I lost my 3600 flash that I was using with my Maxxum 7 and upgraded to a hvl-56. In addition, I recently bought an a700.

One of the real pluses of the 3600 and maxxum system was the ratio feature. It has been stated that the hvl flash is just a rebadged 5600. While I admit I haven't spent any time experimenting to find out exactly what I can do with the flash, the manual indicates that the ratio flash feature that is presented on the LCD of the HVL flash does not work. Nothing indicates that the ratio feature works with the a700, but the fact that it is there suggests that it would work with the maxxum 7.

??

Have also been experimenting using the manual brighness feature with manual exposure system to control fill flash (photographing flowers under various lighting conditions. Is there any way to trigger the flash using the fixed output manual settings without using a cable i.e. as a slave?
rdtindsm