[Donovan1978]

Hi guys

I am not quite new to photography, understand how aperture, shutter speed and ISO work and how to use them to adjust the light. I have never had a flash though due to budget constraints sadly. I managed to get a AF-500FTZ for really cheap. I understand that it will only work in manual mode (please dont tell me what I shouldve gotten because anything else was out of budget haha!). My problem now is that I have no idea how to use it. I dont understand what a Guide Number is, how to set the aperture or ISO on the flash as some user guides have explained on the net. Can anyone give me a dummies guide, or a link to one, that I can use for this particular flash? Would really appreciate any help.

Thanks

[calicojack]

If I remember correctly, it's Guide number divided by distance equals aperture.
I would suggest looking up the manual for your flash unit. I'm sure there's a link somewhere on these pages. I would be very surprised if the AF500FTZ doesn't have "Autoflash" settings.

[stevewig]

Hi guys

I am not quite new to photography, understand how aperture, shutter speed and ISO work and how to use them to adjust the light. I have never had a flash though due to budget constraints sadly. I managed to get a AF-500FTZ for really cheap. I understand that it will only work in manual mode (please dont tell me what I shouldve gotten because anything else was out of budget haha!). My problem now is that I have no idea how to use it. I dont understand what a Guide Number is, how to set the aperture or ISO on the flash as some user guides have explained on the net. Can anyone give me a dummies guide, or a link to one, that I can use for this particular flash? Would really appreciate any help.

Thanks

click on the link:

Let me google that for you

[Just1MoreDave]

If I remember correctly, it's Guide number divided by distance equals aperture.
I would suggest looking up the manual for your flash unit. I'm sure there's a link somewhere on these pages. I would be very surprised if the AF500FTZ doesn't have "Autoflash" settings.

It doesn't.

There's a terrible scan of the manual on the Pentax Imaging site. It was written before the DSLR world so it doesn't mention some details. The flash will communicate with the camera somewhat. If you use the kit lens, the zoom head will track the lens setting, which is nice. The flash will display the focal length in 35mm equivalent terms, though. So it thinks the DA 16-45 is a 24-70.

TTL mode will just fire at full power. Press the mode switch to get to M mode and you'll see a fraction on the display, 1/1. If you press Adjust, the fraction changes to 1/2. It's the power ratio. You can set it as low as 1/32. The manual has enough information for all the calculations. I have used trial and error.