To me, bringing other brand to show in the Alpha class is showing not respect to the organizer. However, I am not Sony representative, you may ask them whether is OK to do that.

I just heard someone was allowed to enter the class without owing the Alpha yet.

yup...u can enter the session without an alpha, they will loan out 2-3 alphas to non-alpha users, 1st come 1st serve.

Yesterday I got my external flash Sigma EF-500 DG ST, very worth for the price with the good features. It fits the A100 well, I have no problem to shoot indoor picture now....with bounce technic, the pic comes out nice... I am now working on the DIY diffuser to get rid of some shadows after bouncing...

How much you get it?

RM550, but it took me more than one month to wait.

Cool! A guide number of 50m is great for this price.

You can pull out the diffuser almost all the way out, so it sticks upwards but does not fold. I find that this works for giving a little fill. Also try it turned around 180 degrees, so the diffuser panel faces the subject. I actually prefer this to the Stofen Omnibounce and Lightsphere, and it sucks less battery too!

Unfortunately the EF-500 DG ST does not have wireless or HSS support. The Sony HVL-36AM has... but it doesn't have a built-in wide panel diffuser, swiveling head or strobe/manual power control.

HSS (High Speed Sync) means you can use the flash at a shutter speed faster than 1/160s, useful for fill flash in bright daylight. However, you can work around this by stopping down the aperture.

If the Sigma EF-500 DG Super is significantly cheaper than the Sony HVL-F56AM (RM1200 around Sg. Wang) it could be considered, though the Metz 54 MZ-4i does look far more interesting.

Actually the Sigma EF-500 DG ST supports HSS, it called FP however, my shutter can reach 1/4000 when attach the flash on it.

If you have more budget, definitely the 56AM is the best choice, but for poor man like, I choose Sigma over 36AM because:
(1) GN50
(2) Swivel and bounce head
(3) Build in 17mm wide panel, and when you pull out the panel, the flash will know and set the flash power accordingly.
(4) Manual full power or 1/16 low power.
(5) -7 degree bouce downwards for macro shoot
(6) HSS/FP
(7) Support TTL/ADI
(8) Can do burst mode with flash ( i had tried 2~3 burst with flash)
(9) Bright AF light can reach 9m.(not like build in flash, use the flash as AF, this is slower than the infared AF light)

The drawback is No wireless control. But then for this price, I think is acceptable.

Me joined the club... happy with it.... wee!

welcome to the club

tom_k3nt: Congratulations!

cityfish: Whoa, 9 meters. I haven't measured how far my AF assist light goes. It's not infrared, though, just red. But yes, I do see how many more practical things it has.

Is there still any seat left for the Photography class ?

Great!

Before that you help us to manage this thread, now you have to.

LOL... I small potato only... Cannot manage la.. now still figuring out how to utilize all the setting... what environment use what setting... really a lot thing/combination to learn... Compare with point and shoot... DSLR is really FUN! but heavy... hahahaha...
This Saturday still got the workshop to attend... Hope can learn some stuff....

Hie All,

I am another Alpha user here, current setup:

1.kitlens 18-70 mm
2. Beercan 70-210mm
3.sony 75-300mm 4.5-5.6

Looking for a 50mm/f1.4 , anyone selling ?



This post has been edited by kokwai: Jul 21 2007, 11:05 PM

Welcome to the club!!

Have you joined sony alpha club? It is a great place for Alpha owners! SONY just gave away 3x 100MF28 Macro lens for the competition winner this month! Next month will be FL36AM flash x3 to give away....

The competition is just open for Sony users ?

YES....something that only happened in foreign country now happening here.....

The latest outing at Zoo negara also can win a wide angle lens! But unfortunately I am in Penang and unable to move down.

My unit is a US set, seems not able to register for the Sony Malaysia membership. Is the club only open to Malaysia purchased sets ?

Elo Sifu sekalian, i would like to ask... i wanna capture picture of the sun beam... but when i do so... sometimes i am sort of pointing my camera around the Sun.. actually i would ask... pointhing the camera directly at the sun will kill my ccd/cmos sensor right?

No, it won't spoil your CCD because the metering already will choose a very fast shutter speed. Unless, of course, you overexpose it.

However, looking at the sun through the viewfinder will spoil your eyes! What I've done when I needed to shoot the sun is choose Aperture Priority, roll down to F22, and hold down the Depth Of Field Preview button (circle button at the front, below the lens mount, near the right handgrip). The view will darken significantly so you can frame the picture with the sun. You can then shoot.