Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
02-28-2010, 03:58 PM   #16
Inactive Account




Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Michigan, USA
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 7,484
QuoteOriginally posted by Mike Cash Quote
My mileage does vary.

I think the AF200T is a wonderful flash unit. You just have to get it off the camera to use it to its best advantage. (And be aware that there were two models of the AF200, the AF200S and the AF200T, so it is helpful to distinguish between the two.)
Well, I'm talking Shoe mounted flash here. That said, Just for grins and giggles I picked one of your photos and looked at the details. THIS is what you said....

"strobist info:

Pentax AF200T high and to the left. Vivitar 2500 placed atop speakers and ceiling bounced.

eBay RF616 triggers that failed to fire about 2/3 of the time. They did an outstanding job on my last shoot, so I hope the failures were due to low batteries in the receiver.
"

Hardly shoe mounted and hardly just the AF200(x). I stand by my original statement.



03-01-2010, 12:15 PM   #17
Veteran Member
Deiberson's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2009
Photos: Albums
Posts: 734
QuoteOriginally posted by sterretje Quote
you can also focus first, check the distance on the lens and calculate the aperture from there.

i'm still new to all of this too. i have a k10, kx, just purchased the AF 540 and barely know how to use any of them.

what do you mean by "check the distance on the lens"? do you mean there is a feature in the viewfinder telling you the distance? or did i misunderstand the written text?
03-01-2010, 02:33 PM   #18
Veteran Member
Mike Cash's Avatar

Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Japan
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 6,950
QuoteOriginally posted by JeffJS Quote
Well, I'm talking Shoe mounted flash here. That said, Just for grins and giggles I picked one of your photos and looked at the details. THIS is what you said....

"strobist info:

Pentax AF200T high and to the left. Vivitar 2500 placed atop speakers and ceiling bounced.

eBay RF616 triggers that failed to fire about 2/3 of the time. They did an outstanding job on my last shoot, so I hope the failures were due to low batteries in the receiver.
"

Hardly shoe mounted and hardly just the AF200(x). I stand by my original statement.
No need to get your ass on your shoulders about this.

Your original statement included the weasel phrase "YMMV" so "I stand by my original statement" sounds odd, to say the least. Someone else does find such simple flashes can be versatile and you act like somebody slapped your grandmother.

I narrowed down my search results for use of the AF200T in isolation as best I could. You find one that slipped through and grasp onto it as some sort of indication that a single simple flash can't be used in various ways, totally disregarding the roughly 80 or so other examples.

I quite clearly stated "I think the AF200T is a wonderful flash unit. You just have to get it off the camera to use it to its best advantage." so I don't know where you get off with the "Hardly shoe mounted" comment. I never said it was.

Are you that emotionally invested in your pronouncements on camera advice? Or just a petty ass in general?
03-01-2010, 06:03 PM   #19
Veteran Member




Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Roodepoort, South Africa
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 3,561
QuoteOriginally posted by Deiberson Quote
i'm still new to all of this too. i have a k10, kx, just purchased the AF 540 and barely know how to use any of them.

what do you mean by "check the distance on the lens"? do you mean there is a feature in the viewfinder telling you the distance? or did i misunderstand the written text?
Didn't you buy that K10D for a friend a while ago? What happened to that?

The lens has a distance scale and a marker; after focusing you can read the distance to the subject from it.

03-01-2010, 07:05 PM   #20
Inactive Account




Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Michigan, USA
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 7,484
QuoteOriginally posted by Mike Cash Quote
No need to get your ass on your shoulders about this.

Your original statement included the weasel phrase "YMMV" so "I stand by my original statement" sounds odd, to say the least. Someone else does find such simple flashes can be versatile and you act like somebody slapped your grandmother.

I narrowed down my search results for use of the AF200T in isolation as best I could. You find one that slipped through and grasp onto it as some sort of indication that a single simple flash can't be used in various ways, totally disregarding the roughly 80 or so other examples.

I quite clearly stated "I think the AF200T is a wonderful flash unit. You just have to get it off the camera to use it to its best advantage." so I don't know where you get off with the "Hardly shoe mounted" comment. I never said it was.

Are you that emotionally invested in your pronouncements on camera advice? Or just a petty ass in general?
That's exactly the kind of response I would expect from someone like you. Since you're so concerned about my ass, go ahead and pucker up. As for Slapping my Grandmother, if slapping dead old ladies is your thing, Have at it. Sounds kind of sick to me but whatever moves you.

You aren't worth further response.
03-01-2010, 07:09 PM   #21
Veteran Member




Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Roodepoort, South Africa
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 3,561
Mike and Jeff:

Guys, slow down please. This is not good for my health so early in the morning without having had coffee.
03-02-2010, 08:38 AM   #22
Inactive Account




Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Outside of Philly
Posts: 1,561
QuoteOriginally posted by Deiberson Quote
i'm still new to all of this too. i have a k10, kx, just purchased the AF 540 and barely know how to use any of them.
Basically, with flash, the FLASH exposure is solely determined by flash power (actually duration, how long the bulb is actually firing for), aperture and ISO. Ambient exposure is determined by ISO, shutter speed, and aperture (just like without any flash), so the trick is balancing the two. If I'm indoors in a smallish room (such as in someone's house), I usually just forget about ambient since the flash is powerful enough to light up the entire room (hence the 1/180s below, if the flash didn't fire, I'd have a more or less black picture) Now although you're shooting MANUAL Mode, that's only for the ambient exposure (the exposure needle in the viewfinder will blink warning you about underexposure, but ignore that). The camera's P-TTL metering will determine the needed flash output for a proper exposure.

Here's something I wrote on another forum -
"Easy" recipe for great P-TTL flash shots -
1)Point flash at ceiling/wall (to the side or behind you, experimentation is the key!)
2)Put camera in MANUAL mode on the mode dial
3)Set FEC to +1 on the flash head

4)Shoot RAW (this allows you to recover some highlights that might get blown as a result of #3 above)

5)Set ISO to 200 (to start)
6)Set shutter speed to 1/180s
7)Set f-stop to whatever DOF you want


Now if the flash runs out of "power" because of high ceilings, you can raise the ISO or open up the f-stop to compensate. Or you can slow down the shutter to bring more ambient light into the exposure (in addition to adjusting ISO/f-stop) If the ceiling is REALLY high (like in a church), you may need a reflector to throw some of the light forward (I use the Joe Demb Flip-it).

Quick and dirty outdoor fill flash tutorial -
Basically, if your subject is in shade and the background is bright (ie under a tree) or majorly backlit, fill flash is your friend. Think of those times when you got a properly exposed background, but the subject was almost pitch black.

Put camera into Av mode, metering will set the shutter speed to expose the overall shot (which in the situations that call for fill-flash will generally be the background) based on your selected aperture/ISO.
Make sure flash is set to HSS (in case your shutter speed go faster than 1/180s) and P-TTL. Fire away! The shutter speed/f-stop/ISO will expose the background, and the flash should output enough power to light up the foreground.

Now to control the background exposure, you use exposure compensation on the camera body (which would adjust the shutter speed), to adjust how much fill for the flash exposure, you use Flash exposure compensation. The trick is balancing the two (as it is with indoor work), and that comes with experience/experimentation.

03-02-2010, 09:42 AM   #23
Veteran Member
aleonx3's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Brampton, Ontario
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 3,996
The answer to your question depends largely on what you want the picture to look like. You can use flash, without flash, bounce flash, HSS flash, M mode, A mode, TAv mode or P mode. These options all give different results. As many have suggested already, flash photography depends largely on three factors, aperture, ISO and distance of subject from the flash (camera). Shutter speed on the other hands is more for control of ambient light.

Here are some examples of flash vs no-flash pictures; so you be the judge of what you prefer

Last edited by aleonx3; 10-08-2010 at 11:01 AM.
03-02-2010, 10:03 AM   #24
Inactive Account




Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Outside of Philly
Posts: 1,561
QuoteOriginally posted by aleonx3 Quote
flash photography depends largely on three factors, aperture, ISO and distance of subject from the flash (camera). Shutter speed on the other hands is more for control of ambient light.
Add flash power to the list of factors
03-02-2010, 10:21 AM   #25
Veteran Member
aleonx3's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Brampton, Ontario
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 3,996
QuoteOriginally posted by egordon99 Quote
Add flash power to the list of factors
Flash power is the output determined by the flash based on the three factors mentioned above. Therefore, to use the flash with M lens, we can not use PTTL, TTL or A mode since the flash has no way of knowing what the aperture value is set prior to the shutter release. To use it with M lens, you need to use M mode on both camera and the flash (change setting to 1/1, 1/2, 1/4... 1/32).
03-02-2010, 10:30 AM   #26
Inactive Account




Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Outside of Philly
Posts: 1,561
QuoteOriginally posted by aleonx3 Quote
Flash power is the output determined by the flash based on the three factors mentioned above. Therefore, to use the flash with M lens, we can not use PTTL, TTL or A mode since the flash has no way of knowing what the aperture value is set prior to the shutter release. To use it with M lens, you need to use M mode on both camera and the flash (change setting to 1/1, 1/2, 1/4... 1/32).
If you're in P-TTL, the camera/flash determines the flash power. If you're in M mode ( on the flash), YOU determine the flash power. Either way, flash power, along with ISO, aperture, and flash-subject distance, all play an important role in flash exposure (just like the ambient light levels, ISO, f-stop, and shutter speed work together for the ambient exposure)
03-02-2010, 02:39 PM   #27
Veteran Member
Mike Cash's Avatar

Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Japan
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 6,950
QuoteOriginally posted by aleonx3 Quote
Flash power is the output determined by the flash based on the three factors mentioned above. Therefore, to use the flash with M lens, we can not use PTTL, TTL or A mode since the flash has no way of knowing what the aperture value is set prior to the shutter release. To use it with M lens, you need to use M mode on both camera and the flash (change setting to 1/1, 1/2, 1/4... 1/32).
Certainly one can use A mode with manual lenses. You just set the aperture to the value indicated by the flash.
03-02-2010, 04:53 PM   #28
Veteran Member
aleonx3's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Brampton, Ontario
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 3,996
QuoteOriginally posted by egordon99 Quote
If you're in P-TTL, the camera/flash determines the flash power. If you're in M mode ( on the flash), YOU determine the flash power. Either way, flash power, along with ISO, aperture, and flash-subject distance, all play an important role in flash exposure (just like the ambient light levels, ISO, f-stop, and shutter speed work together for the ambient exposure)
Thanks, there are so many options when using flash in the photo shooting that I started to appreciate the use of flash to enhance the lighting and quality of pictures.

QuoteOriginally posted by Mike Cash Quote
Certainly one can use A mode with manual lenses. You just set the aperture to the value indicated by the flash.
Thanks, Mike, I think I only tried that once and found that the flash seemed to dish out full power (overexpose), I will definitely try that again using the flash ISO and AV setting in the camera (A mode or M mode) to see how that works.
03-02-2010, 05:26 PM   #29
Ira
Inactive Account




Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Coral Springs, FL
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 5,216
I think a good lesson/ tutorial for anyone learning the intricacies of flash use-and at 53, I still consider myself part of that club--is this:

Put your camera in full program mode, flash up, and shoot a close-up of your wife.

Now, take a small piece of toilet paper, tape/drape it over the flash head, and take the same shot. You will be amazed at the difference.

With all of the automation in cameras today, some expect flashes to behave the same way, but they don't. It's a matter of making sure you have enough power to expose the shot that's very far away, and control the beast for more intimate work.

Mind you, I can hardly do neither, but I know these are the principles.
03-04-2010, 11:07 PM   #30
Veteran Member
mysticcowboy's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: port townsend, wa
Photos: Albums
Posts: 968
If cost is your main concern in getting an AF200 there are some third party flashes that are more powerful and more flexible than that and don't cost a whole lot more. Look at Metz and Sigma for Pentax compatible TTL flashes. The Metz AF 36 is almost twice as powerful as the Pentax AF200, has a tilt head, which gives you bounce capability and costs about $100 US.

michael mckee
My Port Townsend – A City in Photographs – 365
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
camera, flash, pentax help, photography
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Sigma 530 Super flash doesn't fire multi flash, any advice? pasipasi Pentax DSLR Discussion 4 11-25-2010 02:04 AM
For Sale - Sold: Metz 48 AF-1 Flash; Pentax off-camera flash cable set (Adapter F, FG (US/UK/CA bigben91682 Sold Items 4 10-12-2010 04:23 AM
Basic Pentax K-x, hot-shoe, flash, flash bracket, wireless question MrPetkus Flashes, Lighting, and Studio 5 04-27-2010 10:57 PM
For Sale - Sold: Pentax AF200S flash, Vivitar 2800 macro flash, Lowepro Lens case 4 Light_Horseman Sold Items 8 03-06-2010 10:13 AM
For Sale - Sold: Pentax TC's, Kenko TC, SF10 (x2), AF540 flash, Promaster FTD 7000M flash Marc Langille Sold Items 17 08-16-2008 10:29 AM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 04:01 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top