Name: Sunpak PZ 5000AF Flash for Canon EOS Cameras, Guide Number 180 ISO 100 ft.
Brand: Sunpak
SKU: SU5000AFEOS
Price: 147.50 USD
Availability: Discontinued
Rating: 4 (3 reviews)

Sunpak PZ 5000AF Flash for Canon EOS Cameras, Guide Number 180 ISO 100 ft.

Sunpak PZ 5000AF Flash for Canon EOS Cameras, G...

Sunpak

Adorama

Sunpak PZ 5000AF Flash for Canon EOS Cam...

Buy: Sunpak PZ 5000AF Flash for Canon EOS Cameras, Guide Number 180 ISO 100 ft.

I use this unit when I need something more powerful than the mere pop up built in flash in the camera.

Great Buy for the Money

This is a TTL only flash, no E-TTL support. This flash works quite well on my Rebel XTi Camera.   Using the "auto" mode with its' own light sensor, you'll only need to set the F-stop manually.  It can zoom automatically to match the focal length of the lens. I wish it would read the F-stop from the camera though.  Rear curtain sync works well too.  Swivels vertically and horizontally.  For the price it is an excellent flash.

Great Value, No E-TTL

I bought two of these flashes to use for simple upper-body / head-shot type photos. For this purpose they have served me quite well. They have very decent power outputs, a wide range of power settings, TTL and auto modes (not E-TTL), Manual settings and slave operation. 

While you can use this flash with E-TTL bodies, it will NOT utilize E-TTL. The closest you're going to get is to use TTL with either shutter/time priority or aperature priority modes. I find when using manual (on the camera I mean), the flash resorts to the auto mode (using it's own built in sensor to judge exposure). Which produces very good results actually. 

I mostly use the flash on manual anyways, so I can't really give a definitive opinion on the 'automatic' modes of this flash. I have only used them a few times when the flashes were new.

Also, when using these flashes in slave mode, the sensor used to trigger the flash doesn't seem very sensitive. Meaning; the optical sensor must be pointed AT the IR source, not in the same direction. Fortunately the tilt/swivel heads make it easy to fire the flash towards your subject but still have the sensor pointed towards your IR trigger.

In terms of reliabilty, I have not had any issues with lock-ups, mis-firing (or not-firing). They seem to operate exactly how I expected, and have never given me issues of any kind (so far). :)

While the build quality is not 'cheap' (it seems put together well enough) , it's not exactly built like a tank either. This is not a flash desgined to be thrown araound, you'll need to spend a little more to get that kind of durability. That being said, with some proper care and handling, this flash should give you years of reliable service.

So if you're looking for a versatile, high-powered flash and don't mind missing E-TTL, this is a GREAT flash for the money.