LOL. Do you think alpha convention will sell alpha stuffs at a lower price? (: Good news for me too. All those a700 users. Go for a850 and I'll get your a700. (:

This year the convention reduced from 3 days to 2 days.
don;t think they will sell stuff la..

Tell me when you have that TT! hehe
then how about exposure? Does the slightly slanted angle view show correct exposure?

i was hoping it raise to 1sgd : 3rm in few years time..wahahahaha...and i'll smile even when im slping..

Wah achew.. 1:3 not so soon la.. now at 2.41-2.45.
unless something happened..

awh, please invite Azrul coz i badly need to calibrate my laptop lcd. this week probably we'll make a TT? around selangor area that is..


btw, from the 1st convention last year, they only introduce the a900 and the new lenses. they won't sell anything during the convention.

This post has been edited by SHOfrE3zE: Aug 2 2009, 11:45 PM

Can I know which Spyder Azrul is using ?
Spyder2 or Spyder3? thinking of get one... it;s in my wish list for several months..

Yea after Thursday everyday TT also can. Semester break! Wheee!

look at 5yrs back n now...its possible ma..hehe..

do note that im not asking RM to depreciate...im hoping SGD to appreciate..lol...of cos i wont want to see my fellow countrymates suffer if RM drop..



anyway...i was jsut thinking of something(imagining i already decided to buy 850 )

lets say 850 has no built in flash..so if i wanna fire my F58 wirelessly..i had to get FM20...but could i only capture the light from my F58(lets say from side)..yet not lettting my FM20 attached on my camera affects the lighting?? *lets say i only need light from the side..don wan to fill in light to cancel off the shadow*

SG Gahmen will control the currency.. not ez.. The story will be like USD (Global) vs RM vs SGD.. imagine yourself..

If the A850 is a APS-C, definate I will buy it.. but now it's a FF..
Thinking whether I am ready for a FF.... (although I had been avoiding the DT lens, but i just preparing to buy the CZ1680...) arh.. headache
skill and pocket maybe not ready.. haha

This post has been edited by hkhk: Aug 3 2009, 12:08 AM

if FM20 has HSS or weak enuf then i think cna gua

tanjq87: Yes, I find the slightly slanted angle shows exposure correctly.

By that you must bear in mind that most LCDs tend to blow out the gamma and make shadows a lot brighter than they should be. That's why, when you print it out, it becomes a lot darker (it's your LCD that's wrong.)

achew: There are a few ways;

The F20 can be used in bounce mode to trigger the F58 (should be enough, depending on your setup.)

The F20 and F58 in wireless commander mode, contribute a lot less light than the pop-up flash (tested at a recent TT). Previously, you'd have to use HSS to hide the effect of the pop-up flash.

SpOOkY: Depends if Nikon and Canon want to, but I doubt that they would. Unless Canon resurrects their 5D MkI for that price LOL. I'm guessing that Sony just got a massive order from Nikon for 24 megapixel sensors for their D700x... if the D700x is much cheaper than the D3x (and there's lots of room for any price) then the A900 might seem rather expensive. Instead of dropping price on the A900, why not a genuinely cheaper-to-make A850, while keeping the price of the A900?

nikon has to buy sensor from sony..thats y sony could affort to sell camera with the same sensor with cheaper price~

@albnok
okay..noted...im starting to get hooked by wireless flash..lol..almost 90% of my shots..the flash fires wirelessly...but recently..i started to feel 1 flash isnt enough to get the effect i had in my mind... >.<

oic,
ya, i noticed that when I printed out.
then do you know any external LCD that can be best replaced to CRT?

if u're getting a spyder, i suggest go for spyder3pro coz it's more accurate than the previous versions.

This post has been edited by SHOfrE3zE: Aug 3 2009, 01:31 AM

anyone know how much the Spyder3 pro costs? In directphoto.com.my it retails at RM850... looking for same thing at cheaper price...

achew: with ur talent, i do personally feel that you should go for FF. Bigger sensor will give u more detail for ur creative photo.

haha..thanks for the praise..i think the final stop shd always be a FF camera..thats y im considering to make 1 big jump(a300->a850/900) rather than alot small jumps(300->700->500->850)...and in this way..i can feel the impact more..lol..

nowadays i feel kinda stucked..quite hard to generate new idea for shooting..lol..

tanjq87: I don't follow LCD technology so I really don't know which is the best. (Also explains why I do not have an LCD yet.) However I do know that higher contrast ratios are better so you get truer blacks.

So what's so great about the A850, or rather, full-frame?


Suddenly, all the lenses in the top shelf can be used. (Hmmm, the Carl Zeiss 16-35mm F2.8 SSM is missing from this...) This is the poisonous Studio Zaloon in Pudu Plaza.

The differences between the A900 and A850 are:
- the A900 has a 100% coverage viewfinder; the A850 has a 98% coverage viewfinder (both have 0.74x magnification)
- the A900 does 5 FPS or 3 FPS; the A850 only does 3 FPS
- the A900 has a shorter burst rate before slowing down, at 12 frames in RAW; the A850 does 16 frames in RAW
- the A900 comes with the RMT-DSLR1 infrared remote controller, the A850 does not
- the A850 is probably going to be priced very, very nicely, knowing Sony!

Everything else is the same! 24 megapixels in a 35.9mm x 24mm full-frame sensor, weight, size, button layout, DRO Level 5, Intelligent Preview, user-changeable viewfinder screens, FM500H battery usage, CF and MS card slots, it's all the same. There was another link where you could order service parts for the A850 - the only differences were the circuitboard and viewfinder assembly.

So, in theory, could you buy an A850 and upgrade the circuitboard and viewfinder assembly? Maybe!

What's the deal with a 100% viewfinder?

The benefit of a 100% viewfinder is that what you frame is what you get. While I have gotten into the habit of framing exactly, 98% is not a big loss and you can still crop unwanted edges out of a 24 megapixel file with minimal loss.

Full-frame digital SLR viewfinder coverage:

Canon 1DsMkIII = 0.76x * 100% = 76%
Sony A900 = 0.74x * 100% = 74%
Sony A850 = 0.74x * 98% = 72.52%
Nikon D3x = 0.7x * 100% = 70%
Canon 5DMkII = 0.71x * 98% = 69.58%
Nikon D700 = 0.72x * 95% = 68.4%

If you put one camera to each eye, you can see the difference in size quite obviously.

The Sony RMT-DSLR1 infrared remote controller is not so useful for studio work - you don't get MLU using the infrared remote.

Various methods to trigger the shutter while reducing vibration:

1) Drive mode set to 2 seconds + shutter release cable = mirror locks up, waits 2 seconds, fires shutter (best results)
2) Drive mode set to remote + infrared remote control (2 sec button) = wait 2 seconds, mirror locks up, fires shutter
3) Drive mode set to 10 seconds + press camera shutter = you press shutter, wait 10 seconds (for hand-induced vibrations to stop), mirror locks up, fires shutter

You can't use Drive mode in 2 seconds + infrared remote control, unfortunately. That's why I bought a shutter release cable and use situation #1.

It is also unfortunate that when the remote's 2 second button is used, there's no mirror lockup before waiting 2 seconds! I don't understand why it was programmed that way... if mirror lockup happened before waiting 2 seconds, it would be the best of both worlds.

I do hope that they improve high ISO performance in the A850, and bring those new methods as a firmware upgrade to the A900.

And back to the second part of my Sony HVL-F20AM report:

The... or rather, my primary use for this flash, is split into three categories:

1) casual events / parties

I will not bring any other flash, just camera, standard or wide zoom and F20. I'd use high ISO and bright apertures anyway to get the ambient light of the party in. It is likely I will use DIRECT flash and blend in plenty of ambient light to reduce the harshness. So, power is not an issue for me.

2) paid events / parties

If I am covering an event and I am paid to take photos, I am obviously not going to use the F20! The F58 is the man for the job.

3) paid shoots with off-camera flash

I probably won't use the F20 as a front light (my Strobist style rarely calls for dead-on front light.)

According to the math, though:

F20 = 20 meters at 50mm ISO100 F1.0

So at F5.6 ISO400, the range at full 1/1 power, direct, is 40 meters / F5.6 = 7.14 meters. When bounced we divide it by 2 and get 3.57 meters. I think that's far enough for me, but I am not afraid to use ISO1600 so I get my 7.14 meters range.

You can tell if the F20 fired full power; it does whirr like a F42. Used indoors you will never hear this happen.

Can the F20AM be used on an A200/A700 to trigger off-camera flashes?

Unfortunately, no. However the manual does say that it can be used on cameras without a built-in flash (which implies the A850 and A900.)

Does the F20AM in wireless controller mode, contribute light to the scene?

When using WL mode and not using shutter speeds faster than the flash sync speed of your Alpha body, the trigger flash signal will still appear in the picture (subject to subject distance, aperture and ISO.)

In order of weakest signal appearing in picture, to strongest:
1) F58 in CTRL+/CTRL1 mode with CTRL ratio set to "-" and flash zoom set to 24mm on A900
2) F58 in CTRL/CTRL2 mode with CTRL ratio set to "-" and flash zoom set to 24mm on A900 (pretty much a tie)
2) F20 set to DIRECT and WIDE
3) F20 set to DIRECT and TELE
4) pop-up flash of A700

Is the F58 or F20 more powerful as a wireless controller in bright daylight?

Casual testing method:

A300, A700 and A900, manual mode, multi-segment metering, 1/160s F22 ISO100. Experiment was conducted from 1200-1230 hours +800 GMT. Minolta 24-105mm F3.5-4.5(D) set at 105mm. F56 flash lying on ground set to 1/8 power, 85mm flash zoom, with full CTO applied to make it 3200K.

It was a sunny day, but unfortunately there were clouds continuously passing, so the meter would go from -2 to 0 EV but never brighter than 0 EV.

F20 set on DIRECT and TELE (50mm).

F58 set on CTRL/CTRL2 mode, ratio "-:1", 50mm zoom, 0 degrees yaw, 0 degrees roll (no rotation.)

I would attempt to shoot when the clouds went away, and the meter read "0". Neither the F20 nor F58 could trigger the F56 when the sun was this bright and shining directly on the F56's sensor.

When the meter dipped to -1 or darker, I could trigger the F56 using both the F20 and the F58.


This picture might give you a representation. It was shot when the meter read -1 EV.

So what was the maximum distance to trigger a F56, given that I have made it as challenging as possible?

- the F56 is weaker at detecting wireless flash signals compared to the F58 and F42
- the F56 is placed at a funny angle - I wouldn't expect the flash sensor to do so well with detecting signals from below!
- the F56 is 'contaminated' with infrared light from the sun (your off-camera flashes aren't usually lying down are they?)
- the brightest Sunny F16 light is on

Distances as read off the Minolta 24-105mm F3.5-4.5(D), not extremely precise given that there are no focus marks between 1.5 meters and 5 meters:
A300 pop-up - about 4 meters
A700 pop-up - about 4 meters
A900 + F20 - about 4 meters
A900 + F58 at 50mm - about 4 meters
A900 + F58 at 105mm - about 5 meters

Remember that you can shoot in bright sunlight and get better range than this because your off-camera flash won't be lying down. These numbers are the worst case scenario!

Your off-camera flash would probably have an umbrella to its own, and that would make it easier for it to detect the signal. When the sun moved a bit, the shadow of the tree actually moved over the F56 sensor, making it very easy to trigger at any distance! So I had to move the F56 flash back into the sunlight.

In short, the F20 is just as powerful as every other pop-up flash, but the F58 when zoomed to 105mm has the extra advantage.

This post has been edited by albnok: Aug 3 2009, 02:56 AM

wow..detail explaination there bro~! appreciate ur effort =)


a portrait from my late night shot...all credits to my model for her effort in make up..holding her hair(its not easy as it seen)..tahan the flash straight into her eyes..and having hard time to breath..




c&c r welcomed



a300
Focal length 80mm
F4.5
iso200
shutter 1/80
F58@ 1/8 with DIY FlashRing attached


This post has been edited by achew: Aug 3 2009, 03:02 AM