[ctrout]

I hear you on never having enough power. I've got an old Metz 60ct4 that I bought new about 25 years ago and I have even exceeded its limits a time or two.

[Blasst]

The 280T is probably the best "compact" flash that Pentax made for the manual focus film cameras. I'll agree that the bounce and swivel features are indispensible. I can't think of a single case where I would opt to use the direct light from the 200S rather than light bounced from the 280T. I have both flashes and the only reason I keep the 200S is because I got it for free and I like to tell myself that a free flash is worth keeping. I've never used it. I have three 280Ts and The only thing that they lack is power. Guess what though. You can't get more power and versatility unless you step out of the "compact" flash department. If you need more power, the 400T is really your best option.

Anyway, I'll back up my assertion about the AF-280T by putting my money where my mouth is and offer BLASST one of my AF-280Ts for free. Paypal me the postage and I'll send you one of my three AF-280T flashes. When you have a chance to use it, use it in direct mode and also in bounced mode and then report back here to let us know if you think there is enough difference in your results to make you a believer in bounced flash. PM me if you are interested. Oh yeah, and I mean that you can keep the flash. I don't wwant it back unless you decide that you like the 200Sa better, in which case, I'll pay the postage to have you send my flash back. I'm betting that you'll keep it.

Floored by your offer, sent you a pm.

[ctrout]

Replied.

[Lord Lucan]

Your claim in your review of the AF280T is incorrect. The Sunpak 422D and Pentax AF280T are not the same flash.

Your photo of them both together certainly settles it and I shall correct my review. I did read some years ago (c1985) that Sunpak made the Pentax branded flash units under contract (which may have been true) and that the AF280T was available with Sunpak branding and compatiblity with cameras other than Pentax (which may not have been true). Even if the latter were true, the Sunpak 422D is certainly not the Pentax AF280T in disguise as I had assumed.

[TwoUptons]

Are you sure about that? The AF200SA has only an on/off switch and test button on the back.


Steve

This being the internet and all, I was all ready to get all bothered that you doubted me, rather than look into it and find out what was actually correct...

But in a fit of being rational, I looked and realized that the AF200Sa I'd been going on about was actually a AF160Sa, so I was quite wrong

Though the AF160Sa does have a switch for Program and Manual mode as well as the test button...

Still, no matter how small, a free AF280 beats either hands down.

-Eric

[stevebrot]

This being the internet and all, I was all ready to get all bothered that you doubted me

I would not have said anything except that I had just spent time with the AF200SA manual. Those were strange little flashes. About a decade ago my former camera repair guy (also dealt in used gear) bought a lot of about 100 (I don't remember where from) thinking that he would sell them as cheap generic auto-thyristor flash and then discovered that they lacked the usual range of stuff on the back. I don't know what became of them. Your AF 160SA is better in that regard. The nice thing about both units is that one could buy an A3000, mount up either model flash and shoot in P mode without much thought to anything other than framing and focus.


Steve

[ctrout]

OP should have the AF280T by Saturday. I'm looking forward to hearing his opinions on bounce vs direct flash once he gets a chance to experiment a bit.

---

Last edited by ctrout; 12-20-2017 at 09:49 PM.

[Blasst]

OP should have the AF280T by Saturday. I'm looking forwaed to hearing his opinions on bounce vs direct flash once he gets a chance to experiment a bit.

I am betting your unit gets here before the AF200Sa shows up. It is coming from Canada now, not Japan from the seller and tracking shows it could get here before Xmas or after.

The Pentax ME is just sitting in the dark waiting for its buddy "Flash" to show up

[ctrout]

Well, she sure is pretty, sitting there all gussied up, waiting for her date. I have a brown ME SE that is mint, CLA'd by Eric about a year ago. The ME is a sweet camera for general photography. aperture priority is just about all I ever use, even when using my ME Supers or Super Programs. AP will do almost everything that you'll ever need for basic work if you know how to use your camera. Need some exposure compensation? Just dial in your iso to make the necessary changes. Anyway, enjoy the flash and don't forget to post back after you've had some time to settle in with your new gear.

[Blasst]

Yes, I was fortunate to get a really great condition ME.

While I wait for the flash units to arrive, and as newcomer to this site, let me post a bit of info about my photography skills or lack of them.

I have shot video for many years, and have become decent at it, filming high school and college athletic teams, and providing team videos along with highlight reels etc.

I shoot in 4K using a Sony AX100 and a Samsung NX1, know my way around a PC to edit, using various NLE's, etc. etc.

Some short videos of my work, if you are interested:

Vimeo

Vimeo

Vimeo

The only film camera I have ever really used is an old Canon AF35M, fully automatic, along with various small point and shoot cameras back in the 70's and 80's. I'm in my mid Fifties now.

I never learned how to properly use a SLR or DSLR, and am basically self taught. I need to start from the beginning, and that is one reason I bought the Pentax NE, to learn the basics and move on.

Maybe I need give the NE to my Dad since he used to have one, and I need to get a Pentax with full manual controls? My daughter was given an Olympus OM-1 MD years ago, and it really never got used.

Not sure it is working correctly, since to get the light meter bar, where its supposed to be, in the view finder, I have to set the aperture to F/1.8 and set the shutter speed at 1 second, which can't be right, and this is in normal daylight.

So what advice can you guys give me?

[stevebrot]

Yes, I was fortunate to get a really great condition ME.

While I wait for the flash units to arrive, and as newcomer to this site, let me post a bit of info about my photography skills or lack of them.

I have shot video for many years, and have become decent at it, filming high school and college athletic teams, and providing team videos along with highlight reels etc.

I shoot in 4K using a Sony AX100 and a Samsung NX1, know my way around a PC to edit, using various NLE's, etc. etc.

Some short videos of my work, if you are interested:




The only film camera I have ever really used is an old Canon AF35M, fully automatic, along with various small point and shoot cameras back in the 70's and 80's. I'm in my mid Fifties now.

I never learned how to properly use a SLR or DSLR, and am basically self taught. I need to start from the beginning, and that is one reason I bought the Pentax NE, to learn the basics and move on.

Maybe I need give the NE to my Dad since he used to have one, and I need to get a Pentax with full manual controls? My daughter was given an Olympus OM-1 MD years ago, and it really never got used.

Not sure it is working correctly, since to get the light meter bar, where its supposed to be, in the view finder, I have to set the aperture to F/1.8 and set the shutter speed at 1 second, which can't be right, and this is in normal daylight.

So what advice can you guys give me?

I am a sucker for the OM-1 and am recusing myself from the discussion.


Steve

[ctrout]

I'll jump in to say that it really depends on what you want from your enjoyment of the hobby. The ME has aperture priority mode which will conveniently allow you to concentrate on composition and focus without the added trouble of worrying about exposure as well. Every auto exposure camera that I have ever used has alway done an excellent job except under the most challenging lighting conditions. Under those circumstances, the bad pictures that I got taught me a valuable lesson. Even with aperture priority auto exposure (AP/AE), you should still be mindful of the aperture that you select, the corresponding shutter speed selected by the camera, and how those settings will affect the image. The shutter speed will affect how the film records motion in the image, while the aperture will affect how much of the foreground and background are in focus.

Having said all that, if you would really like to get a camera that has AP/AE but that also includes a manual mode, the ME Super is basically the same as your ME with a manual mode included. It's a great camera. I have 2 of them and the autofocus version, the ME F. People seem to be somewhat polarized in their thinking concerning classic 35mm SLRs, either condemning the likes of the ME, ME Super, and others, because they have buttons instead of mechanical dials or because the shutter relies on battery power and won't function without the batteries, or praising them as the gems that I believe that they are. Others love the fully mechanical operation of cameras like the K1000, MX, KX, and KM, and the fact that there are no electronics to fail. I like almost all of them for different reasons.

My recommendation to you if you like the ME but want manual control is tu take a look at an ME Super. If you love the small form factor, don't really care about AP/AE and really want reliability, the MX is probably your best bet. I like the MX, but I don't like its meter display or the stiffness of the shutter speed dial. The KX is larget but offers a better meter display, better shutter speed dial, and has more features than the MX. If you don't necessarily need the tiny form factor of the M cameras and want something that you can really grow with, I would highly recommend the KX. If you think that too many bells and whistles might get in your way as you learn, try the KM. It has a dead simple but informative meter display, self timer, and all manual, mechanical operation.

My bottom line recommendation would be to keep the ME because they are a great, fun, handy little camera. I would suggest adding the KX to your bag as a serious learning tool that you would probably eventually appreciate every feature of. If I was forced to liquidate my collection, the KX would be the very last to go.

[pathdoc]

My recommendation to you if you like the ME but want manual control is tu take a look at an ME Super.

I had considered getting one of those, for MX flexibility in an ME-sized package, but was dissuaded by the film-transport issues that seem to plague this model. From everything I've read, the ME - while no MX - is a better-constructed camera internally than any of its successors, and with Eric currently on hiatus I wouldn't want to take a chance.

I have experimented with forcing a shutter speed selection in circumstances of unmoving subject and unchanging light by metering off it at very close range and then backing off to compose and turning the ASA dial till I get exactly what I metered. Fortunately, my ME has a holder on the back for the lid of a film box, so remembering what I actually have in the camera is not an issue.

[TwoUptons]

A Super Program would do TTL flash with an AF280T if you happened to have one

It does full program, aperture-priority, shutter-priority, and manual, and it will work in a limited capacity with the new lenses that lack aperture rings.

It also shares a lot of family resemblance with the ME, though it is a bit newer and a bit larger.

I used to worry about cameras that require batteries (and in film days always had a K1000 as a backup), but you'll not likely be doing professional work with a 30+ year old SLR... especially if your thing is video

-Eric

[Blasst]

I am a sucker for the OM-1 and am recusing myself from the discussion.


Steve

Ha, that gave me a chuckle Steve

---------- Post added 12-22-17 at 11:53 AM ----------

I'll jump in to say that it really depends on what you want from your enjoyment of the hobby. The ME has aperture priority mode which will conveniently allow you to concentrate on composition and focus without the added trouble of worrying about exposure as well. Every auto exposure camera that I have ever used has alway done an excellent job except under the most challenging lighting conditions. Under those circumstances, the bad pictures that I got taught me a valuable lesson. Even with aperture priority auto exposure (AP/AE), you should still be mindful of the aperture that you select, the corresponding shutter speed selected by the camera, and how those settings will affect the image. The shutter speed will affect how the film records motion in the image, while the aperture will affect how much of the foreground and background are in focus.

Having said all that, if you would really like to get a camera that has AP/AE but that also includes a manual mode, the ME Super is basically the same as your ME with a manual mode included. It's a great camera. I have 2 of them and the autofocus version, the ME F. People seem to be somewhat polarized in their thinking concerning classic 35mm SLRs, either condemning the likes of the ME, ME Super, and others, because they have buttons instead of mechanical dials or because the shutter relies on battery power and won't function without the batteries, or praising them as the gems that I believe that they are. Others love the fully mechanical operation of cameras like the K1000, MX, KX, and KM, and the fact that there are no electronics to fail. I like almost all of them for different reasons.

My recommendation to you if you like the ME but want manual control is tu take a look at an ME Super. If you love the small form factor, don't really care about AP/AE and really want reliability, the MX is probably your best bet. I like the MX, but I don't like its meter display or the stiffness of the shutter speed dial. The KX is larget but offers a better meter display, better shutter speed dial, and has more features than the MX. If you don't necessarily need the tiny form factor of the M cameras and want something that you can really grow with, I would highly recommend the KX. If you think that too many bells and whistles might get in your way as you learn, try the KM. It has a dead simple but informative meter display, self timer, and all manual, mechanical operation.

My bottom line recommendation would be to keep the ME because they are a great, fun, handy little camera. I would suggest adding the KX to your bag as a serious learning tool that you would probably eventually appreciate every feature of. If I was forced to liquidate my collection, the KX would be the very last to go.

Well thought out response for me, much appreciated.

---------- Post added 12-22-17 at 11:55 AM ----------

A Super Program would do TTL flash with an AF280T if you happened to have one

It does full program, aperture-priority, shutter-priority, and manual, and it will work in a limited capacity with the new lenses that lack aperture rings.

It also shares a lot of family resemblance with the ME, though it is a bit newer and a bit larger.

I used to worry about cameras that require batteries (and in film days always had a K1000 as a backup), but you'll not likely be doing professional work with a 30+ year old SLR... especially if your thing is video

-Eric

Video has been my thing, but I want to learn how to take good pictures, will look at the Super Program also.

---------- Post added 12-22-17 at 12:00 PM ----------

I had considered getting one of those, for MX flexibility in an ME-sized package, but was dissuaded by the film-transport issues that seem to plague this model. From everything I've read, the ME - while no MX - is a better-constructed camera internally than any of its successors, and with Eric currently on hiatus I wouldn't want to take a chance.

I have experimented with forcing a shutter speed selection in circumstances of unmoving subject and unchanging light by metering off it at very close range and then backing off to compose and turning the ASA dial till I get exactly what I metered. Fortunately, my ME has a holder on the back for the lid of a film box, so remembering what I actually have in the camera is not an issue.

When my ME showed up recently, I had forgotten about the holder on the back of the ME. I remember my Dad doing that. Guess you could put a nice photo of your woman in that spot also