What Flash for the 707???

I am still in the somewhat infant stages of photography but am catching on quickly......I have noticed certian things that I want to eliminate from (mainly) indoor (lowlight) photos and some (all light) outdoor shots...

Can someone tell me what is the best, all around, flash for the 707? In other words, one that will offer the most options for most shot.

Stupid question - so go easy on me, but what is TTL?

I have noticed that Sony has the 707 in a way that it does not accept all flashes........But I am up for what you guys think is the best one AND keeps the functionality of the camera alive.

Thanks for the help!

jgaddy,

TTL stands for Through The Lens. The Sony flash(es) emits a pre-flash to set the exposure (judging the proper exposure-through the lens). The shoe is a cold shoe, so you can't use other flashes. The Sony F1000 external flash works well. It hooks up to the 707 and can be used, with some difficulty, in manual modes. There's also the DigiSlave line of slave flashes, that will work with the 707 (but you have to mount them on a seperate mount). I think photoave is using a Promaster flash. That's the only easy, cost effective, flash solutions I know of. I believe there's also some Metz flashes that can be used, but you need an adapter and they're quite pricey. You should be able to pick up a F1000 for around $90.

Steve

jgaddy said:

I am still in the somewhat infant stages of photography but am
catching on quickly......I have noticed certian things that I want
to eliminate from (mainly) indoor (lowlight) photos and some (all
light) outdoor shots...

Can someone tell me what is the best, all around, flash for the
707? In other words, one that will offer the most options for most
shot.

Stupid question - so go easy on me, but what is TTL?

I have noticed that Sony has the 707 in a way that it does not
accept all flashes........But I am up for what you guys think is
the best one AND keeps the functionality of the camera alive.

Thanks for the help!

Click to expand...

--
http://www.pbase.com/slo2k

The Promaster 5750 with F707 adapter is the equivalent of the Canon 550 EX and with the adapter is only $199.99! Do a search for it on the web and you should find it without an issue. The other option is the Promaster 5550 with sony module is the equivalent of the Canon 420 EX and is only $159.99.

Also, I'm not the one saying they're the equivalent of the Canon's that was Promaster when I called to ask about the F707 support.

--

http://www.pbase.com/elterrible

Steve Cavigliano said:

Steve

jgaddy said:

I am still in the somewhat infant stages of photography but am
catching on quickly......I have noticed certian things that I want
to eliminate from (mainly) indoor (lowlight) photos and some (all
light) outdoor shots...

Can someone tell me what is the best, all around, flash for the
707? In other words, one that will offer the most options for most
shot.

Stupid question - so go easy on me, but what is TTL?

I have noticed that Sony has the 707 in a way that it does not
accept all flashes........But I am up for what you guys think is
the best one AND keeps the functionality of the camera alive.

Thanks for the help!

Click to expand...

--
http://www.pbase.com/slo2k

Click to expand...

Thanks Steve -

Can you give me an example to what you mean in manual mode just to make sure I understand you correctly.....

Also, when using the 1000 outside with nothing or very little bounce off of, what are my options with this flash?

I did run into the fact that this a cold shoe, was this a marketing design by sony?

Thanks again!

Steve Cavigliano said:

Steve

jgaddy said:

I am still in the somewhat infant stages of photography but am
catching on quickly......I have noticed certian things that I want
to eliminate from (mainly) indoor (lowlight) photos and some (all
light) outdoor shots...

Can someone tell me what is the best, all around, flash for the
707? In other words, one that will offer the most options for most
shot.

Stupid question - so go easy on me, but what is TTL?

I have noticed that Sony has the 707 in a way that it does not
accept all flashes........But I am up for what you guys think is
the best one AND keeps the functionality of the camera alive.

Thanks for the help!

Click to expand...

--
http://www.pbase.com/slo2k

Click to expand...

Sorry for all the questions but as I always say, "It's better to ask stupid questions than "pay for a stupid mistake".

What makes one flash beter than the next, conditional? overall better? Strength? etc.....

In other words, what tells me what flash I need?

Thanks

Pete Perry said:

Also, I'm not the one saying they're the equivalent of the Canon's
that was Promaster when I called to ask about the F707 support.

--

http://www.pbase.com/elterrible

Steve Cavigliano said:

Steve

jgaddy said:

I am still in the somewhat infant stages of photography but am
catching on quickly......I have noticed certian things that I want
to eliminate from (mainly) indoor (lowlight) photos and some (all
light) outdoor shots...

Can someone tell me what is the best, all around, flash for the
707? In other words, one that will offer the most options for most
shot.

Stupid question - so go easy on me, but what is TTL?

I have noticed that Sony has the 707 in a way that it does not
accept all flashes........But I am up for what you guys think is
the best one AND keeps the functionality of the camera alive.

Thanks for the help!

Click to expand...

--
http://www.pbase.com/slo2k

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Jgaddy,

I have the Sony F707 with the Sony HVL-F1000 flash. Please copy this link into your browser for more info in the Sony flash:

http://www.sonystyle.com/home/item.jsp?itemid=5119&hierc=9682x7078x9693x9692&type=o

The HVL-F1000 works pretty well as a fill flash for subjects that have a bright background. I have not had much luck with it when flashing dark subjects indoors. The camera does not do a pre-strobe on the external flash to determine the exposure. If you bounce the flash it works better.

If anyone has suggestions for the F707 with HVL-F1000 flash indoors I'm all ears (or eyes I guess).

Pat

jgaddy said:

I am still in the somewhat infant stages of photography but am
catching on quickly......I have noticed certian things that I want
to eliminate from (mainly) indoor (lowlight) photos and some (all
light) outdoor shots...

Can someone tell me what is the best, all around, flash for the
707? In other words, one that will offer the most options for most
shot.

Stupid question - so go easy on me, but what is TTL?

I have noticed that Sony has the 707 in a way that it does not
accept all flashes........But I am up for what you guys think is
the best one AND keeps the functionality of the camera alive.

Thanks for the help!

Click to expand...

jgaddy,

Using the flash in Auto, gives you a wide open aperture. You may not want to use f2, so you need to move to a manual mode. The pre-flash still occurs, but does nothing as far as setting exposure. You have to set exposure yourself. This can be hit and miss and sometimes you have to use force flash, and you may have to cover the sensor to get the proper flash intensity.

There's lots of flash accessories that will work with the F1000. I have included pics of 2 below. Lumiquest and Sto-fen have many different bounces(ers) and diffusers.

Lumiquest UltraBounce







Lumiquest Pocket Bouncer





As for the cold shoe, you got it Sony don't like to share with anyone ;-)
That's why you'll never see CF memory used in a Sony DC either.

Steve

jgaddy said:

Can you give me an example to what you mean in manual mode just to
make sure I understand you correctly.....

Also, when using the 1000 outside with nothing or very little
bounce off of, what are my options with this flash?

I did run into the fact that this a cold shoe, was this a marketing
design by sony?

Thanks again!

Steve Cavigliano said:

Steve

jgaddy said:

I am still in the somewhat infant stages of photography but am
catching on quickly......I have noticed certian things that I want
to eliminate from (mainly) indoor (lowlight) photos and some (all
light) outdoor shots...

Can someone tell me what is the best, all around, flash for the
707? In other words, one that will offer the most options for most
shot.

Stupid question - so go easy on me, but what is TTL?

I have noticed that Sony has the 707 in a way that it does not
accept all flashes........But I am up for what you guys think is
the best one AND keeps the functionality of the camera alive.

Thanks for the help!

Click to expand...

--
http://www.pbase.com/slo2k

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--
http://www.pbase.com/slo2k

Pgfp,

My F1000, pre-flashes in all modes. It just doesn't help set exposure in manual modes, but it works great using Auto mode. I've used the accessories, in my earlier post, and get real nice indoor results (even in total darkness).

Although it was daylight, this indoor shot was very dark without the flash. I used the F1000 and the Ultrabounce, from about 3 feet away, and got much better shots

Steve



--
http://www.pbase.com/slo2k

The best is the Metz 54MZ-3, strong, tons of features. Next Camera will be a Nikon, Olympus, Fuji, whatever ? Just buy a SCA Adaptor from Metz for your next Camera, these are about $50 and you can keep and use the Flash.

I know there are probably several things but the 420EX was only rated for 105mm max and that would probably not be strong enough for larger halls but decent for smaller places.

--

http://www.pbase.com/elterrible

jgaddy said:

What makes one flash beter than the next, conditional? overall
better? Strength? etc.....

In other words, what tells me what flash I need?

Thanks

Pete Perry said:

Also, I'm not the one saying they're the equivalent of the Canon's
that was Promaster when I called to ask about the F707 support.

--

http://www.pbase.com/elterrible

Steve Cavigliano said:

Steve

jgaddy said:

I am still in the somewhat infant stages of photography but am
catching on quickly......I have noticed certian things that I want
to eliminate from (mainly) indoor (lowlight) photos and some (all
light) outdoor shots...

Can someone tell me what is the best, all around, flash for the
707? In other words, one that will offer the most options for most
shot.

Stupid question - so go easy on me, but what is TTL?

I have noticed that Sony has the 707 in a way that it does not
accept all flashes........But I am up for what you guys think is
the best one AND keeps the functionality of the camera alive.

Thanks for the help!

Click to expand...

--
http://www.pbase.com/slo2k

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Does that work with the F707?

--

http://www.pbase.com/elterrible

p5freak said:

The best is the Metz 54MZ-3, strong, tons of features. Next Camera
will be a Nikon, Olympus, Fuji, whatever ? Just buy a SCA Adaptor
from Metz for your next Camera, these are about $50 and you can
keep and use the Flash.

Click to expand...

p5freak said:

The best is the Metz 54MZ-3, strong, tons of features. Next Camera
will be a Nikon, Olympus, Fuji, whatever ? Just buy a SCA Adaptor
from Metz for your next Camera, these are about $50 and you can
keep and use the Flash.

Click to expand...

Got any idea where the Metz Sony SCA adapter (3602) can be found? One of the cheaper Metz flashes that works with it (maybe a 32-MZ3) looks like just the ticket. Except no one seems to carry the Sony SCA adapter. At least I couldn't find it on Adorama, B&H or Calumet's web sites.

I remember speaking to the German rep for Metz (via email) and it only came out last month. Not sure if it hit the US distributors yet. (do a search on this board for more info) BTW its an expensive flash. In the neighborhood of $350 for the flash and module to work w/Sony.

I own the Promaster 5750 and Sony module (just came out last month) which sells for between 160 and 199 (I purchased thru cutler camera) BTW someone was saying it looks similar to a Quantaray flash so do even more searches on this board. So if you can get the quantaray head to fit the promaster sony module you can save even more bucks.

I am very pleased with the flash I purchased. It is strong (guide rating of 130) and it works similar to the F1000 which could be called TTL (the actualy definition of that term eludes me with the F1000 because some have said it does not seem to properly meter in dark indoor areas. The Promaster seems to be fine in all types of conditions. I do make manual adjustments on whether to make it a strong, weak or med flash strength.

Oh the only negative to the Promaster is that it doesnt have a sync jack to accept the Sony remote (RM-DR1) so I am not sure how I can use both. My current effort to find a T or Y splitter to place on my 707 to accept both plugs looks doomed.

Here is a thread I shared a couple comments with Gordon.
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1009&message=3219111

Erik Stiegler said:

p5freak said:

The best is the Metz 54MZ-3, strong, tons of features. Next Camera
will be a Nikon, Olympus, Fuji, whatever ? Just buy a SCA Adaptor
from Metz for your next Camera, these are about $50 and you can
keep and use the Flash.

Click to expand...

Got any idea where the Metz Sony SCA adapter (3602) can be found?
One of the cheaper Metz flashes that works with it (maybe a 32-MZ3)
looks like just the ticket. Except no one seems to carry the Sony
SCA adapter. At least I couldn't find it on Adorama, B&H or
Calumet's web sites.

Click to expand...

--

-photoave http://phillywood.com An Amalgam of images. Remember to place a ';' after image links in your replies so it helps our dialup friends when viewing threads.

Yes it is expensive, but its got tons of features, check out http://www.metz.de . You will never need another flash again.

Every Metz Flash which is SCA compatible can be used with the appropriate SCA Adaptor for the Camera the SCA Adaptor is build for. If you want to use Metz Flashes with Sony buy the SCA 3602.

p5freak said:

for. If you want to use Metz Flashes with Sony buy the SCA 3602.

Click to expand...

Where?

Pre-flash on my F707 is causing me endless grief. My daughter manages to blink 9 out of 10 times when I am taking candid photos indoors. Taking candids is one of the main reasons I purchased an F707. That has turned out to be a huge mistake.

To silence the skeptics, red-eye reduction is turned off. I even performed a test on myself - holding the camera at arm length I would intentionally blink as soon as I saw the first flash. My eyes were closed when the second flash went off - every single time. If you are a skeptic, try it yourself. On my camera, the delay is long enough between the pre-flash and the real flash that I can completely and consistently close my eyes before the second flash occurs.

I had read several other places that the HVL-F1000 does not pre-flash, but meters light much like most other flash units. I've also read that you can slave other units to it. I had almost ordered one, but now I see this post where the external flash also pre-flashes in all modes. Now who's right - or has Sony also "improved" the external flash before I got around to buying one? I want to be able to take pictures without a preflash. Bottom line, should I sell the F707 now or is there some way to defeat Sony's "improvements".

Steve Cavigliano said:

Pgfp,
My F1000, pre-flashes in all modes. It just doesn't help set
exposure in manual modes, but it works great using Auto mode. I've
used the accessories, in my earlier post, and get real nice indoor
results (even in total darkness).
Although it was daylight, this indoor shot was very dark without
the flash. I used the F1000 and the Ultrabounce, from about 3 feet
away, and got much better shots

Steve



--
http://www.pbase.com/slo2k

Click to expand...