Photoclubalpha

My manual focus ring will not turn on my 1680Z. This is whether it is attached to my a350 in manual focus or unattached. It does however work in Auto focus mode. I'm wondering if there is anything I can do or look at before sending it to Sony for repair? I'm not sure what happened to cause the focus...

@Viceroy I use the Sony Zeiss SAL1680Z. The camera mode I shoot in is Portrait with the colors boosted (3) and sharpening taken down a notch (-1) and brightening on 0 (increasing it looks ugly to my eye). Since I sell pictures on the spot (no opportunity to Photoshop), they must "catch the fema...

5 to 15 feet f/8 is only just enough even at ISO 400. Try it. Rear curtain sync does not add anything to ambient light, but it can prevent some ugly effects where lights in the background may occasionally smear across faces - it's less frequent with rear curtain sync. David Well, I tried those sett...

Focal length averages from 16 to 26 mm. Eyeballing it, I shoot anywhere from 5 to 15 feet.

You won't overexpose! I have just checked f/8 and ISO 400 with TTL Pre-Flash TTL metering and Rear Curtain sync (which is vital for night club shots to avoid odd effects from the ambient light). My settings are 1/160th manual, because this is the fastest speed possible and reduces ghosting from spo...

Well, if I stay at ISO400, then I can't shoot at F8 or lower because I will overexpose. Remember, the shots you see are done from F10 to F16, ISO400, flash in TTL,RATIO turned on(???). With the RATIO turned off, I can probably do F8 or lower, but the pics don't look flattering to clubbers. Like you ...

I want to see a situation (or settings) that would make my HVL56 levels adjust automatically (1/1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, etc.) while the flash is in TTL and the a350 on manual. Should I be expecting to see the display reflecting the actual flash levels ? Still, the RATIO setting definitely has a brightenin...

I definitely have never seen AUTO on my 56 screen. At the club, the screen definitely says TTL (I've made the mistake of having the 56 in Manual with disatrous results. I ended up retaking shots because they were so unpredictable, making the people impatient). Could there be some conditions in the c...

Can you explain what you meant by having the flash on 1/1 and the ratio at 2:1? In TTL mode, you can not set 1/1. David OK, you're right, I see that in TTL mode I can not change or set the level. I've never attempted to set a lower level anyways. I notice the zoom on the flash adjusts according to ...

...(you can not be in TTL mode and Manual at the same time, so your details are conflicting).David When I said Manual mode, I was referring to the camera itself, not the 56. The 56 stays in TTL mode. Because of the hectic environment, there's no time to adjust the flash in manual mode, I need it to...

The only parameter I am changing is the ratio. RATIO is flashing along with the 2:1 to the right of it when I'm setting it. The flash is always in TTL mode and I shoot in Manual. I've went through the "check all the settings" procedure many times because I want to believe what the manual t...

My manual says that the ratio control for my HVL-56 is not operational even though it is displayed. However, in use, the ratio control definitely does work. I shoot in nightclubs and find that without the ratio control set to "2":1, the flash is not strong enough to produce the results I l...

OK, thanks David. Lot's of great info here. I'll start triggering with the HVL until I get some radio triggers.

I don't use live view at all and I bought the a350 because of it :o. I had the F828 before that and was spoiled by it's better live view functionality (assuming I would get the same in the a350). But now, I only use the viewfinder and shoot in manual on the a350. When you say "flash sync speed&...

Wow, David, I guess that explains why I'm at F2. I've been screwing up all along :lol: Yes I am optical triggering with the built-in flash. I haven't went to any other means of syncing. Soon as I'm able, in may go the Pocket Wizard route or try the new White Lightning sync system. In the meantime, w...