I recently acquired a Canon AE-1 Program, but not the recommended Speedlite 188A flash. I do, however, have a Pentax AF280T flash -- will this serve as a compatable flash unit, or am I better off searching for the Speedlite 188A on eBay, etc.

-- Kenneth Mathews (kenm@bestweb.net), February 22, 2002

Answers

Well, I don't know anything about the Pentax flash, but it sounds like an AF/TTL dedicated type one, so you could probably only use it on your AE-1P in manual mode i.e. cover any extra dedication contacts and work out what aperture to set on your lens from the flash's guide number.

All in all, a bit too much effort, so if you think you're going to be doing a lot of flash photography, either get a dedicated Canon model (although you'd probably be better off with the 199A as it's more powerful and has a bounce head) or go for an independent e.g. Vivitar, Sunpak, Metz (if you're feeling rich!) either with Canon dedication, or just get an auto model without dedication and set the aperture on the lens yourself.

-- Jeremy (bmjb@hotmail.com), February 23, 2002.