HVL-F20AM - Can it act in command mode on A900?

[TallPaul]

Has anyone seen any details on the web on the new small $130 (£75) flash the HVL-F20AM and if it can act in command mode on an A900 to fire other flashes?

Sony will not get me to part with £400 for a 58 just to trigger my existing 56, but if the new 20 will trigger the 56 then they might get my cash for that, as it would be great to get back off camera wireless with TTL and HSS!

[David Kilpatrick]

I doubt that this £129 flash ( ) will act as a commander. Remember, they failed to make the FA-HS1AM flash connector operate the camera circuitry at all even on demand, so the A300/A350 remain unusuable for studio live view without a lot of messing round and static subjects. A company which can't even get a £129 dumb converter right is surely not going to do the right thing with a £139 flash.

And when this £149 flashgun does appear, it maybe won't work with the A900 because the prism gets in the way - who knows...

Anyway, a £159 basic model flashgun sounds like a good introduction.

David

[KevinBarrett]

I doubt that this £129 flash ( ) will act as a commander. Remember, they failed to make the FA-HS1AM flash connector operate the camera circuitry at all even on demand, so the A300/A350 remain unusuable for studio live view without a lot of messing round and static subjects. A company which can't even get a £129 dumb converter right is surely not going to do the right thing with a £139 flash.

And when this £149 flashgun does appear, it maybe won't work with the A900 because the prism gets in the way - who knows...

Anyway, a £159 basic model flashgun sounds like a good introduction.

David

129-159...commentary on price increases?

[TallPaul]

Glad you got the irony of my literal translation of the US price

It costs a lot to ship stuff to the UK, like the Panasonic G1 HD for example, £300 more in the UK than the US, must be those heathrow landing fees..

Well, we can live in hope. Does the Nikon SB-400 or Canon 270EX work as a controller? I guess if the answers no then maybe chances are slim.

Its driving my mad using the off camera cable though, even with an extension cable, on my A900. I want wireless flash back, and a reasonable price

[ianmiddy]

Apparently, it will:

http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/forum_posts ... 230#506431

Cheers

IDM

[TallPaul]

David you old sceptic, see Sony produced us a nice £200 baby flash for remote control!
(thanks for pointer Ian, was following the DP thread but 44 posts behind the curve)

http://presscentre.sony.eu/Content/Deta ... wsAreaID=2

HVL-F20AM ultra-compact external flash
Brighten up any moment with this versatile, easy to use external flash for your α digital SLR. Slim enough to slip into a shirt pocket, the HVL‑F20AM is an ideal add-on for anyone who wants an extra light source to supplement their camera’s pop-up flash.

Result! I hope Sony are bringing these into the country in bulk, I would start with at least as many as they have sold A900's!

[David Kilpatrick]

£149, and in exchange for that they cut the GN of the built-in flash to 10 (about 60% of the power of the GN 12 in the earlier models) and disabled its ability to control remotes. But the new cameras may work with the HVL-F58AM as a commander. The price of ALL the new kit is either misplaced listprice inflation, or a disaster for Sony as nothing will sell at these prices.

Also, they are about to be hit by a response at a different level on Wednesday afternoon. They are not the only maker with new kit (NDA prevents further comment).

David

[TallPaul]

At £150 I can buy two from the US for the same price!

$150 - £150 is a really bad joke, I mean its not even funny

Can I ask where the price came from, do you have a price list? I saw the body prices on amatuer photographer website, but as they are RRP I am not really sure what to make of them...

[braeside]

David, I have been reading many conflicting and confusing musings on the new HVL-F20AM.

The latest from both Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Sony-HVLF20AM-Dig ... B0029U0XF6 and a Polish poster on Dyxum http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/topic46718&get=last.html is that the new flash will only work as a wireless flash commander on the A900.

I suspect this means that the new cameras announced today will have built-in wireless control via their popup flash, as Sony wrote

Wireless flash mode:

YES (with optional compatible accessory flash)

(Ambiguously meaning you need an accessory flash to fire FROM the camera, not on the camera)?

I also read that the new HVL-F20AM flash does not do wireless ratio - but so far nobody has said if it will be able to control old Minolta wireless flashes like my 3600HS.

[Javelin]

They had that text on the a200 when it was released and there was speculation that it wouldn't work wirelessly with the pop up but they were wrong.

[David Kilpatrick]

I think my webpage post is now correct but until we see the instruction manuals, a few details will remain uncertain.

David

[KevinBarrett]

From Amazon:

"Wireless flash trigger function (DSLR-A900 only)
When teamed with the a900, the HVL-F20AM can also be used to trigger wireless flash setups. Please note, however, that this functionality is only available with DSLR-A900, and does not include luminosity ratio control."

[KevinBarrett]

Also, they are about to be hit by a response at a different level on Wednesday afternoon. They are not the only maker with new kit (NDA prevents further comment).

David

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read. ... e=31893076

It looks like a pretty nice camera...I hope Sony doesn't pull a "+30" with the a700 replacement later this year.

[bfitzgerald]

The Pentax looks pretty good. Wandering a bit, but NDA's are not really worth a lot if the spec and shots are leaked all over the net! lol
It will be interesting to see the street prices of some of these items, esp the flash..£150 odd is not a sensible price for this unit, £100 is.
Ditto on the new 50mm, not going to sell that well at £160 odd..but I doubt we will see it near £100

[Greg Beetham]

I think it's reasonable too suspect that it's all designed too try and raise interest in a release, first there's the secret squirrel mode, (but not outright denial of a new model pending) complete with NDA's, and then if it's suspected that there is not quite enough activity/speculation of what is in the pipeline, there is an accidental leak or two, quickly withdrawn, covered up etc.
It's pretty much the same story every time, occasionally with small deviations or new twists of the theme, a classic was an 'accidental' leaked photo of the 'accidental' A700 body corner peeking out of some Sony rep's gadget bag a week or so before it was officially announced.
Greg