Peekayoh Loc: UK

Your highest normal sync speed with the a77 is indeed 1/250th which is a crucial bit of information you really should know, but just to complicate things, the 58AM supports HSS mode and will in fact operate up to the highest shutter speed of 1/8000th.
Probably not, my preference with the a77 is to stick to iso800 or below if at all possible which should not be a problem seeing as you're introducing flash into the equation, if allowed that is. Think about using ADI mode (I'm assuming direct flash here) with your 'D' type lens and use the slow sync button to allow some ambient exposure and choosing rear curtain sync will keep your subject sharp

cthahn

You need to understand more about flash photography. When using a flash, speed is developed from the flash, not the shutter. The flash speed on high power is probably about 1/1000 sec., and upwards as you reduce power. You do not want to use a low shutter speed unless you want some special effects. The shutter and flash must be synchronized. You need to take your camera and flash and practice taking pictures. Read articles on flash photography.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Experimenting ahead of time in similar light would be a good idea.

JBTaylor Loc: In hiding again

No, that is not how it works. You seem to be referring to E-TTL but that does involve a burst of light. Two of them. The first is a weaker burst for the metering system to evaluate how much power is going to be needed. Then, the shutter opens, the flash lights, and the shutter closes. That is if you aren't using high speed sync.

Wabbit Loc: Arizona Desert

Incorrect Doc ..... what I describe is the elementary basics of flash photography ..... thru the lens metering has nothing to do with it

It easier to learn the basics if you understand the principles behind the function .....

NikonKnight Loc: Owings Mills, MD

Since the original post mentioned that TTL flash was being used, the flash exposure follows the ISO and aperture settings automatically. Thus it wouldn't necessarily change the light. It would provide enough light to properly expose the subject for the given ISO and aperture, wouldn't it?

JBTaylor Loc: In hiding again

It really depends on what you are trying to accomplish. I generally use aperture priority but my a77 seems to pick 1/60 for shutter speed but the camera is capable 1/250 before resorting to HSS. If I flip to shutter priority, the aperture defaults to wide open. That leads me to manual where I can control the depth of field that I want and have control over the ratio of ambient light to flash.

It could be that 1/60 is judged to be a common balance between letting some ambient in and still freezing the action in most situations.

I may slow the shutter down to catch more ambient to show the environment or I may set it to 1/250 if ambient is strong enough to provide ghosting and motion blur at 1/60 when the subject is kids flying through the air.

Wabbit Loc: Arizona Desert

Yes, it does Doc, but if your sync speed is lets say 1/250th the shutter you choose needs to be 1/250th or slower .....

Sync speed is the main reason I keep my D70s, it sync's all the way up to 1/8000th

mrmal Loc: Saskatoon, Sask, Canada

Went to this site - it is what I have been looking for. If it is all that the blogger says it is, I will be spending a lot of time there learning how to use my flash. Have a 430EX II Speedlite on a Canon 60D. Thanks for the tip.

jimmya Loc: Phoenix

I'm not a Sony guy but Canon but in flash work I'm normally on full manual and the settings (save for the difference in flash units, should be about the same).

I keep f/5.2, 1/200 and ISO 100 in my manual settings. When I walk into a flash situation I simply roll to manual, pop the on board and fire. It seems to work very well for me.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

ct, is this the NEW YOU ?
ct, hey, I like you already!

ct, don't bring that fat, old, curmudgeon woman back, your soooo much better this way!!! Good advice.
SS

Wabbit Loc: Arizona Desert

Yea Doc ..... and that's quite a feat cause you ain't exactly like a piece of cake to make happy .....

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Bug, I don't know your equipment, so I'm not going to guess. It seems that Peek does know it, so lean on him for answers.
BUT, I want to give you a very brief overview, so you can understand what you are trying to do.
I will use Tony's example.
W/o flash, nobody would use 1/30th to shoot indoor b-ball.
But flash changes everything.
Imagine you take a shoot at 1/30 @ f1.4, it may even be overexposed w/o flash, not to mention camera shake and blurred motion.
But if you do the same at f22, the shot may actually come out completely black(underexposed), for lack of light, because of the small f22.
Now shot a b-ball shot using the same exposure. Still black and no players in the scene, Right?
Now take the same shot using flash on low power. If the player is close, the player will be illuminated, but the background still black. But the flash strobes at 1/10,000 sec. So no camera shake and no motion blur, and the player properly illuminated.
Add more flash power and more background starts to be illuminated. Untill you have what you want.
Make sense?
But, as you increase ambient light, the flash becomes less and less effective, untill it can no longer freeze the action because the ambient light is starting to override the light of the flash and the flash is only providing fill light and not the main light.
You will get what is called "dragging the shutter". The subject is properly illuminated, but there is also motion.

Of course you will not be at those settings.
But the flash only goes so far, so the SS will allow more background light(ambient) to enter your scene.
And the f-stop allows more light to hit the sensor for more, or less light.
All the while, the ISO is controlling the sensitivity and amount of noise.
Bug, I always start my ISO part of the exposure triangle at 100. I raise it only if I can't get what I want with ISO at 100. The lower the better.
If your flash DOES have HSS, that will be a game changer and be much more versatile. That also means you have a guide # close to 60, zoom and probably ettl.
If so, that's a great flash and you only need to Learn what works best for your application.
Bug, hope this helped. Good luck.
SS

PS, if you can't use a flash during a game, shoot the practice or inter-squad games.
I shot dance(no flash), and always better to shoot the dress rehearsals, since I can be on the stage and mingle with the dancers, as long as we don't run into each other. Everybody likes nice tight shots of themselves.
During a practice game, you could probably get onto the court, in the game.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Wabbit, my wife tells me that an average of 27 times per day, but my girlfriend never says it. !!!!

Thunder_o_b Loc: NE Ohio USA

Flash photography…..endless debate. The way I shoot.

Camera mode: Full manual

SS: The top range of the sinc.

F/stop: Depends on the DOF I am after.

ISO: I choose the ISO that will give me the look I am after. The higher the ISO the more the ambient light shows in the shot so you do not get that "flash" look.

Flash: Set to E-TTL auto. I adjust the output as needed.