For once, I have good timing!

amadeo: A330 userbar ada?

Also, A330 manual:
http://www.docs.sony.com/release/DSLRA300.pdf

SHOfrE3zE: Nice! I'd prefer it as a neutral-WB version though; the colors would stand out more since they're mostly primary colors.

chiggy: Congratulations! That is probably a record-breaking price among all of us!


I got myself the new Sony HVL-F20AM flash!


It's a quickly-foldable flash that turns off when it is flipped down.

It also turns off the moment you start turning the flash downwards so you can't use it at a halfway position.

It has a very nice, solid springy snappy feel. You will enjoy the tactile feedback from flipping it! I would say it feels 80% similiar to closing the HVL-F58AM flash stand. It has rubber padding on the front to prevent the A900's prism head from marking the flash.


It takes 2 AAA batteries.


When mounted on the Sony Alpha 900 (or any Alpha without a pop-up flash, according to the manual), it can control the Sony F36AM, F56AM, F42AM, and F58AM. However, the F20AM cannot be used as an off-camera flash. This is the first Alpha flash that can't.

The F20AM cannot control off-camera flashes when mounted on the A100/A200/A230/A300/A330/A350/A380/A700 as far as I know (and according to the manual) but I will update this post if I find that it actually can, tomorrow night...

Fortunately, the pop-up flash of the A100/A200/A230/A300/A330/A350/A380/A700 all can trigger off-camera flashes. So it's not a functionality that is strongly needed on those cameras anyway!

Off-camera Group Ratios

The F20AM cannot set off-camera group ratios even on the A900 but that is fine by me - ratios would need a complex interface on the back of the flash, like the F58AM, since the Alpha flash ratios are set on the flash and not the body. It's also meant to be simple to target the A230/A330/A380 market while throwing in a bonus for the A900 crowd.

Bonus Combination!

Nikon has a SU-800 unit which mounts on their flash mount, and triggers off-camera flashes. Nikon also sells a SB-400 flash which is small and can be set to bounce mode.

Canon has a ST-E4 unit which mounts on their flash mount, and triggers off-camera flashes. Canon also sells a 270EX flash which is small and can be set to bounce mode.

However, this Sony HVL-F20AM combines both the trigger unit and small flash into one! If you wanted to use both the SB-800 and SB-400 flash at the same time, you could not! If you wanted to use both the ST-E4 and 270EX flash at the same time, you could not!


Here it is, compared to my Sunpak PF20XD for size. Longer, thinner, just as wide.

There are only 3 switches on the F20AM - the DIRECT/BOUNCE switch, the TELE/WIDE switch and the ON/OFF switch (which is the swivel point.)

Setting the DIRECT/BOUNCE switch to DIRECT sets the flash to point forward, while BOUNCE points it up 75 degrees.

Setting the TELE/WIDE switch to TELE sets the flash zoom head to 35mm APS-C/50mm full-frame, while WIDE pulls a diffuser in front of the flash head, effectively making it 18mm APS-C/27mm full-frame.


Interestingly, and very cleverly, Sony designed it so that when you're in BOUNCE mode, and you set the TELE/WIDE switch to WIDE, the diffuser 'skips' past the flash zoom head so you cannot use BOUNCE and WIDE at the same time. In such a condition it would be the same as BOUNCE and TELE.

That said, you do not need to shoot BOUNCE and WIDE - when you bounce off a ceiling, the distance travelled makes the light spread out widely so it's already pretty much WIDE. If you use the wide panel diffuser on your other flashes while bouncing the flash off the ceiling, you are just wasting a lot of flash power!

And now, I can finally use my F58AM off-camera on my A900 - previously, I'd have to mount the F58AM on the A900 in order to trigger off-camera flashes! Thank you Sony for saving some wireless functionality for the A900!

dingenius3:

What: Sony F20 TT Session
When: 7:30pm onwards Wednesday 22nd July 2009
Where: Restoran Pelita (mamak near KLCC)

Who's coming:
1. albnok
2. thisiskj
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Kul | Mo0: It's a mini flash for any Alpha (which is why it's marketed for the A230/A330/A380 owners). Just that it can trigger off-camera flashes on the A900.

millenia3000, I don't believe the F20 will help you in that situation; bouncing will reduce WL range. I do want to find out today if the F20 offers that much more range in terms of WL triggering.

Again, that's what the manual says but I have yet to try.

This is a reply I typed in Dyxum:



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.) So I don't need any power from the front.

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.

I should be able to get an idea of its range hopefully this weekend. You can tell if the F20 fired full power; it does whirr like a F42.

millenia3000: Actually, I have NOT tested the F20 on any other Alpha besides the A900. That's why I wanna find out today!

The HVL-F20AM is a Compact Flash.

So now you can ask;

"Eh can I see your Compact Flash...gun?"

Oh yeah today's TT!

What: Sony F20 TT Session
When: 7:30pm onwards Wednesday 22nd July 2009
Where: Restoran Pelita (mamak near KLCC)

Who's coming:
1. albnok
2. thisiskj
3. ted
4. HitManSnr (50%)
5. wesley
6. Kevin (W)
7. marushin
8. rafizalamanda (50%)
9. yuslers (60%)
10. The Talkers
11. Ahmik3
12. hanafinoor
13. Templar
14.
15.

dingenius3: No worries, I have a strong 77mm IR filter.

And yes, the F20AM when mounted on an A200 or A700, cannot trigger off-camera flashes.

Kul | Mo0: Yes, a loose push-pull makes it easy to make zoomy slow shutter effects. I had a Vivitar Series 1 28-105mm F2.8-3.8 for that.

The Minolta 75-300mm F4.5-5.6 Big Beercan is sharper than the Sony 75-300mm F4.5-5.6. However it is also a slow focuser (but with a nice focus limiter.)

MechaHerc: It is honestly not a big deal, you still have a pop-up flash.

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

Casual testing method:

A900, manual mode, multi-segment metering, 1/200s F14 ISO200. Experiment was conducted from 1328-1340 hours +800 GMT. Minolta 24-105mm F3.5-4.5(D) set at 105mm. F56 flash lying on ground set to 1/4 power, 85mm flash zoom, with full CTO applied to make it 3200K, and a sheet of paper underneath to identify successful illumination.

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.

When the meter dipped to -1 or darker, I could trigger the F56 using both the F20 and the F58. I am not sure of the exact distance as it varied due to me not bringing a tripod to work but I pretty much stood in the same place while swapping flashes.

This picture might give you a representation. It was shot when the meter read -1 EV. I would estimate that the sensor plane to subject was 2 meters (regretfully, I forgot to look at the distance meter...)



The F56 was picked because it has a less sensitive IR trigger at sharper angles compared to the F58 and F42 (I feel the difference but have not measured this.) Also, I don't have a F42 anymore.

My conclusion from this is that the F20 and F58 have similiar range when it comes to combating sunlight outdoors to send an infrared signal. However, the F58 with flash zoomed to 105mm should give it a bit of help!

kopitiam: Of course it can.

You can also put a few flashes and jump;



Braynumb: As long as it can, or it can bounce off another surface, into the sensor, then it will trigger.

So what other accessories from Sony are real cool?

The new LCS-WR1AM wrapping cloth, that's what! I got one in brown. It's like a bag for your camera, but foldable!

The Japanese are very clever - this might've been something from their Origami books!


Here, it wraps a Sony Alpha 900 body with Minolta 24-105mm F3.5-4.5(D) lens and Sony HVL-F58AM flash. Perfect general-purpose combo (which isn't as chunky as the Sony Carl Zeiss 24-70mm F2.8 SSM.)

The ring at the end, is an elastic band that can catch onto the lens. Practice will tell you whether to put the camera more towards the center or towards the sides, so that the elastic band will wrap around the lens nicely.


Here, it wraps a Sony Alpha 900 body with Minolta 24-105mm F3.5-4.5(D) lens and Sony HVL-F20AM flash. Perfect social event/party combo! (Alternatively, a smaller Minolta/Sony 50mm F1.4 can be used...)


Of course, it is not limited to small lenses - here it wraps a Sony Alpha 900 body with Sony Carl Zeiss 135mm F1.8 lens.

It would've fit the Sony HVL-F20AM flash in as well, but the HVL-F58AM flash would not fit, so it would go into its own belt pouch. Which isn't half bad because you don't need to carry any camera bags at all! I don't find it fashionable to be walking around with a huge backpack, looking like a turtle in the process (I've always been a fan of sling bags.)

There is, however, the Optimus Prime trailer paradox... where does the cloth go when it's unwrapped?

jonjwlee: Yes, flipping the mirror down and closing the shutter to use phase-detect AF in Live View (on other cameras besides Alpha) does wear out your shutter.

Braynumb: You need to use a Canon ST-E4, 580EX or 580EXII on camera, to trigger an off-camera 430EX. The pop-up flash cannot - none of the Canons can do this.

melv: It is likely that they are a Sony Center. The Sony Style outlets can only sell at retail price. Sony Center outlets are owned by another company and you can read who owns the shop, on their signboard.

marauderz: The manual does not say it's water resistant but we'll see. I doubt it is especially since I fold it leaving the neck strap out as a vulnerable entry point.

Kul | Mo0: Do you mean a tiny concentrated spot of light, or an eclipse?

If you're going for the eclipse look, aim the flashes slightly behind the subject. Like what I did with your camera at Rasta, just without the front flash coming in the picture (using HSS).

You should set the modelling mode to TESTM (Test button triggers multiple flashes for 4 seconds) and move the flash around the subject to see how the light is shaped.

Braynumb, even if you had a 350D and 430EX II, you would not be able to trigger it wirelessly unless you have the ST-E4, 580EX or 580EX II on the 350D.

Braynumb: No, the 430EX does not have an optical slave mode built in. So you cannot trigger it with anything other than the ST-E4, 580EX or 580EX II (in TTL modes.)

You can buy a cheap optical slave trigger that mounts on the 430EX foot. However, the 430EX will have to be in manual power and so will the F42.

Happy Birthday dingenius3!

Zeegon: The F42/F56/F58 cannot be triggered by the Sunpak PF20XD. None of the Alpha flashes have the Optical Slave Trigger mode, but it does have Wireless Slave (which means it needs a signal specifically from an Alpha pop-up flash, a F58 (on A700/A900) or a F20 (on A900).

However, my Sunpak PF20XD comes with a Optical Slave Trigger and Optical Slave Trigger With Pre-flash mode so it can be triggered by ANY flash on ANY camera.

Braynumb: Yes it is mighty inconvenient.

achew: Yes, any USB to Micro B should work. Mini B is a different plug.

croomaniac: I never ever had a Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4.5 EX DC. I had a Sigma 17-35mm F2.8-4 EX non-DG which had its gears stripped.

tanjq87: There are many theories to why gear stripping happens - temperature, oil, mishandling of the AF/MF clutch. However my 17-35mm was internal focus and had no clutch (like a classic Minolta lens). Also, some lenses are just very prone to it, while some have never experienced it. I just take it to cheap plastic used in the geartrain and gear ratios that can exert wear/tear on the geartrain.

For the record, I have only ever owned one APS-C lens - the Sony 18-70mm F3.5-5.6 DT. After selling my A100 + kit lens, I got the Sigma 17-35mm which is a full-frame ultra wide angle.

Only the Sigma 24-70mm EX DG Macro has the AF/MF clutch.

The Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 EX DG HSM and Sony Carl Zeiss 24-70mm F2.8 SSM both have AF/MF switches and MF override.

All Sony lenses with an internal focus indicator window (except the Sony 50mm F1.4) have a focus clutch, which means the focus ring does not rotate when auto-focusing.

Bear in mind also that any 24-70mm F2.8 will be very big and heavy.

The Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 EX DG Macro is sharp but chunky. And quite prone to gear stripping.

The Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 EX DG HSM however is rated to be superb optically. And because it has its own focus motor inside, it will not get gear stripping.