Sony HVLF20AM TTL Digital Flash for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Cameras
From Sony
The a lighting system HVLF20AM is a compact, lightweight flash unit perfect for first time DSLR users. This lens makes it easy for everyone to take beautiful photos in low light and is slim and stylish enough to keep it mounted on the camera at all times.
Brand: Sony Model: HVLF20AM Dimensions: 3.90" h x 4.33" w x 7.80" l, 1.37 pounds
Expand your creativity with the revolutionary HVL-F20AM compact external flash, which extends illumination range beyond the camera's built-in flash. Bounce flash enables shadowless indirect lighting while TTL (through the lens) flash exposure is automatically controlled by your a DSLR for easy and intuitive operation--all in an ultra-compact design which folds flat when not in use. Extends flash range beyond camera's built-in flash Though compact and lightweight, the HVL-F20AM has a maximum range twice that of the built-in flash units on a230, a330 and a380 cameras. This is represented as the guide number (GN) of 20 with a 50mm focal distance at ISO 100. Bounce flash enables shadowless indirect lighting When set to 'indoor' shooting mode, the flash points up to bounce light off the ceiling for shadowless illumination of your subject. When set to the ‘outdoor' shooting mode, the flash directs light directly at your subject. Built-in diffuser for wide and telephoto shooting With the built-in diffuser the flash illumination covers an angle of view of 27mm at the default Standard Position setting. If users want to to shoot at a greater distance, they can rotate the dial on the side of the flash unit to the 'Tele' Position. Although this reduces flash coverage to an angle of view of 50mm, it extends the range to illuminate more distant subjects. Easy intuitive operation Unlike most external flash units, the HVL-F20AM has no dedicated On/Off switch. Instead, power is automatically switched on simply by raising the flash unit into the shooting position. In addition, a switch on the side of the unit offers Indoor and Outdoor settings, making it easy to obtain flash illumination that suits the shooting situation. A charging lamp indicates when the flash is ready to fire. Light, slim ultra-compact design With a weight of only 90g (approx.) and a thickness of only 24mm (1 inch), the HVL-F20AM is so compact it can simply be folded down and left mounted on the camera when it is not in use, or detached and carried in a shirt pocket. When removed from the camera, the flash unit's hot shoe can be folded to the side, making the body even more compact. Elegant and attractive styling Viewed from any angle, the HVL-F20AM's revolutionary body is sleek, slim, and virtually protrusion-free. The new design also eliminates the LCD display panel found on many conventional flash units, further contributing to esy-use simplicity and stylish design. ADI Flash Metering System The ADI (Advanced Distance Integration) flash metering system offers the optimum flash metering and automatic white-balance compensation regardless of the background conditions or the subject's reflectance. ADI flash metering works in combination with a cameras and lenses that incorporate a distance encoder. When used with these lenses, the camera calculates a guide number to control TTL (through the lens) flash metering. This guide number is calculated according to distance from the subject, ambient light and pre-flash reflectivity of the subject and the background. Wireless flash trigger function (DSLR-A900 only) When teamed with the a900, the HVL-F20AM can also be used to trigger wireless flash setups. Please note, however, that this functionality is only available with DSLR-A900, and does not include luminosity ratio control.
nice aesthetics makes this a perfet replacement for in built flash. first of all I didn't want to carry a bulky flash. This is so small and light that I can leave it on the camera all the time. The range is much better than my alpha 300's in built flash amd the piture quality is quite a bit better. Most importantly it has fixed the shadow I was getting from the stock flash with my Zeiss 1680 lens. I do wish the Alpha's flash had been placed a little higher and avoided the shodow problem. I like the fact that the flash can be folded and stored on the camera itself. The flash uses AAA batteries and just remember to use lithium and not alkaline batteries with this flash. I found the hard way that Alkaline batteries will not last very long and that the flash loses brightness quickly resulting in dim pictures. However, with Energizer Lithum batteries the flash works great. It may also may be a good thing that it does not draw power from the main camera battery. The construction is good and aesthetically it matches the alpha body quite nicely. This flash is about 2x as powerful as the in built one and does a much better job controlling red eye and creating a much nice lighting all round. Don't Even Bother Well, this might be useful for the newer line of Sony's entry level DSLRs because they have a weaker flash, or for the higher end models like the A900 or A850 that have no built in flash. However, if you own an older model camera (A100, A200, A300, A350 or A700) the guide number on this flash will not do you any good. While it looks nice and is very compact, it doesn't really give the functionality and range worth $120. Besides, in the end what matters are the pictures, not how pretty your camera flash is. And this camera flash does not produce good results.
