Pentax K-01 Flash

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Exposure Flash

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Pentax K-01 Flash

As well as a P-TTL-compatible hot shoe for external flash strobes, the Pentax K-01 includes a built-in popup flash. With a guide number of 12 meters at ISO 100, the K-01's onboard flash is the same as that of the K-r SLR, and just slightly weaker than those of the K-5 and K-7, which have a guide number of 13. The K-01's popup flash offers 28mm coverage, and includes red-eye reduction capability.

X-sync is at 1/180 second, just like the company's SLRs, and the K-01 supports High Speed Sync with Pentax's external strobes. It offers -2 to +1 EV of flash exposure compensation and available flash modes are: Auto, Auto with Red-eye Reduction, Manual (forced on), Manual with Red-eye Reduction, Slow-speed Sync, Slow-speed Sync with Red-eye Reduction, and Trailing Curtain Sync.

Flash Test Results

Coverage and Range
A fairly powerful flash, with slightly uneven coverage. Lower than average exposure compensation required.


f/2.8

Normal Flash +0.3 EV	Slow-Sync Flash Default

Coverage and Exposure. Flash coverage was a little uneven with the 40mm kit lens, though that's not unusual, and much of the corner shading is likely due to the lens itself. Keep in mind that 40mm isn't a wide-angle lens (60mm equivalent), so coverage is likely poorer with wider lenses. In the Indoor Portrait test, the Pentax K-01's flash required a less than average +0.3 EV exposure compensation adjustment to produce bright results, and chose a reasonably fast 1/50s shutter speed. (Most cameras we've tested required about +0.7 EV for this scene.) The camera's Slow-Sync flash mode at 1/8s produced brighter results with no exposure compensation, though with a stronger pinkish-orange cast from the room lighting.

ISO 200 Range. We hope to add a flash range series here in the near future.

Manufacturer-Specified Flash Range
10.0 feet ISO 200

Manufacturer Specified Flash Test. The Pentax K-01's flash is rated with a Guide Number (GN) of 12 meters at ISO 100. That translates to about 10.0 feet at f/5.6 and ISO 200. In the shot above at those parameters, the K-01's flash produced a bright image indicating it meets Pentax's specification. Our standard test method for flash range uses a fixed setting of ISO 200, to provide a fair basis of comparison between cameras. We've now also begun shooting two shots using the manufacturer-specified camera settings, at the range the company claims for the camera, to assess the validity of the specific claims.