anyone who knows a bit about off camera flash please come in here a sec

[jodi]

i just bought myself a second hand hvl42am plus a cheapy and portable light setup of a lightstand, shoot through umbrella and the bracket with sony adapter. it should all arrive tomorrow.

im not sure how to get started though.. after reading gary friedmans book for the a550 wireless flash looks pretty easy but i dont know what settings to use.. ADI or TTL ? and do i have to use manual or do i just use aperture priorty as usual? i really dont know the first thing about off camera flash as ive been using a lightscoop to bounce flash and while i love it it has too many limitations for what i want to do. ... i just want to get some cute portraits at coffee group (im just a mom with a camera/hobbyist)

any help would be greatly appreciated !

[OldClicker]

I think you will like the 42. Try to set up the flash so that the red IR light points at the camera. Remember that the camera flash must be up. It uses this light to 'talk' to the flash.

Set it on ADI. If you are attached to he camera (not wireless), your lens supports ADI and you are using direct flash (not bouncing), it will use ADI. Otherwise it will default to TTL. (ADI is just a refined TTL using information from the lens to get the distance to the subject.)

Aperture Priority will works as normal.

If you have questions, just ask. I use a wireless 42 all the time, so I probably can handle the technical type questions. If it is a lighting/portrait question, I would post it on the Studio & Lighting forum.

TF

[jodi]

awesome thanks for the quick reply, yeah it probably will be technical questions, i know to set the light up at 45 degrees and i have a white poster board for a reflector to fill in the shadows.

ill be using my 50mm 1.8. is the onboard flash signal likely to show up in my photos at that distance ?

[OldClicker]

If the onboard flash shows up, you can cover it with a piece of exposed film. This will reduce the visible light, but very little of the IR light that it uses to communicate. I have a piece attached with two pieces of two-sided tape that I leave on it all the time. Remember to remove the film if you actually use the onboard flash as a flash or it will melt the film.

Another thing that you may run in to: The Sony flash has a little switch on the bottom to tell it whether it is being use on camera/wired or wireless. If the top of the mount is flat, it thinks that it is on camera/wired. If there is a slot, it thinks it is suppose to act wirelessly. If you look on the foot that came with the F42 you will see the slot cut into the top. If your adapter does not have this slot, it will not work wireless.

Here is an adapter without the slot for on camera/wired.

http://www.everbuying.com/uploads/20...er-G-17879.jpg

And here is one with the slot for wireless.

http://www.ukhighland.com/media/ecom...pter324-01.jpg

You can easily cut in a slot with a rotary tool.

Check the umbrella holder to see if the flash connection comes off and there is a ¼” threaded stud. If so, you may be able to just thread on the foot – it is threaded on the bottom. This is a much more solid connection anyway.

TF

[jodi]

that is very cool info thanks so much ill check it out when it arrives !

[Photo-John]

Good luck with your new flash toys! I'm not familiar with the Sony wireless flash system but I've used Nikon, Canon and Olympus off-camera flash. Getting the flash off the camera makes a huge difference allowing you to add some shadows for shape instead of having that flat, pie pan lighting. A lot of the time I just use a cable and hold the flash in my hand. When I really get serious I have a pair of Pocket Wizard radio slaves. They're a little more difficult because you're limited to manual flash exposure control. But they do give you a lot more flexibility with flash distance and placement.

[jodi]

yeah im definitely not serious yet but im quite excited to play. photography sure is fun ! i looked at the pic, its hard to tell cos theres a watermark on it but it doesnt look like there is that slot. my hubby is an engineer though so hopefully he can sort it out for me. thanks so much for telling me about that, id never have worked it out

[jodi]

so the flash arrived finally yay! and thank you so much oldclicker for telling me about that groove, i wouldnt have known why the wireless wasnt working cos my adapter didnt have it.. of course.

so i do have one technical question.. i did a whole bunch of shots inside with the flash.. i used aperture priority as normal and they all came out at 800 iso plus 1/80 shutter speed. i dont understand ?

[pisco]

If you are in A priority, then you are the one setting the iso not the camera (so you must have left it a ISO 800, unless you have it in Auto ISO?).

Shutter speed of 1/80 is normal for flash. The reason is because its the flash strobe the one freezing the picture instead of the shutter speed.