Minolta DiMAGE Z10 v. Slave Flash

[spacey]

Ok, I am new here. I am a news photographer (video) for a Houston Independent New Service, and come from a still background, but I havent used a Pro still rig in a few years (the last one was an...F5). This past Christmas, I received a Minolta DiMAGE Z10 and absolutely LOVE it. I leave it in my news unit and have loads of fun snapping frames all day. The one thing is I plan on purchasing a slave flash unit, I belive a "Pheonix" unit, off of ebay, only around $40. I dont really want to invest too much into this camera, except for a wide and tele lens, filters, and a flash bracket.

My question is, how will such a slave flash unit, triggered by the IR beam of the on camera flash, handle the Z10. I have read many newer digital cameras send a pre-flash for white balance, and then the flash for exposure of the image. I have my Z10 on manual mode, and no pre-flash is visible, but my eyes arent the best. Can anyone tell me how the Z10 performs with slave flashes? Thanks alot, I look forward to posting much more.

[Ronnoco]

The one thing is I plan on purchasing a slave flash unit, I belive a "Pheonix" unit, off of ebay, only around $40. I dont really want to invest too much into this camera, except for a wide and tele lens, filters, and a flash bracket.

My question is, how will such a slave flash unit, triggered by the IR beam of the on camera flash, handle the Z10. I have read many newer digital cameras send a pre-flash for white balance, and then the flash for exposure of the image. I have my Z10 on manual mode, and no pre-flash is visible, but my eyes arent the best. Can anyone tell me how the Z10 performs with slave flashes? Thanks alot, I look forward to posting much more.[/QUOTE]

I am not familiar with the Pheonix unit. To be compatible with Minolta Digital however, it would have to have ADL and TLL technology. Minolta Digital cameras generally use a menu for white balance options and not a pre-flash. Make sure however that red eye pre-flash is turned off on your camera flash. High speed synch on the slave would also be useful. The on camera flash sets off the slave flash and some slaves (hopefully the Phoenix unit) have a learning mode. Digital cameras generally require better quality flash units for 100% synchronization, accurate distance calculations and limited light fall off at the corners. Most of the non Minolta units only have 85% to 94% sychronization and often weaknesses in other areas.

My preference for a slave unit would be the Vivitar DF200, under $100 US brand new, if I have done the mental conversion correctly.

Ronnoco