Originally posted by KFrog I've seen them called 'ring light', 'macro rings', 'flash macro rings', 'macro ring flash' etc. So what's the difference? I just don't understand why it seems Pentax is lacking in their photo lighting accessories.
In common usage, a 'ring light' provides continuous illumination, as with SR Inc's Digi-Slave series of LED macro lights, while a 'ring flash' provides a burst of illumination synchronized to the opening of the shutter. But I've also seen overlap between these two terms.
I made to distinction in my response because I assumed that you wanted information with respect to the more common 'ring flash'.
And yes, it is unfortunate that neither Pentax nor any third party provides a fully functioning P-TTL ring flash, but it seems that Pentax is just starting to get its act together on the accessory end, and ring flashes are for a rather niche market. After all, Pentax doesn't even have lenses longer than the DA50-200, although, per their "Roadmap" this deficiency is already slated to be resolved in the near future. They have a lot of catching up to do on the accessory end.
As others have said, if you absolutely require long glass ASAP, Pentax is not your best choice at the present moment. Ditto if you absolutely require macro flash (IMO). But otherwise, its a great system, and Pentax seems to be gaining momentum rapidly.
Larry