Okay, my pea brain can't figure this out. So those smarter than I am will have to help. Please!
I've been goofing around with available light stuff with the A99 which has been fun.
Then I got serious.
90% of my work with 35mm DSLRs is using Manual exposure mode, and 50% of that is with radio controlled off-camera flash.
So I went to shoot a quick studio table-top shot with powerful Profoto D1 AIR lighting, manually setting ISO 100 and an aperture of f/10 @ 1/250 to get a proper exposure ... put the AIR radio transmitter in the hot-shoe, turned it on and ...
can't see anything through the viewfinder or on the LCD. Totally black at those manual settings.
If you put the new HVL-F60M flash in the hot shoe and turn it on, the viewfinder is then viewable at open aperture.
I tried my trusty Pocket Wizard ... no joy. Other radio triggers also failed to allow viewing ... all of them will fire the off-camera lights, you just cannot see what you are shooting at all.
I then tried my often used wedding configuration of speed-light in the hot-shoe for fill, and a radio transmitter on a Kirk handle QR bracket to fire the key off-camera strobe ... which is connected via a PC cord from radio transmitter to the A99's PC outlet on the left side of the camera (see attached pic below) ... THANK GOD that worked, or I would have had to immediately send this camera packing.
However, not being able to use manual exposure settings with any common radio transmitter is ridiculous. What was the point of returning to the standard hot-shoe if you can't use it with a radio transmitter?
What am I doing wrong? I'm hoping it is a simple thing that I missed completely. If it is something simple, then I apologize in advance for the following:
If you cannot use a radio transmitter in the hot-shoe there is no way Sony will succeed in winning over any semi-pro or pro-level shooter ... or any advanced enthusiasts interested in the already huge and growing off-camera "Stobist" movement ... including the zillion wedding, event, and portrait shooters that use off-camera lighting in some form or another. IMHO, without Manual exposure in conjunction with radio controlled off-camera flash, Sony stepped backwards from the A900 into rank amateur status ... in fact below that, because even a 5 year old Canon Rebel can do radio control with off-camera strobes
If it cannot be overcome, it tells us exactly why Nikon and Canon have not adopted EVF for any serious camera that serves any market that uses off-camera radio triggered speed-lights and/or strobes ... which is more shooters than this forum may typically indicate.
Advanced technology is considerably lessened if it means you cannot do the basics.
Your thoughts?
-Marc
I've been goofing around with available light stuff with the A99 which has been fun.
Then I got serious.
90% of my work with 35mm DSLRs is using Manual exposure mode, and 50% of that is with radio controlled off-camera flash.
So I went to shoot a quick studio table-top shot with powerful Profoto D1 AIR lighting, manually setting ISO 100 and an aperture of f/10 @ 1/250 to get a proper exposure ... put the AIR radio transmitter in the hot-shoe, turned it on and ...
can't see anything through the viewfinder or on the LCD. Totally black at those manual settings.
If you put the new HVL-F60M flash in the hot shoe and turn it on, the viewfinder is then viewable at open aperture.
I tried my trusty Pocket Wizard ... no joy. Other radio triggers also failed to allow viewing ... all of them will fire the off-camera lights, you just cannot see what you are shooting at all.
I then tried my often used wedding configuration of speed-light in the hot-shoe for fill, and a radio transmitter on a Kirk handle QR bracket to fire the key off-camera strobe ... which is connected via a PC cord from radio transmitter to the A99's PC outlet on the left side of the camera (see attached pic below) ... THANK GOD that worked, or I would have had to immediately send this camera packing.
However, not being able to use manual exposure settings with any common radio transmitter is ridiculous. What was the point of returning to the standard hot-shoe if you can't use it with a radio transmitter?
What am I doing wrong? I'm hoping it is a simple thing that I missed completely. If it is something simple, then I apologize in advance for the following:
If you cannot use a radio transmitter in the hot-shoe there is no way Sony will succeed in winning over any semi-pro or pro-level shooter ... or any advanced enthusiasts interested in the already huge and growing off-camera "Stobist" movement ... including the zillion wedding, event, and portrait shooters that use off-camera lighting in some form or another. IMHO, without Manual exposure in conjunction with radio controlled off-camera flash, Sony stepped backwards from the A900 into rank amateur status ... in fact below that, because even a 5 year old Canon Rebel can do radio control with off-camera strobes
If it cannot be overcome, it tells us exactly why Nikon and Canon have not adopted EVF for any serious camera that serves any market that uses off-camera radio triggered speed-lights and/or strobes ... which is more shooters than this forum may typically indicate.
Advanced technology is considerably lessened if it means you cannot do the basics.
Your thoughts?
-Marc