Wireless flash??????

[CaliGal]

I have the A300 and HVL F36AM flash unit and am trying to figure out how to get the flash unit to fire from a remote, off camera location.

One would think all I have to do is turn ON wireless flash on camera (FN button/flash mode/WL), and then turn on the flash unit and set to wireless mode (which defaults to CH1...the camera should too I believe) and shoot.

So far no luck. I have tried shooting with the pop up flash on or off, wireless mode on etc....and yes, the batteries are full up on the 36AM unit. LOL

Neither the camera manual or flash manual talks about having to synchronize the two - I would expect it to just work, yet I remain unsuccessful. Any thoughts out there?

[sparkie1263]

I helped my friend get his to work it was about 3 months ago. From what I remember you have to put it on the camera then set it up. It fires from the on camera flash. Hope this helps.
Frank

[DonSchap]

This is the one aspect of the camera system I have never been comfortable with. Yes, I have gotten the HVL-F56AM to work wirelessly with the α100 and have yet to try it with the α700.

Here is a primer (http://www.friedmanarchives.com/flash.htm) (<- click on link) for doing it ... with the mind of Minolta. Check it out and see if it helps you.

[DonSchap]

Continuing on ... I have since gone with PocketWizard Plus "wireless" triggers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG7pcJCD9G4) (<- click on link) and real 750W strobes for my studio work and controlled situational shooting. Obviously, if you cannot prepare ... then the portable external flash is your fallback.

Lighting has all sort of costs, but once you have the setup ... you are just about tready for anything (of course, what would life be without surprises, eh? There's always something else.)

[CaliGal]

I helped my friend get his to work it was about 3 months ago. From what I remember you have to put it on the camera then set it up. It fires from the on camera flash. Hope this helps.
Frank

Darn, that sounded like a possible solution, but I tried it quick and nothing.
Put the flash unit on camera turned them on, set wireless on camera (it came on the unit automatically too) remove unit from camera while still powered up and shot with and without flash - but the remote did not fire. :-(

To me, wireless means two things...
1. It should be triggered to flash without seeing another flash - wirelessly - unless it's really just an optically triggered flash unit, in which case it should not have to need any set up at all and would just work with any camera with a flash.
2. It should not need to be on the camera to work. (which it does just fine when on the hot shoe)

Thanks Frank, at least this gives me something else to play with in different ways to see if I can find the right combination of actions to get it working...

[DonSchap]

One other thing is that the SONY/Minolta External flash needs to be "optically available" to the camera ... nothing between it and the camera ... or "blinding it" with a nearby lamp.

The PocketWizard's are radio frequency (a major advantage) and thereby do not look for an optical queue to fire. Fail safe? Well, darn near.

[CaliGal]

Thanks Don! All I'm really looking for is a basic "set up", though this primer covers the theory in depth for sure!!!

This is such a neat feature, you would think they would make it more straightforward...

[DonSchap]

You could take the time and put your understanding and instruction to paper. I'm sure those who haven't ever tried it ... or even those who have had issues, would appreciate a clear sequence of steps to make it work.

How about it, young lady? Writer's block?

"Cali, see your future, be your future. May, make, make it, make it. Make your future Cali. I'm, I'm a veg', Cali." (my thanks to Chevy Chase in Caddyshack for this modified quasi-quote of ... inspiration. LOL :D )

[CaliGal]

>>>"Cali, see your future, be your future. May, make, make it, make it. Make your future Cali. I'm, I'm a veg', Cali.<<<

LOL Don. This resonates with me more than you know. I am a single digit handicap golfer. I always make it. :D

[DonSchap]

Congratulations on your golfing skill. Reading the greens and landscapes is an amazing art.

Just watch out for the gopher holes.

37890 (http://www.shop.com/+-a-caddyshack+gopher+headcover-p31688214-g1-k36-st.shtml)

[CaliGal]

This is the answer to my own question - I figured it out with the help here and a little experimentation.

The Sony Alpha camera, when used with one of the WL equipped Sony (or Minolta too?) flash units can fire wirelessly using something they call HSS - or high speed sync. In a nutshell, HSS is a code sent from the camera to the flash, telling it to fire. This code is not sent via infrared or radio - it is actually transmitted within a pre-flash sequence of flashes directly from the on board pop up flash. The on board pop up flash cannot be used in conjunction with wireless (as far as I could determine).

Setting it up -
It's really simple once you know how...

1. Turn on the camera and flash unit - the flash unit does NOT have to be on the camera for you to set up wireless... probably better if it isn't.

2. Turn on the wireless (WL) button on the flash - assuming the flash unit is not connected to the camera, it's HSS light should also come on automatically. You'll notice the sensor in the front of the flash blinking a bit to indicate it's ready. (If you happened to have the unit on the camera, the HSS light would not be lit, because the camera/flash connection then becomes hard wired.)

3. Find the on camera flash menu. (On the A300, it's under the FN button.)
Select flash type - WL (wireless).

4. Position your "ready" off camera flash unit anywhere away from the camera, but not really far, just where flash assistance is desired.

5. Go ahead and shoot. You should see your on board flash send a machine gun burst of pre-flash, milliseconds before the shutter goes off. In turn the external flash fires as your shot is taken!

One odd thing I encountered - if I set up the wireless setting in the camera, and then changed from one shooting mode to another (ie. Auto to Manual), the WL setting was lost and I would have to go back into the flash menu and set it up again. Makes no sense, but that's what happened.

Another thing I found when playing with it on a desktop...when the camera and flash unit were very close together, the external wouldn't fire. I'm not sure if that was because the camera and flash unit were too close to one another, or that it was sensing enough light to not need a flash. Don't know, but it might not work for you either under similar conditions...

The ease and flexibility of this is very nice. The only drawback I see it that once you get it working, you'll want to buy more flash units, stands, umbrellas, soft boxes etc. LOL

Have fun!

PS - Make sure to turn OFF the WL function on your camera after you use it.

[DonSchap]

Well done, CaliGal.

It is this very kind of exchange and support that makes the DCRP one of the best games in town.

Thanks for your time and effort ... and hopefully, killer-results, from all the newly trained shooters.

Flash on!

[JonathanJ]

Thank you for posting the instructions. This will be useful when I play more with wireless flash.

JJ

[CaliGal]

I have also obtained this additional information on wireless HSS provided by a member over in the dyxum.com forums so I thought I would share -

http://thesybersite.com/minolta/flashfacts/index.htm

Easy to understand...so enjoy!

[DonSchap]

Great follow-up, CaliGal.


I hope everyone prints this and begins to use this exciting aspect to their DSLR.