Here are my two cents... My first TTL flash was the AF280T. Great flash. Love the swivel and bounce head. Worked great on the pz1p.
My second TTL flash is the AF330FTZ. Also a great flash. Prolly the smallest of the Pentax "BIG" flashes (ie-greater than GN30/m), someone correct me if I'm wrong. No bounce or swivel but it does have a zoom head. Doesn't eat batteries like the 500. I shot football with it all last season got great pix at 1600iso. My third TTL flash is the AF500FTZ. It's a monster. It'll turn my pz1p upside down (while hanging from my neck), even with the grip strap and a heavier lens (ie- F35-135/3.5-4.5). Mucho power. At 800iso and f2.8 you can get good exposures past 99 feet. Two nice features of this flash are the power input socket, whereby you can plug in a Quantum Turbo or the Pentax PowerPack TR2. And also a socket for the Pentax Off-Camera TTL cord. The TTL cord socket saves you about $25-50us if you decide you like off-camera flash which is very nice, because you don't have to purchase the adapter that fits onto the foot of the flash to take the cord. The AF360FGZ will be my fourth TTL flash. Even though it does not have a swivel head (it does have bounce), I am still going to get it. Two main reasons. 1, I intend to get an MZ-S sometime and will want to be able to use the advanced flash functions available with that body. And 2, I like to use the older bodies as well (ie- K1000) and this flash will be able to be used effortlessly on them because it also has an "AUTO" mode. One huge advantage to the newer Pentax flashes and cameras is that when you switch to manual flash mode the camera tells the flash the aperature and iso you have set, and the flash will tell you the distance to proper exposure taking into accound head zoom position and discharge level. I personally love this feature. I shoot lots of wrecks and fires at night, and the reflective tape on the firefighter's uniforms really screws up TTL. One night I switched the flash to manual (I almost always shoot the camera on manual), and noticed that it kindly showed me on it's screen the above mentioned information. I now have no problems with night emergency shoots. As far as stealth is concerned the 330ftz would prolly be the best bet, as far as flashes are concerned. But I tend to agree with Debra if it's imparative that you be unnoticed spend your money on fast glass and go available light. Well I'll quit rambling... -- Nick Wright http://www.wrightfoto.com/
