Wireless flashing.

Dom7

Dom7

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Dominic
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So I'm trying to take a few shots using my wireless flash with my a77.

However, after setting it up, reading my instruction manual etc. It seems that to fire the wireless flash you need to pop up the built in flash. When taking the shot, both of the flashes are firing, is this the way it should work? As I am trying to get just the wireless flash to fire.:)
 
You can set the ratio, but according to the Instruction manual for the camera, the instructions for setting the ratio are in the flash instruction book.
 
Thanks Phil. I shall have a look!
 
Dom7 said:
So I'm trying to take a few shots using my wireless flash with my a77.

However, after setting it up, reading my instruction manual etc. It seems that to fire the wireless flash you need to pop up the built in flash. When taking the shot, both of the flashes are firing, is this the way it should work? As I am trying to get just the wireless flash to fire.:)
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Yes. The wireless control signals are sent by the pop-up as coded flashes. This all happens before the shutter opens, too quickly for the eye to differentiate. You can set the pop-up to off, but it must still fire the control pre-flashes.
 
Ok so I've had a look on the camera and it's got options to adjust the power ratio? Is this what you mean? It doesn't seem that there is any way to fire the wireless flash alone when taking a shot. But I can put the camera to 1/16.. Anything else I can do?
 
Thanks hoppy. So the pop up flash is only firing to set off the wireless flash and therefore none of the light from the pop up flash will be captured in the shot??
 
Dom7 said:
Thanks hoppy. So the pop up flash is only firing to set off the wireless flash and therefore none of the light from the pop up flash will be captured in the shot??
Click to expand...

Depending on how you've set it. By default it'll probably fire, you'll have to turn the power down or off.
 
If you don't want slave flash, then your only real option is wireless transmitters like the Yongnuo RF-603's I recently got for my Nikon.
 
Hi Phil. I'm not sure there is a way to turn the pop up flash off to be honest. Looks like I can just turn the power down..
 
Dom7 said:
Hi Phil. I'm not sure there is a way to turn the pop up flash off to be honest. Looks like I can just turn the power down..
Click to expand...

That may be the case, not sure with Sony. TBH, with Canon/Nikon, even when the pop-up is set to off, it does still fire at very low power. Not noticeable in the exposure, but you might spot it as a shiny reflection somewhere in the shot.

Answer is to block the pop-up flash with a small piece of card, but angled so the slave gets to see the master signals. Nikon makes a little IR filter for this.
 
Both flashes should fire and unless they've changed it massively, with the Minolta wireless system (which is now the Sony one) on their AF film cameras by default the pop up flash fires but only at a low enough level so to trigger the wireless flash and not be detectable on the subject unless your quite close. If however you set it to fire at a ratio then the pop up flash will fire at a sufficient level for the ratio.

You can get around the slight bit of light from the triggering pop up flash though by simply finding a dark frame of exposed, processed colour negative film (e.g from the film leader) and mounting that over the pop up, only very distant red light will be able to pass but the wireless flash will still see the triggering signals.
 
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