AF360 Flash

[airconvent]

Hi
I bought this flash from an upgrader sometime ago. Used it a grand total of 5 times since I bought it. But till today, still absolutely clueless as to what is the best all-in-one setting.
I usually leave it at the default setting as shown. The manual is not very helpful in this.
Can I enquire if my setting is acceptable for general use?
What are the key pointers in setting the flash modes?

Thanks

 

[Limited]

I always use "A" mode. P-TTL seem not very helpful on the K10 or K20, always badly under.

 

[Gengh]

Er, the flash won't fire on "off" mode....

Ok, sorry bad joke.

Really depends on how you use your flash, I'm guessing you're hoping to use P-TTL as far as possible? My guess is just leave the sync mode on high speed sync (right-most selection), and fire away. This is so that you can also use the flash as fill-in under bright sunlit conditions. But I think high-speed sync may not work in green or P mode, so says the manual of the AF360? And lot of the time P-TTL will underexpose, so you can set the body to +1EV which should help a bit.

Anyway, flash photography is tricky business, don't think there's really a "one-size-fits-all" mode. You'll see as you use your flash more often....

 

[airconvent]

Hi Gengh...good one! :bsmilie:
Thanks for all the tips.
Here is the updated picture of the AF360 powered on! ;p

So far I have gathered to use "A" mode if intend to leave EV comp at "0" and to use HS sync mode.

 

[scorpioh]

Ha. I also having the same experience with you. I bought it but don't really use it often. I don't know how the flash and body communicates, its like the usual APERTURE, SHUTTER and ISO thing no longer follow their usual relation. P-TTL always under expose: realised this lately, I thought I did someting wrong. Ha.

 

[Reportage]

dont really use ttl...i adjust the power manually depending on the situation. use it enough times and more or less you will learn what settings useful for what pictures you want to take.

 

[flowerpot]

M mode... pttl... flash +0.7

 

[dielah]

Gosh - and i thought i was the only one experiencing the under exp when using P-TTL

anyways, i have tried both A & P-TTL when using P mode & seems A is better, problem is, i needed to set both the iso & A settings when ever i start using A mode. So i only use it under controlled conditions e.g. indoors with consistant lighting.

Other times, i just use P-TTL and +0.3 EV otherwise (as mentioned earlier)

 

[creampuff]

airconvent, the instruction manual is a challenging read so the only way to work things out is to keep experimenting. I think you need to use it more often and experiment with different settings and exposure modes. One thing to note is if you're bouncing the flash, the flash to subject distance will be longer than direct flash, so that can affect exposure, requiring some degree of flash compensation.

Av or M mode in P-TTL with a little + flash compensation for me.

 

[jjynwa]

mmm... I've tried different settings too... for me... PTTL mode, +1 flash compensation on the body... after which you can adjust the compensation on your flash accordingly... hope it helps!

 

[robinhook]

I always use "A" mode. P-TTL seem not very helpful on the K10 or K20, always badly under.

I think maybe due to the fact most of the Pentax old flashes are not designed for digital SLRs. If I am not wrong, focal length info affect dicision/formulum of P-TTL, thus the formula may be different for dSLR and film SLR.

Flash experts, correct me if you can, please. I am also new to flash stuff, especially auto (P-TTL).

 

[airconvent]

I think maybe due to the fact most of the Pentax old flashes are not designed for digital SLRs. If I am not wrong, focal length info affect dicision/formulum of P-TTL, thus the formula may be different for dSLR and film SLR.

Flash experts, correct me if you can, please. I am also new to flash stuff, especially auto (P-TTL).

yeah lor...I tried to download the "latest" version manual because mine indicated only the istDL and talked about film mostly. But amazing the official pentax does not even list the flash at all. The US site supplies the same old version manual. I wished they would update the manuals accordingly.

 

[denn23]

im worse off..

manual is in japanese

 

[Gengh]

Not sure why the old manual for the AF360 is still online on many websites. But the updated AF360 manual (with reference to K200D and K20D, yay!) can be found here: http://www.pentaximaging.com/files/manual/Web_AF360FGZ_Eng.pdf

 

[airconvent]

Thanks Gengh! Just downloaded the manual. Looks like a half hearted effort to update because the other pages did not mention the K200D. Now busy reading other manuals. Will come back to the AF360 manual later. Luckily I don't use this flash very often.