There is no viable portable flash for GRiii

[Park Avenue Airwolf]

Don't say Lightpix FlashQ bla bla bla. It's been on backorder for the past 250 years, so that is becoming a laughable suggestion. There is a whole in this market and someone should step in and fill it. It cannot be that hard to whip up a flash.

 

[Landberg]

Don't say Lightpix FlashQ bla bla bla. It's been on backorder for the past 250 years, so that is becoming a laughable suggestion. There is a whole in this market and someone should step in and fill it. It cannot be that hard to whip up a flash.

Metz af-1, it's only TTL but you can control the flash exposure in camera. Works great as a on camera flash.









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https://www.instagram.com/landberg/

 

[Fazal Majid]

The Metz 26 AF-1 or -2 should have Pentax TTL. Also the Pentax AF201FG.

For once, the UK is cheaper, I just ordered a 26 AF-1 Pentax variant for £55 from Amazon UK (It's $130 at B&H).

--
Fazal Majid (www.majid.info)

 

[PentaxNick]

The Metz 26 AF-1 or -2 should have Pentax TTL. Also the Pentax AF201FG.

For once, the UK is cheaper, I just ordered a 26 AF-1 Pentax variant for £55 from Amazon UK (It's $130 at B&H).

I ordered the same one earlier. Should arrive on Thursday.

 

[Charuteiro]

FUJIFILM EF-X20 Flash, (manual control only) GN 20

 

[miles500]

The Metz 26 AF-1 or -2 should have Pentax TTL. Also the Pentax AF201FG.

For once, the UK is cheaper, I just ordered a 26 AF-1 Pentax variant for £55 from Amazon UK (It's $130 at B&H).

I will be interested to know whether the Metz works for you because it did not for me. I just got a partially illuminated image and the shutter did not appear to synchonise. I sent it back and got the pentax af 201 fg which I am pleased to say works perfectly. It is a mystery to me that the Metz in its pentax version did not work.

 

[PentaxNick]

The Metz Mecablitz 26 AF-1 flash arrived today and I have done a few tests, so here's a few initial thoughts.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00NVMQZPI/

Physically it is well built, feels solid. Size wise laying down it is the same length and height as the Ricoh GRIII and about as thick as the camera's smallest depth, i.e. without the grip or lens. It is lighter than the camera.

It has 4 positions from fully upright to horizontal, and the front is angled at about 45° so when horizontal it is point down and forwards to illuminate a subject just in front of the lens at about the minimum macro focus distance. It has a pull-out diffuser in the front which spreads the light, apparently to an angle of view equivalent to a 24mm FF lens. Without this it's 35mm equivalent. There's also a supplied clip on 85mm eq diffuser in the box. It comes with a soft drawstring pouch. It has an LED light built in to the base but this doesn't tilt.

Function wise it works with the GRIII, the flash symbol illuminates in the LCD and goes red if the flash is charging. All the GRIII functions are available, slow-synch, red-eye and flash EV adjustment. You can set it to P-TTL, LED or P-TTL Slave, but the latter requires another flash to be on the camera to trigger and control it. In my tests it synchorises with all speeds.

Power wise it is a bit low, although I've currently only tested it indoors, not in a real-life setup. It's GN of 26 is apparently with the 85mm adaptor on. Without it it's around 20, and further reduced with the 24mm diffuser. However it's not bad for it's size, and more powerful than that in the GRII.

It does greatly overexpose if used at f/2.8 at close distances. I'm guessing it delivers too much light to the sensor before the camera can turn it off. However moving away or stopping down allows the TTL to work.

So overall I'm quite pleased with it, especially for the £55 price. I don't use flash very much, but it's a good addition to the kitbag.

As a further bonus my free Ricoh battery also arrived today, so I'm kitted up for when I can actually go somewhere!

 

[Hustle76]

The Metz Mecablitz 26 AF-1 flash arrived today and I have done a few tests, so here's a few initial thoughts...

Thanks, Nick - great read!

Previously, I've heard largely positive things and IIRC, DPReview gave it a very decent write-up - I had been humming and hewing about picking one up (especially at this price) and this helped made my decision easier.

 

[Clarence R Walker]

I bought the Pentax AF201FG and I am very happy with it. It's small, well made, and water resistant. It is about the same size as the GR3 and as a bonus it works with full function on my K-3 & K-5.

 

[Perry L]

And for the money (about $40 USD) the older model, Pentax AF200FG, can't be beat. It isn't fancy, but it is small-ish and it plays well with the camera.

AF200FG - Ricoh

This compact, lightweight auto flash features a maximum guide number of 20 (at ISO100/m) and a dustproof, weather-resistant structure with 18 sealing parts across its body, including the hot shoe.

us.ricoh-imaging.com

 

[RicohMatt]

Thumbs up to Pentax AF201FG. $149 on Amazon. Flash is TTL, has ceiling bounce, and the built-in diffuser is a nice bonus. I’ve found the flash gives very pleasing and soft light when flipped up.