fourg1b2006 Loc: Long Island New York

I just purchased the Sunpak PZ58X flash. Trying to read the manual is crazy. I just want to know if anyone has any knowledge of this flash. All i want to know is how to set the flash for full power, for half power and quarter power. Any help would be appreciated.

machia Loc: NJ

Check out YouTube .

fourg1b2006 Loc: Long Island New York

Not that much help on my flash.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

I would check to see if this flash is completely compatible with your camera?

fourg1b2006 Loc: Long Island New York

Yes it is. This is the one for the Canon camera.

twowindsbear

Maybe post a pic of the control pannel?

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

Wow, that's tough to swallow, how can a manual be so bad that one can not even figure the most basic settings?

fourg1b2006 Loc: Long Island New York

I'm sorry to disappoint you.I guess i'm just not as knowledgeable as you are. Maybe someday i might be able to help you.but somehow i doubt it. It's hard to help someone that thinks they know it all. Have a good day.

twowindsbear

Go to this link

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1027240-REG/sunpak_pz58xc_pz58x_flash_for_canon.html

Find the 'Ask the Experts' - click on LIVE CHAT, or call the number

They should be able to answer your question.

Good luck

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

I don't have that flash, so am sort of guessing based upon my experiences with other modern flash dedicated for use with Canon cameras.

Sunpak PZ58X"C" probably functions the same way as any Canon brand flash and be fully compatible with Canon ETTL and ETTL II.

As such, if you set the flash to ETTL/ETTLII and the camera to any of the auto exposure modes (Av, Tv, P) the flash will automatically be in "fill" mode. That's reduced power output.... typically -1.5 or -1.66 EV.

You can override this if you wish by dialing Flash Exposure Compensation up or down. I see a dial on the rear of the PZ58X, that I would guess is used for that purpose. According to the flash specs, it is set in half stops and has a range of +/- 2 stops (four stops total). Many Canon cameras also have a means of setting FEC (some Canon cameras do this in the menu, while others have more direct access via a button and the rear dial or multi-directional pad on the back of the camera).

When in this fill mode, the camera will still set exposure according to the ambient light, then the flash will fire to supplement that... at reduced power unless you override it.

To use full flash with ETTL, switch the camera to M. This will cause the flash to be treated as the only light source and to fire more fully (ambient light can still have an effect, depending upon how you set the ISO, shutter speed and aperture... but primarily the flash will be metered and controlled by the camera).

The way ETTL works is to fire a low power flash (1/64) that it uses to measure how much is required, an instant before the flash is fired more fully.

Using the "Mode" button on the flash, you should be able to set it to M or Manual, if you prefer. In this mode, the flash is not metered or controlled by the camera other than to fire it. It will fire "fully" unless you dial it down. Once in this fully manual mode, I would bet the dial on the back of the flash can be used to reduce power in the manner you're asking about.

The "Mode" button appears to also provide a means of illuminating the rear LCD of the flash, to help in low light conditions.

That LCD panel should show the flash mode (ETTL/ETTLII or M/Manual)... the lens focal length... if either HSS or Rear Curtain Sync are engaged... as well as display the range the flash will reliably cover at any given setting of the flash, camera and lens.

You have to pay attention to your camera's shutter speed setting. It has a top flash sync speed... AFAIK either 1/200 or 1/250 on most Canon DSLRs (there's at least one exception: 1/180 on 6D). This is the fastest speed you can use the flash normally, but you are free to use slower shutter speeds. In your camera's menu, there might be a setting that the camera will automatically limit itself to the sync speed. That can be disabled on most Canon (all the models I've ever used).

It is possible to use shutter speeds faster than the camera's sync speed. To do so, you need to set the flash to HSS or "High Speed Sync". I see there is a button on the rear of the PZ58X to set this. (The same button also sets "Rear Curtain Sync", but that cannot be used at the same time as HSS, so the button probably simply toggles through normal, HSS and Rear Curtain Sync modes.) HSS allows use of the camera at any shutter speed up to it's very fastest... HOWEVER, it reduces flash duration and reach quite a bit. At the faster shutter speed distances will be VERY limited.

As mentioned, the rear LCD screen should display a distance range when in use. I don't know about the Sunpak, but on the flashes I use it's shown as a horizontal bar near the bottom of the screen.

In case you don't know what it is, Rear Curtain Sync setting is used with slow shutter speeds, where things like the lights of a moving car cause light trails. With normal flash sync, those light trails are recorded in the image after the flash exposure, which causes them to appear "in front" of the subject, which makes it look like it's moving backwards. Rear Curtain Sync delays the flash until the end of the exposure, which
makes those trails appear "behind" the subject, which looks more like we'd expect it to when a subject is moving.

It appears the PZ58X also has a means to manually override the focal length setting, with that "Zoom" button. If you don't use that, it should adjust itself automatically to best match the lens you're using. I don't see anything in the specs about the range of focal lengths covered, but on similar flashes it's typically 24mm to 105mm (or anything longer) on a full frame camera.... while on an APS-C camera the equivalent would be 15mm to 62mm (or longer). The flash also appears to have a pull out diffusion panel for use with even wider lenses... probably as wide as 16 or 17mm on FF or about 10mm on APS-C.

There may be some custom functions you can set with the flash... such as whether it shows the effective range in feet or meters. I don't know how those might be set, with that particular flash. (Best guess... the "Fn" button in conjunction with the dial and the "select/set" button in the center of it.)

I would guess that most of the buttons on the flash (used to change modes, etc.) are first pressed, then changes are made by spinning the dial, which are then "set" by pressing the button in the center of that dial.

One other button I see on the PZ58X is a pilot button to test fire the flash.

You'll find a lot more info about using dedicated, ETTL/ETTLII flash in your camera manual. There also are downloadable manuals for Canon flash such as 580EX/580EX II or 420EX/EX II that are very similar and might be helpful. Finally, there are some websites that go into more detail about the Canon flash system, that probably would apply.

Oh, and by the way, while they're similar highly automated modes I think the main difference between ETTL and ETTLII is that the latter utilizes focus distance data from the camera to help with setting an accurate exposure with the flash. Original ETTL doesn't do that... it relies upon that 1/64 power "pre-flash", which is metered by the camera to set the flash output.

Hope this helps!

PeterDragon Loc: Harlan, KY - Kona, HI - Phoenix, AZ

Just wanted to give you some thumbs up for helping this guy. Not everyone is as helpful.

Jim

fourg1b2006 Loc: Long Island New York

Thank you so much for your help.I do appreciate it.

fourg1b2006 Loc: Long Island New York

Wow...this is in credible. Thank you so much for the time you put into this post. I think i got all my questions answered. Thank you again for all your help.