Name: Sunpak PZ40X II, Power Zoom Digital Flash for all Nikon TTL, D-TTL and i-TTL Cameras, Guide Number 120, ISO 100/Feet @ 80mm Setting - Black
Brand: Sunpak
SKU: SUPZ40X2NKB
Price: 179.95 USD
Availability: Discontinued
Rating: 4.2 (25 reviews)

Sunpak PZ40X II, Power Zoom Digital Flash for all Nikon TTL, D-TTL and i-TTL Cameras, Guide Number 120, ISO 100/Feet @ 80mm Setting - Black

Sunpak PZ40X II Power Zoom Flash for Nikon TTL, D-TTL and i-TTL Cameras, Black

Sunpak

Adorama

Photography

Lighting & Studio

Flashes & On-Camera Lighting

On Camera Flashes

Sunpak On Camera Flashes

Sunpak PZ40X II Power Zoom Flash for Nik...

33% Off: Sunpak PZ40X II, Power Zoom Digital Flash for all Nikon TTL, D-TTL and i-TTL Cameras, Guide Number 120, ISO 100/Feet @ 80mm Setting - Black Buy now & save $90. Flash Type: Shoe Mount Flash

I am a casual photographer who takes family, travel and scenery photos. I bought this flash, the PZ40x, not the 40XII, which is a different model,after seing an ad on Adorama for a good price and thought it might make a good backup and extra flash for my Nikon D70 and my Nikon SB400 flash, as the vad and the Manual said it would work with my camera model.
When I received it I read the Manual, attached it to the camera and tried it on several occasions.
 The camera flash should be set to TTL mode. When the camera and flash are turned on the screen on the flash will show TTL, but it can be changed to Manual mode, if desired. Nothing I tried however seemed to get the flash to fill in when fired. It seemed as is the flash was out of sinc with the shutter. I tried several adjustments but nothing could fix it. I had made up my mind to return it but just decided once more to try it and for some unknown reason it is now working as it should. The flash is compact and adjustable up and down, but not on a swivel, as their model 42x is. Overall it now seems to work as advertised but I will keep trying it just to be sure.

The only other complaint, a minor one, is that the door to the battery compartment slides open aft and could open with your thumb when mounting and / or removing it from the camera, if you pulled aft, something they fixed with their 42x model which opens/ closes up and down, which eliminates this problem. A minor inconvenience, perhaps and possibly also just limited to left handers (me). Another suggestion I would have for Sunpak is to include a carrying/ storage case with the unit and with additional space for extra batteries, and a protective cap / cover for the male hot shoe piece at the bottom of the unit to protect the hot shoe pins. If it continues to work, as it now appears to, I will be pleased.

Reasonable backup

I rarely use a flash and am only a casual photographer focusing on travel and family shots, but enjoy it. I bought this as a backup that is quick and easy to use and provides more output that my in camera flash on my Nikon D70 and D300 for whoch I have a SB400 and SB800 respectively, but again rarely use them. ThePZ40x is small, easy to carry and use, and was at a good price. 
I have tried it out a few times and it seems to provide a lot more power and light than my in camera flashes with little difficulty in setup. 
The things I don't like is that the head doesn't swivel like the PZ42x and other higher end models do, but then again this model is less expensive, it doesn't have any cap to protect the pins on the hot shoe coupling on the bottom and there is no carrying case. I like cases for most accessories to protect them and for better camera bag organization. I realize that the case would push up the price, but that would be ok. Some type of hot shoe, protection should be standard on all such external flash units. Overall this appears to be a good and simple backup for a reasonable price.

Decent backup

The good... For the price, Fantastic, dynamite in a small package, and hands down better than the built in flash on the Nikon. I have used this for fill, and had good results. iTTL functions, the manual settings are easy to set. The bad... Recycling time is slow, (two batterys, rechargeables work the best) the foot feels flismy, and this flash does not pivot. Most of these negatives have been adressed with the newer Sunpak PZ42XN. At half the cost of the PZ42XN you will not find a better flash for the price.

Best iTTL Nikon flash fot the price !

I can manually control the flash output on my D100 for desired and predictable results, or use the D-TTL for convenience. The same with newer generations of Nikon i-TTL cameras. It is small and light so I carry and use it more than the bigger flashes.  

The drawbacks? It does take much longer to recharge the flash, and it is not compatible with high speed (FP) sync. Of course I did not really expect this feature on such an inexpensive flash. The real problem is that on my cameras that allow auto FP sync, I could set the shutter speed well into FP range, with the resulting off-sync exposures. The camera did not "recognize" that FP was not supported with this flash. When I use this flash I disable auto FP sync feature on these cameras to avoid the incompatibility.

Nice Little Gem...

Good one

Great product

I have ONLY tried this indoors so far. It was very overly bright. I adjusted it down and it did not seem to make much of a difference. I can only imagine that any sort of distance, say 30 feet or greater, this flash can provide light where others cannot. The two-AAs seem to take longer than I'd like to recycle the flash. Overall, I would pass unless it's your only option/price range.

Too bright in auto/indoors

It's a good product, work work with my D7000

Good

This is my first upgrade from the built in flash for my D90.  It is definitely a big step up and, of course, you can do a lot more with this.  The settings are fairly easy and straightforward and the output is powerful enough to light up a night club.

Solid inexpensive unit

Works reliably on a Nikon D7000.  Compact and easy to carry.  Initial charge up is a little slow, but recharge time is OK with strong batteries.  Tilt head allows bounce, but no rotation limits somewhat.

Solid little TTL flash, great Deal!

Very easy to use. And this can work on my D7000.

Good Flash with cheap price

I have an old unit by the same manuf. Its great too.

Sweet

I use this flash for portraits, fill flash, and just in general use since it provides more light than the on-board on my Nikon D5100.  The flash and camera communicate very well, and it was such a bargain compared to other available flash units.  The recycle time isn't the quickest but I have not found it to be an issue with the way I use this unit.

Great Performance and Light Weight

I had the SB400 and it worked fine but didn't last long and no longer works.  I just couldn't justify spending that money again for another one since I just don't use it that often.  When I saw this and some of the reviews I decided to take a chance.  So far I am really happy with it but haven't much chance to use it.  I really like it for fill flash in bright sunlight.  The price made it justifiable.

Cheaper than Nikon SB400

I didn't have much expectations for this little baby seeing how small it was. I bought to use as a backup to my SB-900 (a honkin monster that I often leave at home because of its bulk).

It took awhile for the battery to cycle and noticed that the output was a tad lacking but for the price, and its use of only 2 batteries (vs the 4 AA needed in many flashheads/speedlights)

And best of all it supports TTL so no more of second guessing I had to do with secondhand Vivitars I've bought on ebay. 

It's quite small so I'm happy to say I'll be packing this little gizmo when I decide to venture outside. (it's no SB-900 in terms of capabilities but let's not forget the vast price difference)

Neat little flash

I have only used this flash for a few hundred shots, so it's pretty new to my bag. I do not expect a swivel at this price, but it would be nice. The power setting doesn't seem to make much difference. I don't see this little guy making it in a pro's setup. But, overall, I have no regrets about this purchase. It's a great little flash for the price.

Great flash for the price.

Bought for use with a D50.  It is significantly more powerful than the built-in flash, and extends the flash range by about 1/3.  Easy to use, and works great on a couple of rechargeable AA batteries.

Compact, decent power

Small flash, uses only 2 batteries, so the recycle time is a bit slow. But did I say that it is small? Good to carry around.Has a bounce & zoom, just like the big boy flashes.

Nice small flash

It's a portable flash and I use it for light travel/family events, I however notice it takes a bit too long to recycle.

Portable but takes too long to recycle.

This flash is awesome.  I have been using it for close to a month now and I do not have any complaints with it.  This works right out of the box with my Nikon D3100 (I-ttl mode).  I use it to shoot potraits of my kids and like the way I am able to bounce.  I like the manual feature where you can control the flash output and this is very handy while shooting indoors. I did not find too much of an issue with the recharge time.  It is little slow to start (Takes about 15-20 seconds before it becomes operational) but once it gets going the recharge time is not bad.

Very good little flash for the price

Slow to charge, but once it is, the output is great before it needs to recharge.  Very versatile for a low priced flash.

Patience is a virtue

I just got this flash and have used it a few times. I was concerned about buying an off Brand product but I don't think I will use it often and didn't want to spend >$300 for the Nikon flash. I didn't know if it would work well with my Nikon 5100, but it set right up and the TTL is seamless. If I have any negative comment, it is that the flash seems too strong at times.

Operated as promised

This is a very well built product. Functioned with a TTL extension cord (had another brand flash that didn't)
Has manual power settings 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, Full.
TTL only, no auto aperture setting on flash.
This is a really nice compact flash for most casual photography when a little light is needed to fill.
And no swivel head requires a TTL extension cord if you want to get the same effect.

I love this little flash

This is an excellent extra flash for a strobist on a budget, as it can be set manually down to 1/16 power.  The recycle time is adequate for sets, maybe not so much for parties, sports and photojournalism.  

One down side is that the flash housing is bulky at the foot.  This makes it more difficult than necessary to mount on a camera, and can keep a photoelectric slave from "seeing" the main flash and triggering the Sunpak.  It would have been nice to have a PC sync, but even the second-tier Nikon flashes don't have that (at four times the "special price" of the Sunpak).

Good Extra Flash

Works well in iTTL mode on Nikon P6000 and D90.
Also works in manual mode with a Fuji HS10.
Need to jiggle it a bit to get it to seat properly with the Nikon hot shoe. On the D90, the built-in flash interferes with the tightening ring of the Sunpak flash.