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03-15-2017, 03:03 PM   #1
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Is it the technology or is it just me?

So as an experiment, I bought myself a Meike MK-PT01 flash cable for Pentax camera and speedlite, a device which claims to "support TTL flash exposure control while using the flash off-camera". This is in lieu of chasing after the genuine article.

I have so far tried this device with my AF280T on my *istDS and my AF540FGZ-II on my K-5 and in neither case does the flash even fire, let alone "support TTL". I am, insofar as I can tell, correctly matching "live" pins on both hotshoe and flash to "live" pins on the unit's hotshoe attachment and flash-receiving end, and using the device under conditions which would reasonably require the use of flash.

There is a fifth "pin", which goes into the unused pin on the hotshoe to act as a locking device, with an actuator to retract it for removal.

Have I been had? Have I merely got a faulty unit? Or is there something I am unaccountably (in my jetlag and work-induced tiredness) doing wrong?

03-15-2017, 03:43 PM - 1 Like   #2
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The K-5 only supports P-TTL. The last Pentax DSLR to support TTL was the *ist DS. The AF-540FGZ II doesn't support TTL either...The older AF-540FGZ did as it pre-dated DSLRs...it was the first Pentax flash with P-TTL...
03-15-2017, 03:44 PM   #3
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It is a pass-through cable and should at very least fire the flash in manual mode with the body in X mode. If the feature (TTL, P-TTL) works with the flash directly attached to the camera, it should work through the cable.


Steve
03-15-2017, 04:07 PM - 1 Like   #4
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You guys beat me to the mea culpa - it was me; I wasn't pushing the hotshoe module in far enough.

*headdesk*

Too much jetlag plus overwork on day 1 back plus formalin fume headache.

I am now set up to smoothly and easily digitise my B&W negatives straight to jpeg on the K-5 if I should wish to do so. For rapid upload to social media, this may be all I need. Colour is still an issue - direct reversal in the K-5's inversion filter results in a horrific blue cast (secondary to the orange film mask) that needs to be countered, but this is a separate problem which I am sure I can solve in time.

03-15-2017, 04:16 PM   #5
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Hi Path,
If you have a multimeter, try to prove continuity, and that the basic centre pin will fire a most basic old flash.
-Maybe with a film camera and an old manual flash.

The Japanese hot shoe design was a bit of a mongrel in my opinion, too weak for the flash unit weights etc.
Also the flash clamps are a bit disconcerting because in mechanically tightening the flash body
they unload the contact pressure on the electrical pins !
So we see reference to "wobble the unit till it connects" etc

Years ago I purchased the real Pentax parts. They were expensive, but they still work OK
https://app.box.com/s/3t1h7jpcpdxg52dvpc6yku7vw9rlcp0j

Edit, sorry I posted before reading that you fixed it.
Anyway the "not pushing forward" against the varying springs is another design deficiency in my opinion.
03-15-2017, 04:29 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by boriscleto Quote
The K-5 only supports P-TTL. The last Pentax DSLR to support TTL was the *ist DS. The AF-540FGZ II doesn't support TTL either...The older AF-540FGZ did as it pre-dated DSLRs...it was the first Pentax flash with P-TTL...
The af540FGZ supports both TTL and p-TTL. It works just fine with legacy lenses on my *istD and with new lenses on my K10, K7 and K5

I have an OEM cable that came with my AF500FTZ. I don't know why the new flashes don't come with the cable

Last edited by Lowell Goudge; 03-15-2017 at 04:39 PM.
03-15-2017, 04:39 PM   #7
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I suppose the good old USA "Rochester Iron" solution was reliable,
using the standard 120 volt household plug/sockets.
But when your kids plug your favorite flash into the wall socket
"one Flash and its Ash !"
https://app.box.com/s/tmkvx5x5y0exig6xgxtkdp7asi7wg6l1


Last edited by wombat2go; 03-16-2017 at 06:21 AM.
03-15-2017, 04:53 PM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by Lowell Goudge Quote
The af540FGZ supports both TTL and p-TTL.
But the AF540FGZ II doesn't support TTL. Just P-TTL.
03-15-2017, 10:12 PM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by pathdoc Quote
Too much jetlag plus overwork on day 1 back plus formalin fume headache.
Careful with the formalin. Back in another life, worked with a pathologist who developed a severe sensitivity to formalin such that he could not enter the section of the building where the histology lab was located. Happily, he did a segue into medical law so all was not lost.


Steve
03-15-2017, 10:12 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by pathdoc Quote
Too much jetlag plus overwork on day 1 back plus formalin fume headache.
Careful with the formalin. Back in another life, I worked with a pathologist who developed a severe sensitivity to formalin such that he could not enter the section of the building where the histology lab was located. Happily, he did a segue into medical law so all was not lost.


Steve

Last edited by stevebrot; 03-16-2017 at 10:15 AM.
03-16-2017, 01:23 AM   #11
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Hope he sued his employer !
03-16-2017, 09:01 AM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by 35mmfilmfan Quote
Hope he sued his employer !
You can't, not within reason. It's part of the job, and you know this from day one of your training. It would be like willingly joining the army during a major shooting war and then suing your generals simply because you were wounded.
03-16-2017, 10:14 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by 35mmfilmfan Quote
Hope he sued his employer !
He was a senior partner...not a good idea...


Steve
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