Mark, Thanks for the first look. I am anxiously awaiting 2 units from B&H. I hope they get here this week. I'll be interested to see how well it performs. My one real gripe on the MZ-S has been flash compensation. I have just been waiting for this flash to be released.
Bruce Dayton Tuesday, November 27, 2001, 7:27:21 PM, you wrote: MC> The Af360 FGZ that I ordered several weeks ago from Ritz Camera finally MC> arrived today. I was out till late afternoon and have not yet shot any MC> actual film with it, but here's some first impressions: MC> First, for visuals go to: MC> http://www.markcassino.com/stuff/ MC> The flash looks like a smaller version of the AF500FTZ. The head tilts, MC> but does not swivel. A small locking button on the side of the head locks MC> it into the horizonal position, and must be depressed to tilt it MC> upwards. The unit has a build in diffuser (to get down to coverage for a MC> 20mm) and a build in bounce card. These both retract into the top of the MC> unit. MC> Zoom range is 24 - 85 (24 - 28 - 35 - 50 - 70 - 80) for 35mm. MC> The LCD display covers all the essentials, and has a nice bar display to MC> visually show the flash coverage distance. This adjusts with HS flash MC> etc. There's a format selection switch which allows the display to be MC> adjusted for 35mm, 645, and 67 cameras. So in 645 mode, for example, the MC> zoom range displays as 45 - 135. The LED is illuminated, on the Mz-S MC> pressing the button to light the camera LED automatically lights the flash MC> LED as well. MC> Maybe I missed this is the announcements about the Mz-S, but the AF360FGZ MC> has a new TTL mode, called P-TTL. Per the manual: "Works only with the MC> Mz-S camera. A pre flash is fired before the main flash so that the multi MC> segment metering sensor can measure the subject's distance, brightness, MC> backlit condition etc. The data obtained is incorporated to set the output MC> of the main flash. This mode obtains more accurate results than the MC> conventional TTL mode." So it seems that the Mz-S now has multi segmented MC> flash metering. In this mode there is a slight pre-flash just a split MC> second before the main flash - looks like a slight flicker. Also, flash MC> compensation is only available in P-TTL mode. MC> In addition, the 360 has standard TTL and non-TTL auto and full manual. I MC> found the non-TTL auto mode on the AF280T to be a great feature, and it's MC> great to have it on this flash. Standard TTL mode is activated when the MC> unit is put on a non Mz-S camera. It does not appear to be available on MC> the Mz-S. MC> High speed synch and wireless features are there as advertised, though the MC> wireless mode works only in conjunction with the Mz-S's build in flash or MC> another AF360 mounted on the hotshoe. Per the manual, the wireless range MC> is 4 meters. MC> The control wheel on the back of the camera is used to set flash MC> compensation, ISO and aperture settings in the non-TTL auto mode, power in MC> the manual mode, and other functions. It's a bit small but can be set MC> easily. The button in the middle activates the wheel and locks in the MC> selected setting. MC> Contrast control mode and trailing curtain synch are there. MC> The AF spot beam has been adjusted to now cover the wider AF area of the MC> MZ-S - and covers considerably more area than the AF beam on the AF500FTZ. MC> Lastly, the 360 has a modeling mode which fires a several second burst of MC> flash to allow you to see how the shadows etc will fall on the subject. MC> All in all it appears to be a very capable unit. MC> - MCC MC> - - - - - - - - - - MC> Mark Cassino MC> Kalamazoo, MI MC> [EMAIL PROTECTED] MC> - - - - - - - - - - MC> Photos: MC> http://www.markcassino.com MC> - - - - - - - - - - MC> - MC> This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, MC> go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to MC> visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org . - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
