Minolta 1200 Ring flash

XKAES wrote: neilt3 wrote: [QUOTE=michelb] I've never found a use for ADI flash control . Nothing worse than direct flash , rabbit in the headlamps look ,IMO . Bounce flash or off camera flash for me , so no ADI anyway . 90% of the time I use flash, there's nothing to bounce the flash off. And if it's too far away, the shot is under-exposed. And if close enough, it affects the color of the subject. And with a background -- assuming there is one -- it is typically many feet beyond the subject, so TTL flash just gives me a completely washed out subject. It would be great if I could use off-camera flash everytime I use flash, but that only happens in the studio. ADI isn't perfect in every regard, but it gives the best exposure more often for my strobe use.

For off camera flash you can use wireless TTL flash control .
Hold the camera in one hand held to your eye , and hold the flash held away from the camera with the other .
Flash control is managed with either the cameras pop up flash ( A mount ) or using another ( compatible ) flash as the controller .

If direct flash works for you , it works for you .
No harm in trying other methods , just on the off chance you might prefer the results .

XKAES wrote: Thanks, but those are not options for me. I don't have cameras with built-in flashes, and I'm not going to walk around carrying another flash. One option would be to always use the ADI flash on a removable shoe with a short ADI flash cable --assuming something like that is actually made -- and remove the flash when used. The ADI distance would be the same, but I better have good aim!

The ADI distance is the focus distance from the camera, not the flash.

A little HVL20 flash as a trigger for wireless will fit into a pocket - not ideal, but you don't need to carry two big flashguns.

Edited by Phil Wood - 11 May 2022 at 00:07

If I have my flash off-camera connected to the hot shot by a cable, how would the camera know that the flash is not on the camera?

I know that with a flash titled upward that the camera can tell it is not pointed forward, but simply connected to a correct cable won't tell the camera anything different.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

The 99II manual also states that if you use the flash with an off-camera, it will automatically become P-TTL.
If you cannot automatically detect the situation where ADI cannot be used, such as when the wide panel cannot be detected with an old flash, be careful to switch to P-TTL in the menu.

FYI:
Off camera flash accessory list.

Minolta OC-1000, ISO-cable-plug
Minolta OC-1100/Sony FA-CC1AM, iISO-cable-plug
FA-CS1M, Mi-Mi w/socket
Minolta OS-1100/Sony FA-CS1AM, ISO-iISO w/socket
Minolta OS-1000, ISO-ISO w/socket
Minolta Cable EX/Sony FA-EC1AM,socket-cable-plug
Minolta Cable CD/Sony FA-MC1AM,plug-cable-plug
Minolta TC-1000/Sony FA-TC1AM

Unfortunately, most of these are obsolete. (I have so many of these that the box is full )

XKAES wrote: It's too bad that the existence of that hole prevents using the flash in ADI mode on a camera bracket. Seems kind of dumb to me.

Not dumb , just common sensed if you understand how ADI flash control works .
The camera works out how much power is required for correct illumination based on the distance from the target .
If the flash is held off camera , the camera has no idea where the flash is or which way it is pointing or how far away it is from the target .
Therefore it can't use the distance information from the lens to calculate the required power , so reverts to pre-flash TTL metering , as already explained.

If Minolta hadn't made it work this way everyone that tried using their flash off camera would be complaining how bad ADI flash was and their exposures were always wrong , not accepting things are off due to them not setting the camera and flash up correctly .


Edited by neilt3 - 11 May 2022 at 08:26

neilt3 wrote: Not dumb , just common sensed if you understand how ADI flash control works .

I understand how ADI flash works, and I still think the way it's set up is dumb.

If I have an ADI-capable flash on a camera bracket -- for convenience and to avoid red-eye -- the distance to the subject is exactly the same, and ADI flash would be a great benefit.

Minolta -- and later Sony -- added a fifth tab on the shoe on the early AF flashes, which is difficult to see. It's off to the side -- but inside the foot slot -- and basically tells the flash that it is on the camera. When the flash is not on a camera, the tab is not depressed, and the flash will not fire in ADI mode. Some early Minolta AF ADI flashes, such as the D2500 do not have his tab -- and I assume they will operate in ADI mode off-camera.

I haven't checked out all of the Minolta off-camera cables, but I assume that very early AF off-camera flash cables lacked the oval hole, simply because the early AF flashes did not have ADI flash capability. And looking at the NON-Minolta/Sony off-camera flash cables, some have the oval hole, and some don't -- such as this Promaster version. Using an ADI-capable flash with this cable should allow for ADI use off-camera, such as a camera bracket or at arm's length.

I'm sure I'm not the only one interested in this.





Edited by XKAES - 11 May 2022 at 15:14