Sony A-100 external flash settings

[larry_bolger]

Got an after market hot shoe to use with Osram BCS44 Studio side mount flash.

 

Getting incosistent flash, ISO 100, sync 125 tried 60, Auto WB, F 5.6

These settings on 35 mm would result in good flash up to 35 feet but the sony

seems to vary in results spome bright others dull under exposed.

 

Any ideas on using external side mount?

[michael_hohner]

Tell us more about the flash and the hot shoe. Is this a manual flash, or does it try to work as TTL-OTF flash? The latter is not supported by digital cameras. You can use older flashes only in manual flash mode.

[larry_bolger]

The hot shoe is adaptor ( after market) that fits Sony (since Sony hot shoe on camera is Propieitaery)and this one allows other flashes to be mounted or in my case plugged in.

 

Flash is Osram BCS44 35 years old runs on 4 AA batteries and will put out some light, can be slave, tilt head,allows bounce an straight same time ,wide angle difuser, and can rotate 270 gegrees has sensor that allows full light or can be modified by F stops for distance. cost $98 in 1975

 

Not sure what TTL-OFT means but it does fire from camera using hot shoe adaptor. I have tried S at 125 as spelled out in manual or 60 as i use to use in 35 mm shots. All with ISO set to 100

I did find it worked better (exposure) with camera in Auto Mode with fill flashmode, however flash not blasting out 35 - 50 feet I had selected Flash fill flash mode.

[michael_hohner]

If the flash is this old, it won't work on a digital camera with control by the camera. Does the flash has a manual mode, ie. one where you can set the flash power level manually? This would be the only mode that works, and you'd have to switch both the flash and camera to manual mode and then adjust the flash power and aperture until you get proper exposure. And if the distance to your subject changes, you'd have to readjust the system.

<p>

S mode and P mode won't work well with manual flash, because the camera changes aperture, influencing flash exposure. A mode would work in a limited fashion.

<p>If the flash has its own sensor, you can use the flashes auto mode, ie. the flash controls its own output. But then you have to make sure the camera doesn't change aperture (use A mode or M mode) and that you set the matching aperture on the flash. You'd also have to compensate for other factors manually, e.g. filters, diffusers, etc.

<p>

Yes, manual flash is very uncomfortable. That's why more modern flash systems exist.

[steve_c.5]

Larry, I understand your desire to use this older flash system on your Alpha, but you must understand that this camera is designed to work as a system with the new digital flash units, such as the H36 and H56. These dedicated units make life a lot easier. The ADI metering measures distance through the lens and adjusts light output accordingly. And, you can raise or lower the flash output with the selector dial on the Alpha very quickly. Even in bright sunlight, you can totally eliminate all shadowing on a person. I use the larger H56 flash with mine, along with the Gary Fong lightsphere. I got my flash for $350 from one of the online resellers, and it's money well spent. Plus, it works wirelessly with the camera, and you can handhold the flash and trigger it with no wires. The camera and flash "talk to each other", and great exposures are much easier to obtain. Give it a try!

[steel120]

Larry: I would be very careful of the trigger voltages from many of the older flashs (prior to the digital cameras), I just measured the trigger voltages of many of my older flash units from the 1970-1986 time period and they varied over a range of 2v dc to 200 vdc. The Alpha-100 has from reading other posts a max trigger voltage from a flash of 24vdc. It is easy to measure the voltage of your units, just attach a volt meter from the center pin (plus) and the shoe (minus) and you will know the voltage, just make sure you have fresh battery installed for accurate results. I have read many have smoked there new camera by trying an older flash unit with a FS-1100 standard shoe adaptor or the popular clones from china. There is a web site with many of the flashs listed, do a search on flash trigger voltages and it should come up, I do not recall the url. Lots of good info.

 

Bob

[tristan_savatier]

has anyone had success using a promaster 5000 series flash with the <a href="http://www.penncamera.com/store/item.asp?ITEM_ID=773&DEPARTMENT_ID=432">Minolta MD Mount module</a> on the Sony alpha?

 

thanks.