Comments on: Sony HVL-F42AM External Flash Review – Lot of Money And Hassle For Not Much

By: Photographer

Photographer — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:46:37 +0000

Little late on this but yes, bounce the flash indoors. That flash which I also have does not have a bounce card. So point it up at the ceiling when you can. Outdoors try bouncing with a white business card attached to the top at a 45 degree angle or so with the flash pointed upwards. As previously mentioned, diffusers are great. The simple plastic cheap ones are good. I like my Gary fong diffuser but that’s a lot more. People hate it or love it, two camps. The ttl on Sony isn’t the best IMHO so consider setting the flash manually which you can only do on “m” mode of the camera. Get to know your equipment and you’ll have amazing pictures. The auto mode on entry level Sony slur cameras isn’t great but when you get comfortable with manual settings the pictures are rewarding!

By: Photographer5

Photographer5 — Tue, 11 May 2010 02:27:36 +0000

Hi Mike, I’ve got the clear answer to your problem!!

The key is to use a flash diffuser which is a plastic piece (super cheap) that fits over the flash. This gives a soft light with little shadows and it makes a HUGE difference. I’ve been hired to take professional photos of babies, weddings and events and I always use the diffuser.
Also note that you don’t have to always face the flash at the person, bouncing off say a wall to your right, slightly angled upwards is a good start. Each angle will give slightly different effects in lighting.

I hope you try this!

By: badcaleb

badcaleb — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 08:38:25 +0000

I agree with the others who’ve mentioned bouncing the flash. I think you need to learn to use the equipment before you give up on it. You’ve already gone through a lot to get it so keep it for awhile longer and if it still doesn’t suit your needs. The Peterson book is most excellent.

By: lb71

lb71 — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:09:39 +0000

I second the Peterson book. In fact, buy it since it will be a valuable resource you can always reference.

You need to play around with the flash more before deciding to ditch it. After some time, you’ll realize its potention. It also prevents red eye.

By: Shaynepathum

Shaynepathum — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:31:13 +0000

Mike
I am a photography nut and have been paying more attention to indoor shots using flash lately. I have an older Canon flash model that is working fine for my use (though I would prefer more manual control than it provides). I find that it is not that hard to use it to give far superior lighting than the on board flash. So a couple of things that I find helpful; (1) Not sure if you do this since you have not mentioned but I always use bounce flash indoors to give more diffused lighting. I never ever use direct flash on people since it tends to light up faces in a very unnatural and harsh way. Your flash model if capable of bouncing (2) with bounced flash I adjust the flash intensity up or down until I get desirable,natural-looking skin tones (3) you flash has a retractable panel. Is this white? If so, use it when you are bouncing the light off the ceilings. It will throw some light forward and help eliminate some of the harsh (downward) shadows that are cast by the light bounced from the ceilings. My flash does not have any panels, so I use a rubber band to hold a square piece of white cardboard in place and it does the same thing. Since you went into all this trouble to get the flash, why not give yourself some time to test it out fully? I think you will like the results once you know what sort of settings (camera and flash) will result in better pictures. I really cannot see myself taking any indoor shots without my flash gun. I want to upgrade, but not until I have a good grasp of flash photography. One last thing, it is very difficult at first but learn to take all your pictures in camera’s full manual mode. You will end up with much better pictures, whether you use flash or not. A book that helped me immensely was “Understanding Exposure” by Bryan Peterson which should be available in your library.

By: Sampson

Sampson — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:14:52 +0000

Hey Mike, congrats on the new addition to the growing family I think I’ve got about 4 external flashes…

One of the most difficult lessons to learn when using external flashes is that you shouldn’t be pointing it at your target. You’ll want to bounce it off a wall or use some sort of device (diffuser) that makes the light seem larger. We are normally used to looking at scenes where there are giant light sources, like the sun in the outdoors, or indoors, light is reflected off your walls, ceiling etc.

Check out these two blogs when you get a chance. There is a tonne of info on them, but I find them quite enjoyable to read.

http://strobist.blogspot.com/
http://www.planetneil.com/tangents/

Oh, and I fully concur, UPS ground sucks butt. They also charge brokerage fees, often very hefty. The problem is they are the cheapest option most the time and us frugalites are suckers from low price tags. Next time try an air shipping method. It’ll get to you faster AND no additional brokerage amounts are added.

By: Four Pillars

Four Pillars — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:46:27 +0000

Jess, I think you are right. This equipment just isn’t necessary for our use.

Mr. Cheap – great article (and scary). I only got ripped about about $50 on the batteries so not the end of the world – even with that, the flash was still cheaper than anywhere else. I think you are right about selling it quickly.

By: Mr. Cheap

Mr. Cheap — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:29:02 +0000

Definitely sell it, if it's going for $435 at Future Shop, I'm sure you could get $300. Even $200 sounds like it'd be better than a flash you're not using. With tech like this, it depreciates quickly, so sitting on it and trying to sell it in a year or two will probably lose you a lot of money. Apparently some online discount camera stores make money by offering expensive stuff at cost, then putting the hard sell on you to buy upgrades (going so far as refusing to sell to you if you won't buy their overprices addons). Don't beat yourself up about buying the battery, you might have run into other problems if you hadn't. http://news.cnet.com/2010-1071-281473.html

By: Jess Valenzuela

Jess Valenzuela — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:50:19 +0000

Hey Mike,

We were on the same boat but the good thing about me is that I have a brother who is a professional photographer who can teach me some pointers and where to buy it. He usually go Kijiji or Craiglist for any photography needs before going into an actual stores. If he can’t find it at Craiglist or Kijiji, he goes to Henry’s Outlet.

External Flash works well at night when you’re trying to take a still photos. But For the average use, you don’t use it that much.

By: Traciatim

Traciatim — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:06:06 +0000

Stationary objects at night are far better with a good tripod and no flash, especially if you want to see things at different distances.

Instead of a stationary object like that try something moving inside like people talking in a group with someone telling a story who likes to use wavy arms. Try one with no flash, one with the on board, one with the external direct, and one with the external bounced. (you could to this with something that travels at a constant speed like a remote control car, model train, one of those magnetic statue things that wiggle back and forth forever . . .)