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Hello, I am a long time Minolta user and still have a Dynax 9 plus quite a few lenses, etc. I am also the proud owner of 18 pristine issues of Minolta Mirror. A fantastic journal that was .
Anyway, I have just (today) purchased a new Sony Alpha 350 and my first question to the assembled experts is, to what extent, if any, does my Minolta Program 5400xi flash work with the A350?
Also, are there any general do's and don'ts tips for an old photographer but new A350 owner?
Welcome Mike! The 5400xi will only work in full power or manual fractional power modes on the A350. It is incompatible with the TTL metering system. But, you have a very valuable tool there, if I can explain why. The Alpha 350 can not be used with studio flash and modelling lights, or with any kind of third part cable connected flash using an adaptor, in Live View mode. The reason for this is that you either need to use Manual Exposure with cable or slave synced flash, or you get a variable auto exposure which may not even sync correctly (it can go to too fast a shutter speed). When you set manual exposure for optimum control, the Live View goes so dark you can't compose shots by room light or modelling lights.
However, with the 5400xi, you can use Aperture Priority auto. Once the flash is charged, it sets the shutter speed to between 1/60th and 1/160th (depending on how bright the conditions are) but the aperture is your own choice. The Live View is auto-gain - you now see a bright image, regardless of the lighting conditions. You can either use the 5400xi set to 1/32nd power to trigger studio flash, or use the manual power control (1/32nd to 1/1) on the flash to adjust the output to suit your subject, whether direct or bounced.
This live view flash method only works in A mode, not P, S, or M and the 5400xi is a great *manual* flash to use on the A350 this way. Of course the 5600 HS (D) can also be used manually, but it functions for TTL auto too.
Learn to use the 5400xi manual power control by experimenting - I suggest you try ISO 400 and f5.6 at full power for bounce flash in a normal room (you may need f8, or 1/2 power - the lower power setting you can get away with, the faster the flash will recycle, and the more flashes you will get per battery set).
2000xi - full power only. No connectivity or control at all, on any digital body including KM.
Just to explain - digital metering is not real-time. It has to be done using a pre-flash. The pre-flash is a reduced power metering burst, and to get this, HSS mode is used. Any flash without HSS mode can not be used with any digital body. Also, HSS is used for all digital wireless flash measurement, so any pre-HSS flash can never be made compatible with digital. I believe the 5400 and 3200 can be modified, but nothing else.
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and my first question to the assembled experts is, to what extent, if any, does my Minolta Program 5400xi flash work with the A350?