe it, really puts into perspective how small the K-7 really is. On my 50D it would look normal.

**Ahab** · 07-10-2010, 09:28 AM

Originally posted by kalison

I just received the sigma 530 DG ST. It's as big as the K-7! LOL

I am not a big flash kinda guy, I use available light almost anytime I can, but I did need a decent flash for those times when flash is a must. For the price this is a really nice flash. It's not as full featured as others, but as I said before, I don't use them that much.

The K-7 hot shoe has a notch that doesn't allow the gun to secure fully forward, which bothers me but it seems very secure.

Anyway my K-7 is literally huge with thing on it. I just can't believe it, really puts into perspective how small the K-7 really is. On my 50D it would look normal.

Yah, it's definitely not one of those wimpy kind. That's what I love about it. It's got the oomph when you need it.

SelfEmployedDebtFree · 07-10-2010, 10:28 PM

I was the noob that started this thread, and I bought the same sigma 530 DG ST flash!
I obsessed over a bunch of different ones, from the Cactus to the actual pentax, to Metz, Bower, Vivitar, etc. In the end, I decided I was tired of obsessing, and I had to just pick one. I called B&H and he said unless I bought the actual Pentax Brand flash that the wireless doesn't matter on the K-x; it wouldn't work as slave. (???) So that was the final factor. If its $$$ Pentax or another brand and no wireless, then I'm going with the Sigma and I'll save a few $. Besides, the Sigma looks to be brighter than the rest, and he agreed on that. Now I get to try and find a wide angle lens. Then I'll be done for a while hopefully. My Sigma flash hasnt arrived yet. I'm waiting patiently.
Either way I am going to be happy with what I chose. If i don't my wife will slap me around. She was getting tired of me overly researching them as well.

ChooseAName · 07-12-2010, 08:23 AM

Originally posted by SelfEmployedDebtFree

I was the noob that started this thread, and I bought the same sigma 530 DG ST flash!
I obsessed over a bunch of different ones, from the Cactus to the actual pentax, to Metz, Bower, Vivitar, etc. In the end, I decided I was tired of obsessing, and I had to just pick one. I called B&H and he said unless I bought the actual Pentax Brand flash that the wireless doesn't matter on the K-x; it wouldn't work as slave. (???) So that was the final factor. If its $$$ Pentax or another brand and no wireless, then I'm going with the Sigma and I'll save a few $. Besides, the Sigma looks to be brighter than the rest, and he agreed on that. Now I get to try and find a wide angle lens. Then I'll be done for a while hopefully. My Sigma flash hasnt arrived yet. I'm waiting patiently.
Either way I am going to be happy with what I chose. If i don't my wife will slap me around. She was getting tired of me overly researching them as well.

Great! I like my Metz 48 but I'm sure I would've been very pleased with a Sigma. I found that flash greatly helped my keeper rate, since my house is fairly poorly lit. I also got tired of holding that white index card in front of my pop-up flash

(waiting...patiently..? What's "patiently"?)

SelfEmployedDebtFree · 07-12-2010, 09:57 PM

Quote:

(waiting...patiently..? What's "patiently"?) 07-11-10 01:28 AM

Funny you should mention that...
As you can see I posted that late on Saturday, July 10th at 1:30AM. I had just bought the flash seconds earlier. (Yeah, I'm a night person. I sleep late.)
The flash arrived on Tuesday the 13th.
Saturday and Sunday UPS doesn't run (it runs Saturday for an additional fee) Which only leaves Monday and Tuesday. Thats pretty dang quick in my book. I'm still waiting for the PS3 controller port I ordered off ebay 2 weeks ago. I got my flash in 2 business days. Not bad!

I'm going with B&H from now on.

Russell-Evans · 07-13-2010, 05:30 AM - **1 Like**

You need two external flashes to use all the features of the Pentax flash system.

The least expensive way to go is with the Metz 48 AF-1 as the flash you carry around day to day, and a Sigma 530 Super to use it when you want the features or need the power the on board flash can't provide.

The reason you want the Metz AF-1 is that there are only three P-TTL flashes that can disable their auto power off feature, the Metz 48 AF-1, the Metz 58 AF-1, and the Pentax 540 FGZ. You'll want to be able to disable the power off feature because you'll eventually want to use the flash with radio triggers.

The reason you want the Sigma 530 Super is because the Metz 48 AF-1 can only be used as a wireless slave. The Sigma 530 Super can be a wireless master, controller, and slave.

Neither the Sigma 530 Super nor the Metz 48 AF-1 have a wireless manual mode. Besides the range, and the ability to work in more environments, you'll want to use radio triggers to provide this missing wireless manual mode.

The total cost of the Metz 48 AF-1 and the Sigma 530 Super together is about the cost of a single Pentax 540 FGZ, or a single Metz 58 AF-1. As the on board flash doesn't support HSS, a single flash solution leaves out being able to have a shutter speed higher than the sync speed of the camera. The range of P-TTL wireless is extended with the power of the flash providing the wireless. The Sigma 530 Super is much more powerful than the on board flash.

As both the Sigma 530 Super and the Metz 48 AF-1 both will work as wireless slaves, you can use the two flashes with the on board flash as master/controller. This really expands your lighting options.

So what do you give up by going this route? The more expensive flashes obviously have more power, they also have an Auto mode, and in the case of the Pentax, a wireless manual mode and backwards compatibility for use on a film camera. If I had the money, sure, I would like a dual Pentax 540 FGZ setup. I don't so went with the two lessor flash set up. I actually ended up with the Pentax 360 FGZ and the Metz 48 AF-1, but that is just because I found the 360 for less than I would ever find the Sigma 530 Super for.

You can read Matt's guide to get the rest of the details, but hopefully this posts gives you some idea of why the features or lack of features of each flash is important to consider.

Thank you
Russell

SelfEmployedDebtFree · 07-13-2010, 10:24 AM

My last post here was wrong, I received the flash in ONE business day!!! It was 12:57AM when i posted that, and I was going by my watch's DAY. I received the flash on MONDAY. I used to be an ebay power seller, and I've shipped thousands of items. I'm still trying to figure out how it arrived that fast! Apparently UPS is improving, because my packages were never shipped and arrived within one business day!

monching · 07-13-2010, 11:45 AM

Guys can I ask a favor?? I just found an old Flash unit. It's a Black's TZ 6500, I've tried searching for it's specs. and voltage output on the net but can't find any as I've read it can fry our camera. The unit is working perfectly, I'm just hesitant to use it in my K-7 because of the fry thing. Can anyone enlighten me on this?

Inputs will be highly appreciated.

Thanks and God bless
monching

GerryL · 07-13-2010, 05:51 PM

Monching, you have a K-7..you should be buying a better flash for it.
You have already splurged on the K-7 so why not on the flash.
If you want to be persistent though, then grab a multi-meter and test the "trig volt" of the flash in question.
Place the meter setting to DCV (direct current voltage) at around the 200-300v range.
With the positive probe (red) on the center contact of the flash and the negative probe ( black) on the side contact (ground or negative) of the flash, manually trigger the flash with the test button and see what the meter reads.
Anyway, if the higher setting doesn't give you a reading then turn the knob to a lower setting..in any case if the trigger voltage is more than 12volts (for others 24v is fine) then it might fry your K-7's circuits.
If it is less than 12V then that flash is fine but it would still be useless since it won't be dedicated and you only can use it on manual settings.
It would be best to just use that as an "off-shoe" flash or a second flash that you won't need to mount on the camera itself (just triggered remotely).
Better yet..buy a dedicated flash for the K-7.

monching · 07-13-2010, 08:07 PM

Thank you so much for the input Gerry, it's very much appreciated...I'm just curious about the flash itself as I don't know much about DSLR yet although I'm not new to the film SLR's. I've been into photography during my younger years (about 30 years ago)

a lot has been forgotten though and it's just last month that I've decided to return back to my old passion. I'm still on the process of learning everything that I need to learn with regards to my K-7. I will buy a better flash definitely as soon as my logistics permits me. At any rate I will check it out like what you have told me, if it's no good then I'll might just throw it away.

Thanks again and God bless,
Monching

GerryL · 07-14-2010, 06:42 PM

Originally posted by monching

Thank you so much for the input Gerry, it's very much appreciated...I'm just curious about the flash itself as I don't know much about DSLR yet although I'm not new to the film SLR's. I've been into photography during my younger years (about 30 years ago)

a lot has been forgotten though and it's just last month that I've decided to return back to my old passion. I'm still on the process of learning everything that I need to learn with regards to my K-7. I will buy a better flash definitely as soon as my logistics permits me. At any rate I will check it out like what you have told me, if it's no good then I'll might just throw it away.

Thanks again and God bless,
Monching

Don't throw it away monching 'coz you can still you it as a secondary flash!
If it has a PC sync socket, then the K7 has a PC sync socket too or you can use a light trigger to trip it or those radio triggers so you don't need it to connect directly to the K7.

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07-02-2010, 09:00 PM	#16
mattdm Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Boston, MA Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,948	Originally posted by mattdm That's not going to happen. Assuming it's about 500 meters across the lagoon, you'd need a flash with a guide number of 700 to light a subject over there at aperture f/1.4. That's about 175× more powerful than the Sigma flash. So, in theory, you could buy 175 Sigma flashes to do this. Or, you could use 213 Metz 48 AF-1s. The Vivitar 285 has a guide number of 36, so you'd need 379 of them. The cost of batteries may start to be a factor here.

07-02-2010, 09:18 PM	#17
SelfEmployedDebtFree Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: NC Posts: 41 Original Poster	LOL, I guess you nailed me on that one. I was thinking about a shot from England to Japan, not really across the entire lagoon, but I certainly see your point. I also was figuring it would (at best) only dimly lite the structure. That too may be waay out of it's ability. I can see I still have a lot to learn, which is a good thing. I crave a good challenge. I do have an extra, no longer used stroller I could carry all those flashes around in though... I might look a little suspicious at the security gate though. Should I give them your name and say you recommended this? I also think that's gonna blow my budget "just a little!".

07-02-2010, 11:00 PM	#18
LucVer New Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Brasov, Romania Posts: 22	Here you will find what I bought. Cactus is AF45P (entax). I am very happy with it so far. Gadget Infinity :: Digital Camera :: Flash :: Cactus AF45 Auto Electronic Flash for Pentax DSLR

07-03-2010, 03:39 PM	#19
GerryL Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: CA Posts: 2,731	Originally posted by LucVer Here you will find what I bought. Cactus is AF45P (entax). I am very happy with it so far. Gadget Infinity :: Digital Camera :: Flash :: Cactus AF45 Auto Electronic Flash for Pentax DSLR These are the ones made by TUMAX. They are the same as the Vivitar, Bower, Rokinon and Digital Concepts brand...different brands, same internals and same manufacturer. Tumax just re-brands them for whomever flashmaker wants their brand on them.

07-10-2010, 08:16 AM	#20
kalison Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Utah Posts: 376	I just received the sigma 530 DG ST. It's as big as the K-7! LOL I am not a big flash kinda guy, I use available light almost anytime I can, but I did need a decent flash for those times when flash is a must. For the price this is a really nice flash. It's not as full featured as others, but as I said before, I don't use them that much. The K-7 hot shoe has a notch that doesn't allow the gun to secure fully forward, which bothers me but it seems very secure. Anyway my K-7 is literally huge with thing on it. I just can't believe it, really puts into perspective how small the K-7 really is. On my 50D it would look normal.

07-10-2010, 09:28 AM	#21
Ahab Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Arnold, Md. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 762	Originally posted by kalison I just received the sigma 530 DG ST. It's as big as the K-7! LOL I am not a big flash kinda guy, I use available light almost anytime I can, but I did need a decent flash for those times when flash is a must. For the price this is a really nice flash. It's not as full featured as others, but as I said before, I don't use them that much. The K-7 hot shoe has a notch that doesn't allow the gun to secure fully forward, which bothers me but it seems very secure. Anyway my K-7 is literally huge with thing on it. I just can't believe it, really puts into perspective how small the K-7 really is. On my 50D it would look normal. Yah, it's definitely not one of those wimpy kind. That's what I love about it. It's got the oomph when you need it.

07-10-2010, 10:28 PM	#22
SelfEmployedDebtFree Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: NC Posts: 41 Original Poster	I was the noob that started this thread, and I bought the same sigma 530 DG ST flash! I obsessed over a bunch of different ones, from the Cactus to the actual pentax, to Metz, Bower, Vivitar, etc. In the end, I decided I was tired of obsessing, and I had to just pick one. I called B&H and he said unless I bought the actual Pentax Brand flash that the wireless doesn't matter on the K-x; it wouldn't work as slave. (???) So that was the final factor. If its $$$ Pentax or another brand and no wireless, then I'm going with the Sigma and I'll save a few $. Besides, the Sigma looks to be brighter than the rest, and he agreed on that. Now I get to try and find a wide angle lens. Then I'll be done for a while hopefully. My Sigma flash hasnt arrived yet. I'm waiting patiently. Either way I am going to be happy with what I chose. If i don't my wife will slap me around. She was getting tired of me overly researching them as well.

07-12-2010, 08:23 AM	#23
ChooseAName Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Southeast USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 390	Originally posted by SelfEmployedDebtFree I was the noob that started this thread, and I bought the same sigma 530 DG ST flash! I obsessed over a bunch of different ones, from the Cactus to the actual pentax, to Metz, Bower, Vivitar, etc. In the end, I decided I was tired of obsessing, and I had to just pick one. I called B&H and he said unless I bought the actual Pentax Brand flash that the wireless doesn't matter on the K-x; it wouldn't work as slave. (???) So that was the final factor. If its $$$ Pentax or another brand and no wireless, then I'm going with the Sigma and I'll save a few $. Besides, the Sigma looks to be brighter than the rest, and he agreed on that. Now I get to try and find a wide angle lens. Then I'll be done for a while hopefully. My Sigma flash hasnt arrived yet. I'm waiting patiently. Either way I am going to be happy with what I chose. If i don't my wife will slap me around. She was getting tired of me overly researching them as well. Great! I like my Metz 48 but I'm sure I would've been very pleased with a Sigma. I found that flash greatly helped my keeper rate, since my house is fairly poorly lit. I also got tired of holding that white index card in front of my pop-up flash (waiting...patiently..? What's "patiently"?)

07-12-2010, 09:57 PM	#24
SelfEmployedDebtFree Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: NC Posts: 41 Original Poster	Quote: (waiting...patiently..? What's "patiently"?) 07-11-10 01:28 AM Funny you should mention that... As you can see I posted that late on Saturday, July 10th at 1:30AM. I had just bought the flash seconds earlier. (Yeah, I'm a night person. I sleep late.) The flash arrived on Tuesday the 13th. Saturday and Sunday UPS doesn't run (it runs Saturday for an additional fee) Which only leaves Monday and Tuesday. Thats pretty dang quick in my book. I'm still waiting for the PS3 controller port I ordered off ebay 2 weeks ago. I got my flash in 2 business days. Not bad! I'm going with B&H from now on.

07-13-2010, 05:30 AM - 1 Like	#25
Russell-Evans Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 1,553	You need two external flashes to use all the features of the Pentax flash system. The least expensive way to go is with the Metz 48 AF-1 as the flash you carry around day to day, and a Sigma 530 Super to use it when you want the features or need the power the on board flash can't provide. The reason you want the Metz AF-1 is that there are only three P-TTL flashes that can disable their auto power off feature, the Metz 48 AF-1, the Metz 58 AF-1, and the Pentax 540 FGZ. You'll want to be able to disable the power off feature because you'll eventually want to use the flash with radio triggers. The reason you want the Sigma 530 Super is because the Metz 48 AF-1 can only be used as a wireless slave. The Sigma 530 Super can be a wireless master, controller, and slave. Neither the Sigma 530 Super nor the Metz 48 AF-1 have a wireless manual mode. Besides the range, and the ability to work in more environments, you'll want to use radio triggers to provide this missing wireless manual mode. The total cost of the Metz 48 AF-1 and the Sigma 530 Super together is about the cost of a single Pentax 540 FGZ, or a single Metz 58 AF-1. As the on board flash doesn't support HSS, a single flash solution leaves out being able to have a shutter speed higher than the sync speed of the camera. The range of P-TTL wireless is extended with the power of the flash providing the wireless. The Sigma 530 Super is much more powerful than the on board flash. As both the Sigma 530 Super and the Metz 48 AF-1 both will work as wireless slaves, you can use the two flashes with the on board flash as master/controller. This really expands your lighting options. So what do you give up by going this route? The more expensive flashes obviously have more power, they also have an Auto mode, and in the case of the Pentax, a wireless manual mode and backwards compatibility for use on a film camera. If I had the money, sure, I would like a dual Pentax 540 FGZ setup. I don't so went with the two lessor flash set up. I actually ended up with the Pentax 360 FGZ and the Metz 48 AF-1, but that is just because I found the 360 for less than I would ever find the Sigma 530 Super for. You can read Matt's guide to get the rest of the details, but hopefully this posts gives you some idea of why the features or lack of features of each flash is important to consider. Thank you Russell

07-13-2010, 10:24 AM	#26
SelfEmployedDebtFree Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: NC Posts: 41 Original Poster	My last post here was wrong, I received the flash in ONE business day!!! It was 12:57AM when i posted that, and I was going by my watch's DAY. I received the flash on MONDAY. I used to be an ebay power seller, and I've shipped thousands of items. I'm still trying to figure out how it arrived that fast! Apparently UPS is improving, because my packages were never shipped and arrived within one business day!

07-13-2010, 11:45 AM	#27
monching Inactive Account Join Date: May 2010 Location: Toronto, Ontario Photos: Albums Posts: 26	Guys can I ask a favor?? I just found an old Flash unit. It's a Black's TZ 6500, I've tried searching for it's specs. and voltage output on the net but can't find any as I've read it can fry our camera. The unit is working perfectly, I'm just hesitant to use it in my K-7 because of the fry thing. Can anyone enlighten me on this? Inputs will be highly appreciated. Thanks and God bless monching

07-13-2010, 05:51 PM	#28
GerryL Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: CA Posts: 2,731	Monching, you have a K-7..you should be buying a better flash for it. You have already splurged on the K-7 so why not on the flash. If you want to be persistent though, then grab a multi-meter and test the "trig volt" of the flash in question. Place the meter setting to DCV (direct current voltage) at around the 200-300v range. With the positive probe (red) on the center contact of the flash and the negative probe ( black) on the side contact (ground or negative) of the flash, manually trigger the flash with the test button and see what the meter reads. Anyway, if the higher setting doesn't give you a reading then turn the knob to a lower setting..in any case if the trigger voltage is more than 12volts (for others 24v is fine) then it might fry your K-7's circuits. If it is less than 12V then that flash is fine but it would still be useless since it won't be dedicated and you only can use it on manual settings. It would be best to just use that as an "off-shoe" flash or a second flash that you won't need to mount on the camera itself (just triggered remotely). Better yet..buy a dedicated flash for the K-7.

07-13-2010, 08:07 PM	#29
monching Inactive Account Join Date: May 2010 Location: Toronto, Ontario Photos: Albums Posts: 26	Thank you so much for the input Gerry, it's very much appreciated...I'm just curious about the flash itself as I don't know much about DSLR yet although I'm not new to the film SLR's. I've been into photography during my younger years (about 30 years ago) a lot has been forgotten though and it's just last month that I've decided to return back to my old passion. I'm still on the process of learning everything that I need to learn with regards to my K-7. I will buy a better flash definitely as soon as my logistics permits me. At any rate I will check it out like what you have told me, if it's no good then I'll might just throw it away. Thanks again and God bless, Monching

07-14-2010, 06:42 PM	#30
GerryL Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: CA Posts: 2,731	Originally posted by monching Thank you so much for the input Gerry, it's very much appreciated...I'm just curious about the flash itself as I don't know much about DSLR yet although I'm not new to the film SLR's. I've been into photography during my younger years (about 30 years ago) a lot has been forgotten though and it's just last month that I've decided to return back to my old passion. I'm still on the process of learning everything that I need to learn with regards to my K-7. I will buy a better flash definitely as soon as my logistics permits me. At any rate I will check it out like what you have told me, if it's no good then I'll might just throw it away. Thanks again and God bless, Monching Don't throw it away monching 'coz you can still you it as a secondary flash! If it has a PC sync socket, then the K7 has a PC sync socket too or you can use a light trigger to trip it or those radio triggers so you don't need it to connect directly to the K7.