K10D + Sigma EF-500 Super + Wireless = Awesome

FireMate · 11-28-2007, 07:01 PM

I have to preface this with a request to not have this thread turn into a "which is better, the 540 Pentax or the Sigma EF-500" kind of post.

At the end of the day, I chose to get Sigmas because for the price of one Pentax flash, I was able to get two Sigmas, that had many capabilities, and a decent build quality.

Trust me, I've held some pretty shoddy flashes in my day (the cheap Bower flashes come to mind).

I had a shoot on the weekend, so just before the weekend I decided to try out the wireless PTTL capability outlined in the manual. Sadly, my Sigma seemed to be too old, and didn't have the new firmware installed that gave that capability. So, I went out to Henry's and picked up another one, and had the same problem... No wireless. Now, that said, if I had one flash on the camera body, I could control the other one as PTTL, but I couldn't use the built in flash of the K10D to fire them.

I'm lucky enough to be about 25 minutes from Gentec, the place that Sigmas in Canada are repaired at.

I made a quick call, and later that day was at their doorstep with my flashes.

And for no fee, the upgraded both the flashes with the new chips, and after a quick test in the store itself, I found that they worked great!

In fact, I was able to put both flashes in various places in the room and get different shots accomplished.

The recycle time between shots was fantastic, the flexibility of ev Compensation was easy to dial in, and over all I was more than pleased!

It's great to finally have them working as wireless... it really does open up the flexibility alot!

(otherwise, I would have to set up dummy slaves and use the light meter to gauge lighting, but I must admit, I was pleased with the remote flashes with PTTL)

So again, I'm very pleased with the Sigmas, and even more impressed with their absolutely quick, and beyond friendly service. I have to say, dealing with the people at Gentec was an absolute pleasure!

Arpe · 11-29-2007, 01:58 AM

So, from now on, we can all just send our sigma stuff that needs fixing to you?

Nice pics. Cool colour.

pentkon52 · 11-29-2007, 06:44 AM

Well, is'nt that interesting.

January of this year, i took my flash to Gen tek and had the thing upgraded to work with my newly purchased K10D. It was hit and miss after the conversion.
I heard via the grapevine, in the summer, that Sigma was going to offer an upgrade for wireless. I contacted them and they said not that they knew of.

I was frustrated by the flash, sold it and bought a 360, of which works great in wireless.

Dave

FireMate · 11-29-2007, 12:07 PM

Originally posted by pentkon52

Well, is'nt that interesting.

January of this year, i took my flash to Gen tek and had the thing upgraded to work with my newly purchased K10D. It was hit and miss after the conversion.
I heard via the grapevine, in the summer, that Sigma was going to offer an upgrade for wireless. I contacted them and they said not that they knew of.

I was frustrated by the flash, sold it and bought a 360, of which works great in wireless.

Dave

I don't know if this is an update of the update, all I know is that both of my flashes, one with a serial number of 807xxxx and 808xxxx got rechipped, and the entire photoshoot not one misfired. Each and every shot was damn near perfect for lighting up the room, and subject.

I'd even go so far as to suggest that using the two flashes at the same time, gave better accuracy with the PTTL system than when you've got one mounted on the camera itself. I've got lots more examples from that day, as about 190 photos were taken with the dual flashes for other clothing examples.

blwnhr · 11-29-2007, 02:37 PM

Great to hear you're pleased with the DG-500.

Mine is away right now getting a firmware update to work wireless on my K10D. This is a free service offered by Sigma. I had to pay postage 1-way (to the repair agent) but they flash it and send it back free of charge.

Can't wait to get mine!

FireMate · 11-29-2007, 03:17 PM

Originally posted by blwnhr

Great to hear you're pleased with the DG-500.

Mine is away right now getting a firmware update to work wireless on my K10D. This is a free service offered by Sigma. I had to pay postage 1-way (to the repair agent) but they flash it and send it back free of charge.

Can't wait to get mine!

You'll love it!

I'm lucky enough that I live close enough to the place to just skip the shipping charges, and go there myself and have them do it.

I'm very glad that it's a free service, and that Sigma updates their firmwares!

Seriously though, it makes taking pictures a lot more fun and creative when you can move the flash away from the camera and put it in some other location!

dresden_phoenix · 12-16-2007, 12:27 PM

do you know if there are any on the market that have already been upgraded.. a serial # one could look for or something? I am getting a K10d in January... so I was wondering if I purchased a new Sigma flash if I would have to immediately send it out to be rechipped...

FireMate · 12-16-2007, 01:47 PM

I do know that yes they exist, as I asked that question to the guys at the Sigma repair facility. Apparently, when the K10D came out, they put a request out for Henry's stores amongst others, to ship them back to get re-chipped. It would have meant being off the shelves for some time during the "turnaround", so not many participated. As such, they exist, but who knows?

After a certain point, they all started coming from factory with the upgraded firmware. I thought I had a high serial number of 808xxx, but I guess not high enough!

jgredline · 12-16-2007, 01:59 PM

Hmmm
This is of interest to me..May I ask.
I have the 360 flash as well and would like to know what is entailed in making it wireless?
Thanks jg

**Canada_Rockies** · 12-16-2007, 04:28 PM

Originally posted by jgredline

Hmmm
This is of interest to me..May I ask.
I have the 360 flash as well and would like to know what is entailed in making it wireless?
Thanks jg

Turn wireless flash on in the [Fn] drive menu [^].
Turn wireless flash on in the 360.
Turn the 360 on
Turn the camera on
Take pictures.

jgredline · 12-16-2007, 04:53 PM

Originally posted by Canada_Rockies

Turn wireless flash on in the [Fn] drive menu [^].
Turn wireless flash on in the 360.
Turn the 360 on
Turn the camera on
Take pictures.

Thank you.
I tried it, but it did not work. Do I need to sync them together somehow, or do they recognize each other?

11-28-2007, 07:01 PM	#1
FireMate Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 105	K10D + Sigma EF-500 Super + Wireless = Awesome I have to preface this with a request to not have this thread turn into a "which is better, the 540 Pentax or the Sigma EF-500" kind of post. At the end of the day, I chose to get Sigmas because for the price of one Pentax flash, I was able to get two Sigmas, that had many capabilities, and a decent build quality. Trust me, I've held some pretty shoddy flashes in my day (the cheap Bower flashes come to mind). I had a shoot on the weekend, so just before the weekend I decided to try out the wireless PTTL capability outlined in the manual. Sadly, my Sigma seemed to be too old, and didn't have the new firmware installed that gave that capability. So, I went out to Henry's and picked up another one, and had the same problem... No wireless. Now, that said, if I had one flash on the camera body, I could control the other one as PTTL, but I couldn't use the built in flash of the K10D to fire them. I'm lucky enough to be about 25 minutes from Gentec, the place that Sigmas in Canada are repaired at. I made a quick call, and later that day was at their doorstep with my flashes. And for no fee, the upgraded both the flashes with the new chips, and after a quick test in the store itself, I found that they worked great! In fact, I was able to put both flashes in various places in the room and get different shots accomplished. The recycle time between shots was fantastic, the flexibility of ev Compensation was easy to dial in, and over all I was more than pleased! It's great to finally have them working as wireless... it really does open up the flexibility alot! (otherwise, I would have to set up dummy slaves and use the light meter to gauge lighting, but I must admit, I was pleased with the remote flashes with PTTL) So again, I'm very pleased with the Sigmas, and even more impressed with their absolutely quick, and beyond friendly service. I have to say, dealing with the people at Gentec was an absolute pleasure!

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11-29-2007, 01:58 AM	#2
Arpe Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: New Zealand Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,452	So, from now on, we can all just send our sigma stuff that needs fixing to you? Nice pics. Cool colour.

11-29-2007, 06:44 AM	#3
pentkon52 Veteran Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: York Region Canada Posts: 641	Well, is'nt that interesting. January of this year, i took my flash to Gen tek and had the thing upgraded to work with my newly purchased K10D. It was hit and miss after the conversion. I heard via the grapevine, in the summer, that Sigma was going to offer an upgrade for wireless. I contacted them and they said not that they knew of. I was frustrated by the flash, sold it and bought a 360, of which works great in wireless. Dave

11-29-2007, 12:07 PM	#4
FireMate Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 105 Original Poster	Originally posted by pentkon52 Well, is'nt that interesting. January of this year, i took my flash to Gen tek and had the thing upgraded to work with my newly purchased K10D. It was hit and miss after the conversion. I heard via the grapevine, in the summer, that Sigma was going to offer an upgrade for wireless. I contacted them and they said not that they knew of. I was frustrated by the flash, sold it and bought a 360, of which works great in wireless. Dave I don't know if this is an update of the update, all I know is that both of my flashes, one with a serial number of 807xxxx and 808xxxx got rechipped, and the entire photoshoot not one misfired. Each and every shot was damn near perfect for lighting up the room, and subject. I'd even go so far as to suggest that using the two flashes at the same time, gave better accuracy with the PTTL system than when you've got one mounted on the camera itself. I've got lots more examples from that day, as about 190 photos were taken with the dual flashes for other clothing examples.

11-29-2007, 02:37 PM	#5
blwnhr Veteran Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Tasmania, Australia Photos: Gallery Posts: 663	Great to hear you're pleased with the DG-500. Mine is away right now getting a firmware update to work wireless on my K10D. This is a free service offered by Sigma. I had to pay postage 1-way (to the repair agent) but they flash it and send it back free of charge. Can't wait to get mine!

11-29-2007, 03:17 PM	#6
FireMate Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 105 Original Poster	Originally posted by blwnhr Great to hear you're pleased with the DG-500. Mine is away right now getting a firmware update to work wireless on my K10D. This is a free service offered by Sigma. I had to pay postage 1-way (to the repair agent) but they flash it and send it back free of charge. Can't wait to get mine! You'll love it! I'm lucky enough that I live close enough to the place to just skip the shipping charges, and go there myself and have them do it. I'm very glad that it's a free service, and that Sigma updates their firmwares! Seriously though, it makes taking pictures a lot more fun and creative when you can move the flash away from the camera and put it in some other location!

12-16-2007, 12:27 PM	#7
dresden_phoenix Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Rockford, IL Posts: 52	do you know if there are any on the market that have already been upgraded.. a serial # one could look for or something? I am getting a K10d in January... so I was wondering if I purchased a new Sigma flash if I would have to immediately send it out to be rechipped...

12-16-2007, 01:47 PM	#8
FireMate Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 105 Original Poster	I do know that yes they exist, as I asked that question to the guys at the Sigma repair facility. Apparently, when the K10D came out, they put a request out for Henry's stores amongst others, to ship them back to get re-chipped. It would have meant being off the shelves for some time during the "turnaround", so not many participated. As such, they exist, but who knows? After a certain point, they all started coming from factory with the upgraded firmware. I thought I had a high serial number of 808xxx, but I guess not high enough!

12-16-2007, 01:59 PM	#9
jgredline Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: LosAngeles, Ca. Photos: Albums Posts: 10,628	Hmmm This is of interest to me..May I ask. I have the 360 flash as well and would like to know what is entailed in making it wireless? Thanks jg

12-16-2007, 04:28 PM	#10
Canada_Rockies Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Sparwood, BC, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,385	Originally posted by jgredline Hmmm This is of interest to me..May I ask. I have the 360 flash as well and would like to know what is entailed in making it wireless? Thanks jg Turn wireless flash on in the [Fn] drive menu [^]. Turn wireless flash on in the 360. Turn the 360 on Turn the camera on Take pictures.

12-16-2007, 04:53 PM	#11
jgredline Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: LosAngeles, Ca. Photos: Albums Posts: 10,628	Originally posted by Canada_Rockies Turn wireless flash on in the [Fn] drive menu [^]. Turn wireless flash on in the 360. Turn the 360 on Turn the camera on Take pictures. Thank you. I tried it, but it did not work. Do I need to sync them together somehow, or do they recognize each other?