Need flash help, Sony A7II w/ Vivitar flash
Dec 26, 2015 20:53:51 #
Can't seem to figure it out. I had no problem, been shooting for years, have studio strobes, with flash and a film camera, new Sony A7II using a Vivitar DF283 flash is driving me crazy. How do I set it up to, not fill flash, but fully light a scene with the flash, as in old school, you set the camera at sync. (1/60 to 125 with most old 35 film) set the f stop according to the distance, flash would set power to obtain that f stop. But I can't seem to get anything but a fill flash with the camera changing the ISO and the flash just filling. When I try to set the ISO and shutter speed etc. the pictures are dark (some are total black) because the flash is only filling. What do I need to do?
Dec 26, 2015 21:29:56 #
Are you setting your flash to manual, too? Is your flash fully compatible with your camera?
Dec 26, 2015 21:55:52 #
twowindsbear wrote:
Are you setting your flash to manual, too? Is your flash fully compatible with your camera?
According to everything I read it is. The flash just has an on/off button. It is supposed to be TTL compatible with Sony and came with an adapter
Dec 26, 2015 23:38:26 #
wmurnahan wrote:
Can't seem to figure it out. I had no problem, bee... (show quote)
Sorry, I don't know what is causing your problem or how to solve it. But I do know that the Vivitar flash can vary highly in trigger voltage:
"Older units have been reported as high as 600V! Recent (post-'87) revised 283's ("Made in China") are safer with modern cameras, running around 9-10V. Bob Atkins reports some as low as 5V. Recently units marked "Made in Korea" have also appeared... measured at 8v by Andrew Cassino and Tony Bonanno. Kevin Omura used a Quantum battery and got a hefty 261.4V out of his, while Göran Samuelsson had two units with different voltages: 230V and 190V. Other reports have had similar variety, up to 270V."
I would use it only off-camera via WIRELESS remote, i.e., no direct contact with camera circuitry. I have disassembled several flashes and have found that many contain capacitors that dry out over time, a defect that can cause destabilization in the performance of a capacitor. Old style tin-can and paper-wrapped capacitors are especially susceptible to deterioration; never ceramic-enclosed and/or IC capacitors are much less likely to deteriorate and are much more stable.
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