pentax af360 flash... backwards?

[shaloot]

Hey everybody,

So I have a af360 flash and as you know it only tilts and does not swivel around. I would like to get it to fire

behind me and do you guys know if I put the flash on the camera facing ME (well not my face, but above and behind

lol!) if it will work... I assume p-ttl wouldnt work since it will be metering behind the camera and I suppose

just put on M and adjust the output... of course, all this assuming that it will connect. Looking at the

contacts, it doesnt seem like it makes a difference... does it?

Thanks for any input!

[mcmanamey]

I don't see why that wouldn't work, unless I'm mistaken about TTL metering. It's your camera actually doing the metering

through the lens and shutting the flash down when necessary, so i say GO AHEAD.

 

But it will do a better job of bouncing over & behind you if you add a stroboframe to the mix. AND by using the

stroboframe, you use the adaptors and then the contact issue isn't a problem at all!

[shaloot]

stroboframe?? er... is that the huge white thing you put on the flash that spreads out and looks like some kinda ancient kingdom head gear?? no...?

then again, I could use that search website googy or whatever its called and look up that... :P

[personalphotos]

Stroboframe is an off camera bracket and then you add the FG off camera shoe and cable.

[andrewg_ny]

I don't think I would try to mount the flash in the shoe backwards, if that's what you meant. This might cause the flash to consume light, sort of like a mini black hole, or even worse, might damage the flash or your camera. I see no reason to believe those contacts are reversible.

 

TTL flash does not require the flash to point at the target--metering is done through the lens. Some things you lose by not having a flash pointing ahead is the AF assist spotbeam and 'Auto' mode. If something decently reflective is behind you, then P-TTL exposure should work reasonably well, though you'll probably want to apply flash comp to taste, increasing ISO and opening aperture if flash power is insufficient.

 

The flash bracket (such as Stroboframe) would be necessary if you want the flash to move with you (like event photography). If you don't need to move so much, you can hold the flash in one hand, have someone else hold the flash, or mount it on something like a lightstand, clamp, or anything else handy.

 

If you have K10D/K20D/K200D/*istD you can have the built-in flash trigger the AF-360FGZ wirelessly so you wouldn't need the FG adapter & cable, but this would depend on your subject being adequately reflective so that the reflected light from built-in flash control flashes reflects from subject to back wall where your AF-360FGZ can see it. More reliable would be wires or a swivel-flash like AF-540FGZ where you could point the flash body forward with just the head backwards.

[le-plume]

...and then you've got the good old AF280T, which is available second-hand for a song, or even the humongous AF400T, beautiful piece of hardware by itself. Those two will tilt and swivel any way you want them to.

 

No P-TTL capability of course, and their TTL mode won't help you much, but I believe the on-flash metering is quite reliable. No "zooming" capacity either, but that wouldn't be much of an issue if you bounce your flash.

 

Never ignore the oldies-goldies option!

[jerry thirsty]

I don't remember on the 360 in particular, but most shoe mount flashes have a solid back, i.e. the slots on the

side of the foot don't go all the way through from front to back. So in order to mount it backward, you'd have

to cut out the plastic web so the slot goes all the way through. But even if you did that, it's highly likely

that the flash is going to be completely confused by what it's receiving through the communication pins. You

can't just rearrange the connections however you feel like it just because they are physically symmetrical and

expect it to work.

 

Like the others have said, mount your flash off-camera and use the adapters and cable, or go wireless.

[musings]

Hi Somanna -- I own a 360 as well and would not recommend you try to mount it backwards in any situation. While the sync contact will line up, none of the other ones will align to the properly mated electrical contacts that communicate not only PTTL but motorized zoom head settings, etc. The electronics in the camera and flash are very sensitive and often lack the diodes to keep back currents from entering the system. In short, if you mess around here, you could end up frying the flash and camera. Best recommendation is to get a Strobo (take a look at my "Chucky" photos in the macro thread to see what one looks like) and the following: Hot Shoe Adapter FG (goes to camera), Hot Shoe Adapter F (goes to off-camera flash), and a Pentax F5 cable to connect the two. You will be happy with the rig and it will give you safe, flexible lighting options. Cheers, Jeff

[shaloot]

Thanks guys, appreciate the info and warning!

[bmichel]

I bought a Promaster TTL (Pentax specific) cord to use with my Stroboframe. This cable is one piece (~ 24 inches) instead of the three components from Pentax (and probably cheaper). This gives full P-TTL functionality for my 540FGZ and K10D. The downside is that one can't instead substitute a pricey longer cable. The salesman suggested removing the flash mount on the Stroboframe and instead use that mounting screw (possibly with some washers) directly into the screw mount on the cable. His experience was that the metal mount would damage the bottom of the flash mount eventually. Either way, loosening the screw would facilitate turning the flash as needed.

[musings]

The Promaster configuration looks like a good setup. The FG/F/F5 configuration is okay, but I need another cord for a separate flash and think the Promaster would do the trick. Plus, there seems to be some major shortage of F H/S Adapters in the market -- the vendors I have checked either state "out of stock" or special order only.