Very strong. Well built.

Tends to overexpose on short distances Fill-in ratio only available through work-around.

My unit is a FIF-500 FTZ. But based on the specs and the other reviews, I think it is the exact same thing as its more recent incarnation (AF/500 FTZ) This is a very powerful Flash with guide number 50 (meters) at 85mm. It is also very well designed from a mechanical point of vue. The main problem I see is with fill-in control. Other vendors (Canon, Nikon) offer flashes that let you specify the fill-in ratio, which you usually set to about -1 stop or -1.3 stops. Can't do that with any Pentax Flashes and I think this is a drag. There's a work-around explained here: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/af500ftz.shtml Also, it is true that it tends to overexpose on short distances. I usually bounce it off ceilings, which its great strength make adequate, so I don't often encounter the close overexposure problem.

Customer Service

Owned it of about 13 years. Never had to have it serviced.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta cobra Flash (Used in Manual mode with my Pentax camera).

Good range, tilt and swivel, excellent compatability. I''ve shot over 100 rolls with this flash so far and after 7 months it''s going strong, the built in slave is great for side lighting and thr built in 5p socket is good for off camera "WIRED" use.

Battery muncher you must use NIMH rechargables and bring spares with you. No remote wireless TTL, no modeling lamp. Pentax should have included a stand for wireless use.

Not that cheap but well made, rather light for it''s size. I need more range over the ViVitar 285 or Pentax AF330FTZ and after looking at the other flashes grabbed the Pentax, no regrets and the flash seems more powerful than the specs. I use the contrast control mode often and the built in slave is a plus as is the 5p socket and external battery option. Seems to over expose just a little. I''m giving it a 4 for value since a stand should have been incuded for slave use but features vs others this flash is equal to any major brands flash at the same price so overall a 5. All the otehr powerful shoe flashes seem to be battery eaters and this one is no different.

Customer Service

not needed

Similar Products Used:

Vivitar 285, Canon speedlights, Pentax AF330ftz

Auto zoom. IR assist for low light focus. Powerful. Swivel head. Fast recycle with lithium AAs even after several rolls of film. Works great on PZ1-p with contrast control feature in conjunction with built-in flash. Easy to use. Handy backlit LCD control panel.

None.

The best Pentax flash unit for the PZ1-p or ZX5n. High Guide Number. Focus assist beam(IR). NOT a battery "sucker" if you buy lithium AAs.

Customer Service

Never needed except for literature requests. Always courteous and quick to respond.

Similar Products Used:

Pentax AF200T flash, ME Super, SuperProgram,ZX5n, PZ1-p,many fine Pentax lenses.

Powerful, TTL, versitle. (Tilt & Swing) Many bells & Whistles.
focus assist light v.good.

Many Bells & Whistles.
Servo motor that drives zoom head
draings batteries very quickly.
Recharge rate is poor once batteries fade.

Buy an external battery pack. I'm going to. Otherwise buy stock in Duracell and replace
your AA's with each roll of film you shoot indoors. If you can get past the battery thing,
its a great flash. Its peformance is great.
Pentax could have addressed the power consumption issue a little better.
I drop its value to 2 stars because of its expensive to buy the unit, and expensive to feed.

Customer Service

not needed

Similar Products Used:

Sunpak 1200 softlite
Sunpak 266D
ancient J.C. Penny labled strobe
(dont laugh - its been firing a helluva lot longer than the 2 sunpaks)

Very powerfull flash

battery sucker, pricey

I used it for wedding shot, if you have this flash, then you should have power pack for this flash, because it's take toooooo long with 4AA batteries.

Customer Service

none

Similar Products Used:

metz 40mz-2

Best dedicated flash for Pentax. Powerfull for a flash of its size and the focus assist is a big help in low light situations. TTL mode does a very respectable job even in tricky situations. Very reliable and durable.

Expensive and so is the external battery pack. Recycling times long with 4AA batteries.

If you can afford a more powerful flash and don't mind carrying a heavy external battery pack, then you would be better off with a Quantum, Metz, or Sunpack. For regular use when fast recycle times are not a must this is a very good flash. I use it both on and off the camera.

Customer Service

never needed

Similar Products Used:

Quantum T2

Best dedicated flash for Pentax. It has a tilt/bounce head, AF assist light, TTL exposure.

Like many modern dedicated TTL flashes, it lacks its own sensor. I can't use it on my mechanical Pentax K1000. The controls are a bit difficult to figure out at first, but I imagine that most flashes have similar problems.

This thing is pricey.

This is really the only Pentax flash to get. The other Pentax flashes lack tilt/bounce or an assist light. Sunpak makes some nice alternatives, but I haven't checked them out. After my Vivitar experience, I didn't want to take any chances. I need a reliable flash for my freelance photojournalism. For amateur work, I would seriously look at Sunpak if they had a better value product.

Customer Service

Haven't used it.

Similar Products Used:

Vivitar 550FD. This thing stopped firing reliably after about 3 months.

Well built, full dedication, slave, AF assist beam

None but I feel this is a battery sucker. Recycling time is too long.

Good flash, well built, full dedication with current Pentax AF bodies, nice features. I feel that its a battery sucker but anyway, I haven't used a similar flash before, so I supposed it is that way.

Customer Service

Never needed

Similar Products Used:

Vivitar 28/5, Sunpak 444

outstanding features

batter sucker

I recommend this flash for the advanced user. It is too expensive for the beginner.

Similar Products Used:

None

Extremely powerful. Huge guide number. Swivel and tilt is nice. Slave function works very well off camera. Compact size for it's power. Synch cord plug is on side - doesn't require an adaptor when used on a bracket.

Slow recycle time. Uses lots of batteries. Controls a little hard to figure out at first. Read the manual! TTL function tends to over expose at close range.

This is my first dedicated flash. Was very pleased with results, with the exception of tendancy to wash out doing macro. Have found that with some slide films, (Velvia, Provia 100F), exposure needs to be compensated by -1 to -2 stops for best results up close. I have used this for several weddings and a children's Christmas party. Great results at distances approaching 30 to 40 feet with ISO 400 print film. Would not recommend for fast action shooting due to the slow recycle time, unless you use the external battery pack. Have used it as a slave flash for a polaroid with good results. All in all a very good flash. Works very well out of the box for snapshots etc. However you will want to experiment with power settings and camera exposure for best results. May be a bit pricy. Add in the cost of the external battery pack, synch cord, and hot shoe adapter, and you're close to $500. But as the old saying goes - you get what you pay for!

Customer Service

Haven't used.

Similar Products Used:

Vivitar manual.