Photoclubalpha

As a relative newcomer to DSLRs, I am now looking to buy my first flash for an A200. I don't need anything powerful but I would like it to be wireless. The Sony HV-F36AM seems like a good choice as it now discounted in a number of places due to being superceded I assume. The whole flash thing seems, to someone like myself, to be rather complex and even though I've read numerous articles I'm still fairly confused. If you have an off camera flash, for example, how can the camera work out the exposure as it doesn't know where the flash is or how bright it will be. Or does it? Any advice would be gratefully received.

Light is fast, and the camera actually works out the exposure and flash as the exposure is happening. I bought the F56am as my first flash in a very modest Minolta kit before I went digital. I would have bought the F42 if it were available, as it provides all of the same bounce and swivel abilitity for much less. I think it also zooms wider than the F56, which is a big plus.

The F42 retails for roughly $280, or about $100 more than the f36, and offers more than enough to make up the difference. It swivels in addition to bouncing, has a built-in diffuser, and is more intimately compatible with the new F58 flash for more complicated wireless flash set-ups later on. There are enough threads already that discuss those particulars. I don't think you could go wrong with an F42, and I would only buy the F36 if I were desperately pinched for cash and had to have a flash today.

Just fooling around with a calculator here, I might not have got this right but, if the flash was 5 feet away from the camera and the shutter speed was 1/160sec there is time for the camera and flash to send 625,000 messages both ways approx, (light takes a billionth of a second to travel one foot roughly so I read somewhere), but the flash duration is cut-off during the exposure by a signal from the camera anyway....again as far as I know, the main thing is the mechanical component ie. camera and lens and us humans are living in go slow land compared to the computing power in the camera (it's operating at near the speed of light also) and the near instant messages between flash and camera, if the thing could think it would probably say "what's wrong with that human, it hasn't moved in the last 35 nanoseconds"
Greg

Thanks for the advice Kevin. I think I'll wait until I have a bit more cash then go for the 42 rather than the 36. From what you say it seems that the 42 will be more useful long term once I start acquiring more flash equipment.

Glad to help! I was in the pinch that I described above and opted for the F56 over the F36 and I'm glad I did. I paid less for the F56 then than what they are selling for now-a-days. I can't guarantee a deal like that, but you can watch the no-name mailbox stores on Amazon for good deals since a flash isn't an item you're likely to need much customer service with. Or, you can do some shoots for coworkers with your big new impressive flash and make up the difference!

(yes, it really works...you'd be surprised how much of your kit can pay for itself with a little note on a company bulletin board)