Instruction manual

ManualsBrandsMinolta ManualsCamera FlashMAXXUM FLASH 5600HSD - PART 2

camera

JequipmentY

accessories

buyer's

guide

ron.

'ortable

light,

wheneveTand

wherever

you

need

Photos

and

text

Jack

and Sue

Drafahl

lectronic

flash

such

important part

photography

today that

most

consumer cameras, both traditional

and

digital,

have

built-in electronic

flash.

When these little

units

can't

do an

adequate job, then

separate portable

flash

unit

is a

valuable accessory.

There

are

dozens

advantages

using

electronic

flash,

besides

its

creative options. Flash allows

you to use

slower

films,

since

you

don't

have

depend

ambient

light

for

exposure.

Your

images

are

sharper because

the

duration

most

flash

units

Xooo

second

shorter.

Electronic

flash is

balanced

sunlight,

so it

works well with

daylight-balanced color

films.

Because

the

burst

light

brief,

strobes allow

you to

capture

the

fast

action

moving

subjects.

You can

bounce

the flash to

provide

natural

soft

lighting

for

portraits. Flash

ideal

for

extreme macro work

because

such close range,

allows shooting

small

apertures

for

optimum depth

of field.

Electronic

flash

provides

the

tools

enhance your photography

controlling

the

light,

both

indoors

and

out.

Dedicated

Flash

Units

Unlike

automatic

flash

units that

are

controlled

by the

light-sensitive

cell

on the

front

of the flash,

dedicated

flash

units

operate

via

sensors inside

the

camera.

These

dedicated

flashes

have very complex electronics

featuring

dozens

functions,

enabling

the flash to do

just about anything

you

want

it to do.

They

control

the

exposure,

so you

don't

have

much more than turn

the flash

unit

on and

begin

shooting.

When

you

place

a flash on the

hot-shoe

of a

newer

35mm camera,

the flash and

camera communicate with each

other.

The

camera

tells

the flash the

speed

of the film and the

focal

length

of the

lens

you are

using,

and

sets

the

shutter

speed

for

proper sync.

The

camera then selects

the

appropriate aperture

provide

correct exposure based

the

amount

light

available.

All

this team

effort

happens

just

micro second

make your pictures

look

good.

Flash units manufactured

for a

specific camera system

are

considered dedicated because each camera system

has a

different

electronic system

for

operating

the

shutter,

measuring

light,

and firing the flash.

This

complex

set of

signals

must

be the

same

for

both

the

camera

and flash to

work

effectively.

There

are

third-party

flash

manufacturers

that also make

flash

units dedicated

to a

specific camera.

The

difference

that they must also have

module that

fits

between

the flash and the

camera

hot-shoe.

Thanks

good

camera

and flash

communication, your

work

easier.

The flash

adjusts itself automatically when

the

flash-to-subject

distance

changed

so you

don't have

spend time

adjusting

the

aperture.

If you

change

to a new

lens

focal

length,

the flash

will

know

and

automatically

adjust

the

angle

coverage

in the

zoom head.

Flash-fill

situations

are a

piece

cake too,

as the

camera

and flash

know

how

much sunlight

available

in the

scene,

and

just

how

much

flash to add to

achieve

the

right

fill

combination.

You

can

also manually override

the flash

ratio using

the

+1-

controls.

If you

stop taking pictures

talk

someone,

the

flash

will

into

standby

mode

until

you are

ready

shoot again. Most

of the flash

units

will

even

tell

you

with

blinking lights when

you

have taken

picture that

over-

underexposed.

Guide

Numbers

Guide numbers provide

two

handy functions. First, they

give

you an

easy

way to

compare

the

power

of two or

flash

units

(just

make sure

all

guide numbers being

compared

are for the

same

film

speed

and the

same angle

coverage).

The

guide number also provides

easy

method

determining

the

proper f-stop

to use for a

manually

exposed

flash

photo:

Just divide

the flash-to-

subject

distance into

the

guide number,

and the

result

the

f-stop

use.

For

example, let's

say

that your

flash has

guide number

110

for the film

speed you're using.

you are 10

feet

away,

you

divide

the

distance into

the

guide number,

and you get

f/11.

If you are

uncomfortable

with

guide numbers

don't know what

it is for

your

flash

(it

should

be in the

instruction manual,

or on the

manufacturer's

website),

not to

worry.

You can

also

use the

bar

chart

or the LCD

panel

on the

back

of the flash to

compute your exposure.

2002

PHorographic

Buyer's

Guide

Summary of content (8 pages)

PAGE 1
cameraJequipmentY accessories T buyer's guide ron. 'ortable light, wheneveTand wherever you need it Photos and text by Jack and Sue Drafahl E lectronic flash is such an important part of photography today that most consumer cameras, both traditional and digital, have a built-in electronic flash. When these little units can't do an adequate job, then a separate portable flash unit is a valuable accessory. There are dozens of advantages to using an electronic flash, besides its creative options.
PAGE 2
Flash Features moving your model further away from the wall or by raising Manual Flash: With the flash setting in this position, the flash unit so that the shadow is cast down behind your you can select full power, half power, quarter power or less. subject. The other solution is to have a flash that allows you to Settings on the back of the flash tell you what f-stop to use move the head to various positions.
PAGE 3
and the effect of red-eye is minimized in the final photo. (This feature is called red-eye reduction, not red-eye elimination—the only way to eliminate red-eye is to move the flash unit off-camera. More on that in a bit.) Slow Sync: Most automatic cameras will not let you make long available-light exposures using flash. They normally set a flash sync speed that enables you to handhold the camera. This results in a dark background, but with the nearby subject correctly exposed by the flash.
PAGE 4
photographic manufacturers offer a wide selection of accessories to improve your flash's capability and versatility. Color filters, bounce cards, flash head diffusors, magnification lenses, softboxes, light stands, and umbrellas are just a few of the more common accessories. If you do much high-speed flash photography, you will probably need a battery power pack. These units offer hundreds of flashes before needing to be recharged.
PAGE 5
contain focus lights and circular twin flash tubes that can be turned off independently for maximum lighting control. The MR-HEX goes one step further with a six-stop range of power variations, and the ability to control several wireless slave flashes. CONTAX Contax makes several TLA-series flash units dedicated to their cameras. The powerful TLA 480 bracket-mounted flash features manual, auto or full TTL and can deliver a guide number of 158.
PAGE 6
creative lighting effects. The Macro Ring Flash 1200 provide shadowless lighting and if you do want ratio lighting, you can turn off any of the four flash tubes that make up the flash ring assembly. both flash units include power packs, sync cords, TTL modules, bounce cards, and wide-angle diffusors. For the digital camera user, Nissin has a special Digislave that includes a reversible mounting bracket. The built-in slave is triggered when the main flash in the digital camera is fired.
PAGE 7
Leading and Rear Shutter Sync are also available. The AF330FTZ has a zoom flash head with an autofocus spot beam, and contrast control. At 7.4 ounces, this small flash has a healthy 108 guide number. The AF360FGZ has those same features, plus a guide number of 118 and an adjustable flash head for swivel and bounce. The AF-220T is a very compact little flash with 60° or 90° bounce head, automatic X-sync and automatic aperture settings. Pentax offers various flash hot-shoe adapters for the PZ and ZX cameras.
PAGE 8
system has a TTL mode or auto for any camera system, and saves out your favorite settings in the program mode of the flash. The Qflash has a flexible flash head that takes a variety of flash diffusers, or even bare bulb. In manual mode you have 19 different settings from f/1.4 to f/32. Choose any X-stop setting for accurate auto ratings. Visible and audible underand overexposure warnings tell you which way to adjust. One Qflash can also control the exposure of an unlimited number of Qflash slaves.