The first thing I would like to talk about in "Blog" form today is Sony and it's off camera flash system. Now... Sony has some great tech, like their TV's and their digital camera sensors that are used in Nikon and Pentax cameras. But I wan to talk about Sony's Flash system. First off, their flash system is super great, but does not have a lot of support from 3rd part manufacturers like Pocket Wizard. You need special hotshoe adapters and a lot of patients.
Enter Sony's off camera flash solution.... the pop up flash. It is able to transmit an IR signal to a whole pile of Sony flashes (36,42,56,58 models) and even a few of the older Minolta flashguns (3600d 5600d and with a little soldering the 5400hs) But how good it is and how do you keep the pop up flash from appearing in the final shot.
First... I have fired the pop up flash on both my a200 and a350 at a distance of 80ft outside and over 100ft indoors to triggered 4 Sony/Minolta flashes. Not bad for line of sight. But what if you need a flash befind you or two in front and two behind you. Well... try it... You might need to bounce the IR off of something... like your hand... but I haven't missed yet with the system.
Second... How do I keep the pop up from showing in the final image? Well...the magic of HSS. High Speed Sync. I am not going to go into how it works and how the flash actually flashes, that's a job for Google. But I will say that if you don't want your pop up flash to show in your final image... you need to push the shutter speed faster then 1/200 of a second. This will null the pop up. I will also say that you need to play with this and understand that this is super hard on your flash(es) and the recycling times will take a huge hit. You may also need to play with your f-stop and ISO levels to refine the image.
Here are some shots that use the Sony Strobist tech:
--one flash fired by the camera HSS at 1/2power. Flickr photo here
-- two flashes fired by the camera. 42 full power bare cam right 40ft behind subject, Sony 36 TTL left 25ft behind cam bare bounced off wall.
Simply amazed by how far I can trigger none-line of site with the Sony System. Flickr photo here
AND FINALLY
-- two flashes. sony 42 TTL through ST umbrella behind cam left, sony 36 TTL bare flash into wall cam right. Flickr photo here
So, as you can see, you can create some very different looks quickly with Sony's pop up IR system. Now... go try it and see what you can turn up.
Thanks, talk to you soon and somebody tell David Hobby how awesome he is for all the inspiration!
