Canon Speedlite 199A on a Canon Powershot G2

[uwe_theel]

Dear photo.net People,

 

I am a new member of this forum.

 

I searched your site in concern of my problem, but I couldn`t find quite the

right answers.

 

I understand that in general I could use my old

 

Canon Speedlite 199A

 

on a

 

Canon Powershot G2.

 

But I could not find any detailes on the following questions:

 

Which are the precautions that should be taken, if any?

 

Which are the basic settings on the G2 and the 199A

 

Which corrections should be made when manually setting the 199A and/or the G2?

 

 

Maybe somebody could help me out?

Many Thanks!

 

My Regards

 

Uwe Theel

(Bensheim, Germany)

[jimstrutz]

Been a while since I used a 199A, but there are no precautions to take. The 199A has a low sync voltage, so that will not be an issue with the G2.

 

Basically, you set the G2 to manual, select an ISO for the camera, and mount the flash on it. Set the 199A to the same ISO, and choose one of it's auto aperture ranges. (I think they're color coded, as I recall). Then note what aperture the flash indicates and set that on the camera's lens. Then select a shutter speed -- just about anything will work, but try 1/60 for starters. Then take a picture and check for proper exposure. (Use the camera's histogram to do this best.) If the image is too dark, open up the aperture a stop and try again. If it's too light, do the opposite.

 

I believe the G2's image sensor is more sensitive than Canon's ISO ratings would indicate, so don't be surprised if you find that you have to use a smaller aperture than the flash calculator indicates.

[uwe_theel]

Dear Jim,

 

thank you for your help.

 

I tried as you suggested. Basicly it works, but results aren`t really satisfying. Within a range of 2 to 5 meters with a shutter speed 1/60, aperture 8 - which is the minimum - and even setting the 199A to ISO 200 (G2: 100) it seems that the flash is always to bright.

If one has time, as in stills photography, one might find by experimenting with various settings a specific solution for a certain picture. In case of greater distances (5- to 10 meters) things seem to work better, but not predictable.

 

I might try the 199A for special occasions on the G2, but for every day use and "quick shooting", it makes no real sense.

 

Mighty friendly of you to try to help me anyway.

 

yours

 

Uwe

[ben_hutcherson]

Here's my suggestion.

 

First of all, use a piece of scotch tape or electrical tape to tape off the four rear contacts on your G2s hot shoe, but be sure to leave the center one uncovered. This will put you completely into control of what both the flash and the camera are doing.

 

Then, set your camera to a comfortable ISO, set the flash calculator dial to that same ISO, and pick a power level on the flash.

 

Look at the calculator dial and see what aperture it suggests for the power level and ISO you have selected. To do this, locate the three colored triangles across the bottom of the dial, and look at the aperture under the color of the triangle corresponding to the color of the power level you have selected.

 

Manually set your camera to this aperture, and take a test exposure. If it is too light, close the camera's aperture one stop without changing anything on the flash. If it's too dark, open up your cameras aperture one stop. Keep on doing this until you get a proper exposure.

 

Once you've figured out a correct compensation, you should be able to universally apply and get consistently good results. The 199A is an excellent flash that works on the auto-thyristor principal pioneered by Vivitar in the '70s. In many situations, auto-thyristor flash can give superior results to other types of flash exposure.

[uwe_theel]

Hello Ben,

 

it seems as if the taping of the four rear contacts of the G2s hot shoe does the trick.

 

The settings I read from the flash calculator dial of the 199A now correlate with the corresponding settings of the G2 (manual mode) much more accurately. To set the G2 one aperture stop up or down does no longer result in near absence or excess of light, but lets me get the right lighting very easily.

 

Thanks for the help