kysham : I know what you mean for the harsh shadows. Some of the pics was taken around noon and my F42 was already firing full blast direct to lift them shadows!! Some were intentional. Hehe..

You can't really check the shutter count on the Alphas. But for the A300 I would say it can safely last around 50k to 75k

You just change the shutter assembly. The sensor do not die with the shutter, fortunately. hehehehe...

Guys. Just wanna ask :-

IF I had a brand new A900 for sale at RM8300 would anyone take it?
Condition is that it has to be paid for in cash only. No credit card or what not...

kysham : If you wan borrow, I become along for you lor... give discount lor... cheaper interest lor... ok anot?

signither : If I had the money, I would have bought it lor... but it's not for me... not now at least but I got the 'lubang' lar... limited time offer oni.

One time lar... where got ongoing...

Ianho : Great to see you back! Yay! Now we got Uncle to chat with us ady. This uncle ar dun play, play... he got Orange, he got L, he got king of PnS (x2 summore!!!!) so anything from PnS to DSLR and lenses, all he know one!

bysquashy: Wah! Going shopping ar? The 18250 and F58 is good combo. BTW, where you going to shop? I guess Lowyat and Sg. Wang area will get you the best prices lor....

alexes : No. Get the F58.... then you dun have to lust after it again after you get the F42, like me lar... but now I have both... double the fun!!

* pzzt! Poison injected *

When using flash it is important to remember some basic things:

1. Exposure depends on your shutter speed, ISO setting and aperture.
2. Do not use your flash as your main light source. The flash is there to help with the lighting, not replace it totally, unless you are doing some stylish studio shots lar.

When bouncing flash, make sure that you are bouncing it correctly. The flash head does not need to be 45 degrees all the time as this might throw the light BEHIND your subject if they are close to you. As a general rule:

- If subjects are close bounce directly upwards or 90 degrees.
- If subject is a bit further, use 60/75 degrees (forgot lar the exact marking)
- Subject still further away, use 45 degrees.

Like playing pool or snooker lar... judge the subject and see what angle is best so that the light hit the subject. Like trying to hit a pool ball with your cue ball when bouncing it off the side of the table lor.

Indoors, it is best to try and mix the ambient light in with your flash. Setting to auto setting does not always get you the desired results. I set the power of my flash manually most of the time. Experiment with the flash power to get the right balance. I usually have to use ISO 800, shutter set to 1/30th or 1/40th and flash set to 1/4th to 1/8th power and flash zoom to either 50mm or 35mm (F58 lar) and bounced directly upwards or at 60/75 degrees.

Fire off a few test shots and adjust accordingly. You don't have to fiddle with your aperture or shutter speed much. Just adjust your flash power. Too bright? Decrease power to flash. Too dark, increase power to flash. Slow shutter is to balance ambient with foreground flash exposure.

Bounce card helps to create catchlights in the eyes but does not help too much with exposure.

This post has been edited by shootkk: Dec 22 2008, 10:17 AM

No need to be sad lar... I can safely say almost everyone has got some dust on their sensors. It's the price to pay for digital sensor. Thing is if it does not show up in your regular shots then you don't have to worry much about it.

I too have some dust spots on my sensors that show up when I'm using F16 and above but I rarely use that setting so it doesn't bother me.

These miniscule spots are only apparent when you pixel peep and only when you're shooting a uniform bright expense for the whole frame at a very narrow aperture. How often do you shoot something like that? Most dust can be blown away with a blower and that's good enough for me.

Definitely the SAL18250 for the all-in-one solution. This lens practically lives on my A100. As for events, you can always get an external flash to help.

For cleaning you need to send it to the service center. I wouldn't trust my alpha to a bunch of salespeople who can't even properly show how Steady Shot works! And yes, it's free if your cam is still under warranty.

seram : The A100 has no official battery grip. Only third party ones. I don't have one and I do not think that I need one.

I am Olympus.... the result was the same even when I did the test twice and altered the answers to questions that seem to have 2 answers that seem to fit me. Hehehehehe.....

I find the camera test result explanation really hilarious. It's just for fun lar.... Ahmike the Niikonian Pixel Peeper?? No lar, I still like Zeiss Mike better.. hehehehe

Soony : Confucius says : Poison not good for you. Only cure to poison is good for you. Go buy and cure poison. Sooner is better.

Muawahahahahahahahahahaha!

Use according to situation lar...

For me:

Wedding dinner reception - M mode as the lighting seldom change and you can easily adjust your flash power.

Daytime tea ceremony - M mode mostly and if situation warrants, A mode.

You can usually get the hang of the exposure with one or two test shots. Sunlight does not change that fast or often either so you can safely use one setting if not shooting for long periods of time.

Unless you are going indoors and outdoors and indoors again and pass tunnels and have weird lighting and all.

I normally don't use any diffuser. It's kinda pointless anyway. Your flash under sunlight is never ever gonna be harsher than the sunlight. Just try adjusting the flash power output to suit your needs. I've tried direct flash at full power and no diffuser using my F42 and if I showed you the pic you would hardly know I used the flash at all. But of course it was near noon at the time.

dingenius3 : The flash mount cover comes with the A100, A700 and A900.

The A200/A300/A350 don't have it. The price for these models already rock bottom so Sony decided to skimp on the covers lor... Hehehehe.

You can buy them from Sony Style but hard to get them in stock ler...

This post has been edited by shootkk: Dec 31 2008, 10:42 AM

Time for some pics from me. Long time no post pics ady.


Event : Wedding
Partner in crime : Ahmike

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C & C Welcome.
Thanks for viewing!

The F58 goes for around Rm11xx. Got mine at Foto Edar BB Plaza at RM1080 cash.

Get F58 and you will never envy any other flash anymore. Sure the Nikon SB900 head can zoom to 200mm but can it tilt like the F58 'cobra' can? Tilt it in front of the fanboys and watch their eyes go wide!!

Basically, the F58 gives you higher power and ability to strobe and can act as a wireless commander for other F42 and F58 flashes. Coupled with the quick shift bounce (cobra head movement lar) and its fast recharge time, it is the best bang for the buck if you have the budget.

F58 - accept no substitute!!