Pentax AF540FGZ II Flash for Pentax DSLR Cameras

have had the AF360FGZ for several years and have used it frequently. When the the AF 540FGZ II arrived I was amazed to find that it is a bit smaller than the AF360 although it is slightly heavier. The AF560FGZII is a solid feeling performer. So far, I have mainly used it with PTTL and it has been spot on every time. The bounce/swivel helps create soft, interesting lighting for portraits even when the flash is on the camera. I am very pleased with the flash. The price a a little higher than I would like but it is worth it for the extra features and weather proofing in a small package. I also always like to have Pentax products if possible.UpdateAbout a month ago the flash started taking an extremely long time to recharge. Often as long a minute or more even with fresh batteries. I sent it in for warranty repair and they claimed to have cleaned and repair all connections and contacts and returned it to factory spec. It works just as poorly as before. I will probably send it in again but this is very frustrating. I must lower my star rating. to 3 for specs but not for performance.

Great flash. I have been a Pentax fan for years, and truly appreciate the image quality and attention to detail. This is a reasonably powerful shoe-mounted flash with a lot of versatility. The light cone is very even, and the diffuser / tilt head allows for good bounce and soft light effects. There is a very sophisticated remote / slave function as well. It is fairly heavy, but that is to be expected with a powerful flash. Groups of 20-30 at 15-20 feet are evenly lit without hot spots. I use it with the K1 MkII and am very satisfied.

Cons:Does not have port for extended battery! WTF?Most functions are buried under button menus, rather hard switches. (going to HSS? gotts press the sync button several times to make sure it is correct.) Settings are not retained after power off, so this makes it a real pain in the ass to not have hardware switches.Pro:Weather resistance will come in handy.Flash will fire multiple times without delay if enough power remains. This is nice!! The old 540fgz would only flash about once per second even at the lowest power setting.Dunno if I would spend the extra money again. I'd probably go for the older version.

I found this to be much better than the AF360FGZ II flash unit in terms of evenness of lighting & power, but -1 star for cost. Way over-priced for what it is. WHY?? are these things so darned EXPENSIVE???

Great construction, easy buttons, and it locks on tight tour your hot shoe (I once forgot to actually use the lock lever and it stayed!). Has a real nice fitted padded pouch. Real nice illumination, don't stare into the flash when testing. I should of bought 2 of them when they were way way below msrp.

Very nice flash, works very well with the pentax 645Z camera. Very Happy!

It worked as SPECIFIED...

Love that it is weather resistant. Working well with my K-3.