[Fyre Fly]

Staff note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means Pentax Forums may earn a small commission if a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase. If you would like to support the forum directly, you may also make a donation here.

---

Hello All! I am pretty novice when it comes to "ring flashes". Can anyone out there suggest an actual ring flash that is compatible with the K10? I am a little afraid to hook anything to my hot shoe that has an outside power source. So, Does anyone out there currently use a ring flash that they are willing to recommend that will not cause damage to my camera? I would be crushed if my K10 was to be damamged. (No i dont want to build one.... so, please no how to on that.... i'm not really into that) Thanks a million.

[codiac2600]

Promaster makes a MacroLume Digital ringflash that will work just fine on the K10D and it costs about $299 without the Pentax AF module that is needed to make it work. It does a great job, but doesn't have manual controls which I love!!!

If you don't want to spend the money on that you may be able to find a LED lit ringlight (not flash) that works on rechareable batteries or AA's sometimes. Cost between 99-199...

[Fyre Fly]

I have seen a few ring lights on ebay and am reluctant to purchase one. Mostly because I have no idea of the manufacturer. Below I have input the specs from the ebay search. Perhaps, if you have time you could view this information. I looked up ring flashes and the seller is listed as Video Camera Center. I greatly appreciate your help. I have just really started in photography and need help from the more experienced to get by for now. I will look into your suggestions. I'm not crazy excited about spending $299 but, if it is the best solution...... thank you for your time.

Type: Macro Ring Flash
Guide No @ ISO 100: 18ft/ 5m
Angle of Coverage: 80 Deg.
Distance Range : 3cm- 50cm
Auto f/Stop: F/5.6
Recycle Time: 4 Sec. (Based on NiMH Batteries @ Full Power)
Power Source: 4 AA size Alkaline, NiCad or NiMH batteries
Dimensions Main Body:
Dimensions Controller:
(92(w)x112(h)x20(d)mm
65(w)x65(h)x90(d)mm
Weight Main Body:
Weight Controller:
(90g)
(150g) Without Batteries
Ready Lamp: Red When Fully Charged
Available Ring Size: 58mm Straight , 52mm , 55mm , 62mm
Color Temperature 5600K
Hot Shoe: Camera Must Have a Hot Shoe

[TomInJax]

I'm not crazy excited about spending $299 but, if it is the best solution......

B&H has an inexpensive Vivitar flash:

Vivitar | 5000 Macro Ring Flash | 232409 | B&H Photo Video

I use something similar to this on my K10D.

[Fyre Fly]

B&H has an inexpensive Vivitar flash:

Vivitar | 5000 Macro Ring Flash | 232409 | B&H Photo Video

I use something similar to this on my K10D.

Tom.
Thank you kindly for your response. I will look into this further. At least it is a name that I recognize. How does the flash work for you? I enjoy macro work and was looking for a more even light source. Recently I took a photo to a camera club meeting and during critique there were remarks on flash bouncing off of the body of the lady bug I'd shot.

KD

[SteveNunez]

That flash comes with a pc cord- how would you trigger it from the K10D?

[OniFactor]

do you want a ring flash for portrait or macro work? most of what's been suggested are macro solutions, but don't have a guide number high enough to support portraiture. the ABR800 is probably what you'd need.

AlienBees: AlienBees ABR800 Ringflash

[philmorley]

Chris,

Do you if it works?

odd question I know I wasn't sure if you have used it / know people who use or just know it exists. I gave up looking last year and saw your post and started looking around. Finding people who will ship promaster outside US isn't fun but I found that the flashes can be got without module off ebay for $50-$60 so that was good. But in searching to try and find the module I come across a thread on dpreview from 3 weeks ago saying that the module isn't working on k10d and promaster sent someone a manual module instead.

Ringlight / Ringflash for Pentax?: Pentax SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

but I've found very little other info.

to the op. Cameta are advertising a 'cobra'??? ring flash

Auto Ring Light Macro Flash for Pentax K100D Super K10D - eBay Flash Units, Portable Flash Strobe, Lighting Studio Equipment, Cameras Photo. (end time 03-Mar-08 17:54:20 AEDST)

its cheap, which to my thinking can be good and bad, and doesn't really give a lot of info. and I've never heard of cobra (but thats not saying much, could be a big company for all I know)

Phil

[roy]

i have a LED ring light and had a manual ring flash. sold the flash and don't use the light.. if you are doing macros i found both to produce too flat of an image for my taste. consider getting a grip and get the flash off camera with a diffuser.. works great. of course with a ring flash you can take some black tape and block off half of it to give some shadow detail.

[philmorley]

i have a LED ring light and had a manual ring flash. sold the flash and don't use the light.. if you are doing macros i found both to produce too flat of an image for my taste. consider getting a grip and get the flash off camera with a diffuser.. works great. of course with a ring flash you can take some black tape and block off half of it to give some shadow detail.

hi, I was interested in the promaster as it is apparently two tubes down the sides, a bit like the nikon one. Hopefully it would still have enough contrast and have the convience of all being on the camera. I have to go check out images taken with it

Regards
Phil

[odie91]

i'm wondering the same thing.
someone correct me if i'm wrong, but i believe if you install a Wein safe sync module, you can connect it to the PC cord. i've also heard Wein manufactures the module with very poor tolerances, so you can end up damaging the metal contacts on the module or on the camera hot shoe. can anyone recommend a different company that makes a similar module for the same price range?

That flash comes with a pc cord- how would you trigger it from the K10D?

[Steinback]

odie91 - this may be more involved than what you're looking for, but I built my own hot shoe to accessory adaptor using a gutted flash body. I just wired female mono plugs into the flash's hot shoe and mounted the plugs to holes drilled in the flash's case. It doesn't provide any voltage protection, but my ring flash and Vivitar 285s are all 6 volt sync and if I ever need a PC connector or a household plug connector I have plenty of room to wire them into the circuit. My ring flash came with a factory installed mono jack, and I've wired up adapters so my other flash equipment accepts 3.5mm mono plugs too.

[odie91]

Steinback: what kind of ring flash (model name) are you using? i am still shopping for a camera, but work requirements (dentist) require that i have a ring flash. there seems to be no easy solution for that with Pentax/Samsung, so i may reluctantly have to go the Canon/Nikon route.

odie91 - this may be more involved than what you're looking for, but I built my own hot shoe to accessory adaptor using a gutted flash body. I just wired female mono plugs into the flash's hot shoe and mounted the plugs to holes drilled in the flash's case. It doesn't provide any voltage protection, but my ring flash and Vivitar 285s are all 6 volt sync and if I ever need a PC connector or a household plug connector I have plenty of room to wire them into the circuit. My ring flash came with a factory installed mono jack, and I've wired up adapters so my other flash equipment accepts 3.5mm mono plugs too.

[Steinback]

I have a Soligor Auto Ringlight AR-20 that my Dad picked up used at a garage sale a number of years ago. After cleaning the battery contacts it works quite nicely with my K10 for macro and close range portrait shots.

I would guess that the flash is late '70s or early '80s. I haven't found much information on it (no manual, unfortunately), but here are the key features:
-trigger using hotshoe, 2.5mm mono jack, or PC cable (using a mono to PC adaptor that came with mine)
-6 volt trigger, so safe with modern cameras
-6 volt power jack for studio work
-SER VII thread on the lens mount (I had never seen an SER thread before, but luckily there was an SER to 55mm adaptor on mine, so I use stepping rings to attach it to my lenses)
-focus assist light that you can turn on/off to help compose
-1 manual and 2 auto power settings

Soligor still makes new ring flashes, but they're way out of my price range and dedicated Nikon or Canon. They do have a cheaper LED light, but I have no experience with them. https://secure.soligor.com/index.php?id=589

I found one used flash for sale here ( CAMERA ACCESSORIES ) a couple of months ago when I was looking for more info, but that's the only other AR-20 I've seen.

Here are a couple of sample photos, if you find one of these flashes for sale, I can take more samples if you're interested - stick my macro lens in somebody's mouth maybe
Pink on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Pika? on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
That fish looks kind of crunchy. on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Crystal on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
The death of Pikachu on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[Slrie53]

I use a ringlight (purchased from ebay for $89 + postage ) with my K10D & K100D and with Sigma 105 macro lens with good results. It was purchased more than an year ago. Brand name is Bower(not a popular brand I guess). That seller is still selling ring flashes and ring lights on ebay. Try a search with seller name "everfull".