FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

Minolta 1200 Ring flash

Page  <1 2345>
Author
rastapartaman View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member

Joined: 03 March 2007
Country: Portugal
Location: Berkshire
Status: Offline
Posts: 525
Post Options Post Options   Quote rastapartaman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 May 2022 at 01:29
A bit off topic but the one of the best macro ring flashes I've used is the Metz Mecablitz 15 MS-1. Affordable and extremely cheap if compared to the MFC-1000. You can change the angle of the light on each side. Manual power and TTL, can be triggered wirelessly with the pop up flash in wireless mode. And compatible with canon, Nikon and Olympus. One flash for 4 systems
Don't think, Just click it!!

my Flickr
 



Back to Top
neilt3 View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member

Joined: 13 September 2010
Country: United Kingdom
Location: Manchester.U.K
Status: Offline
Posts: 3559
Post Options Post Options   Quote neilt3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 May 2022 at 01:43
Originally posted by rastapartaman rastapartaman wrote:

A bit off topic but the one of the best macro ring flashes I've used is the Metz Mecablitz 15 MS-1. Affordable and extremely cheap if compared to the MFC-1000. You can change the angle of the light on each side. Manual power and TTL, can be triggered wirelessly with the pop up flash in wireless mode. And compatible with canon, Nikon and Olympus. One flash for 4 systems


It's probably worth noting that the Metz isn't a ring flash but a twin flash whose two flash units are fixed on opposite sides .
The twin flash set up that you can use on the MFC-1000 can have there positions altered to a certain degree to give a bit more depth to the lighting .

The Minolta ring flash isn't a true ring flash either , but having four flashes that can be set to on or off independently , you have more control of the lighting .

I also have true ring flashes who have a circular flash tube , but the downside to these it unless to mess about with bits of tape to block out the light , you end up with quite a flat lighting .
see my photostream on flickr;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilt3/
C & C welcome.
Back to Top
gigo View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member

Joined: 28 March 2008
Country: Japan
Location: Yokohama
Status: Offline
Posts: 467
Post Options Post Options   Quote gigo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 May 2022 at 01:46
Originally posted by rastapartaman rastapartaman wrote:

A bit off topic but the one of the best macro ring flashes I've used is the Metz Mecablitz 15 MS-1. Affordable and extremely cheap if compared to the MFC-1000. You can change the angle of the light on each side. Manual power and TTL, can be triggered wirelessly with the pop up flash in wireless mode. And compatible with canon, Nikon and Olympus. One flash for 4 systems


>The 3x-1x Macro lens and the minolta slide copy unit 1000 do not consider the installation of third-party ring flashes at all.

For this reason I have no choice but the MFC-1000.
ILCE-1, FE:14/24/35/STF/135/100400GM, 90M/2070/70200G2/200600G+6, 1.4x/2xTC
ILCE-QX1, Full Sprctrum NEX-5R, E:2
LA-EA5, A:35G/100S/200M/500R,3x-1x +7, SIGMA MC-11 + Canon EF8-15 FishEye
Back to Top
michelb View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member

Joined: 26 August 2009
Country: Canada
Location: Montréal
Status: Offline
Posts: 736
Post Options Post Options   Quote michelb Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 May 2022 at 02:32
The Metz 15 MS-1 is a WL flash only for TTL operation (the supplied PC cable will only operate in Manual mode) so if your body does not have a built-in flash, you need to add a control flash on the body.
So on Sony's A900, A850, A99, A99II and all of Sony's mirrorless bodies, you will need to add that piece of equipment which is not that affordable anymore.

Using it in Manual mode is also a challenge since i found the menu to set this up and change settings is somewhat difficult to understand and use in real shooting situations.

Michel B
Back to Top
Phil Wood View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member

Joined: 24 March 2013
Country: United Kingdom
Location: England
Status: Offline
Posts: 3309
Post Options Post Options   Quote Phil Wood Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 May 2022 at 09:53
Originally posted by rastapartaman rastapartaman wrote:

A bit off topic but the one of the best macro ring flashes I've used is the Metz Mecablitz 15 MS-1. Affordable and extremely cheap if compared to the MFC-1000. You can change the angle of the light on each side. Manual power and TTL, can be triggered wirelessly with the pop up flash in wireless mode. And compatible with canon, Nikon and Olympus. One flash for 4 systems


Cheap?

Back to Top
neilt3 View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member

Joined: 13 September 2010
Country: United Kingdom
Location: Manchester.U.K
Status: Offline
Posts: 3559
Post Options Post Options   Quote neilt3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 May 2022 at 10:42
Originally posted by Phil Wood Phil Wood wrote:

Originally posted by rastapartaman rastapartaman wrote:

A bit off topic but the one of the best macro ring flashes I've used is the Metz Mecablitz 15 MS-1. Affordable and extremely cheap if compared to the MFC-1000. You can change the angle of the light on each side. Manual power and TTL, can be triggered wirelessly with the pop up flash in wireless mode. And compatible with canon, Nikon and Olympus. One flash for 4 systems


Cheap?



You might want to shop around a bit , I've seen them for a bit less than that !

I think when I was looking into getting one they were around £250 new or about £170 used .
I carried on with a Centon ringflash untill I got hold off the MFC-1000 .

Edited by neilt3 - 15 May 2022 at 10:46
see my photostream on flickr;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilt3/
C & C welcome.
 



Back to Top
amrep View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member

Joined: 02 February 2015
Country: Norway
Status: Offline
Posts: 322
Post Options Post Options   Quote amrep Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 May 2022 at 14:56
FYI
The manual for MFC-1000 with twin flash 2400 and ring flash 1200 is here:
http://derrybryson.com/manuals/Minolta/MINOLTA%20ACCESSORIES/Macro%20Ring%20Flash%202400/Macro%20Flash%20Manual.pdf
Back to Top
Phil Wood View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member

Joined: 24 March 2013
Country: United Kingdom
Location: England
Status: Offline
Posts: 3309
Post Options Post Options   Quote Phil Wood Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 May 2022 at 17:48
The manual is also on manualslib, but it didn't help me as it pre-dates electronic shutters.

And MPB have the Metz for £69 - a somewhat more reasonable price.
Back to Top
XKAES View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member

Joined: 24 September 2021
Country: United States
Location: Colorado
Status: Offline
Posts: 362
Post Options Post Options   Quote XKAES Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 May 2022 at 01:49
I just received my iISO off-camera flash cable, and it indeed lacks the hole in the flash end of the cable that sets an ADI flash into TTL mode. So no modification was needed. It is from the PRE-ADI Minolta flash years, but does not have the typical, round, Minolta flash connection. It has the iISO shoe on both ends instead.

Running simple tests with the camera at a fixed distance, and with the flash at different distances from the subject, confirms that the camera and flash are operating in ADI mode. When the flash in close to the subject it is over-exposed, and when farther away, underexposed. The flash operates according to the distance of the camera -- not the flash distance. In TTL mode, the exposures would have been adjusted by the camera sensor.

Also, when the flash is moved off-camera, but at the same distance to the subject as the flash, the exposures are correct -- adjusting for the Cosine Law (angle of the flash away from the camera), of course.

This confirms that ADI works fine with the flash off-camera, as I imagined. It's perfect for use on a flash bracket to eliminate red-eye and flat-flash effect.

If you have a newer off-camera flash cable, simply fill the hole in the cable's flash shoe with a removable piece of plastic, and ADI will work fine.

This may not help the original ring-flash problem, but it might be of interest to many flash users.

Edited by XKAES - 19 May 2022 at 14:04
http://www.subclub.org
http://www.subclub.org/minman
http://www.subclub.org/minchin
http://www.subclub.org/toko
http://www.subclub.org/fujinon
Back to Top
XKAES View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member

Joined: 24 September 2021
Country: United States
Location: Colorado
Status: Offline
Posts: 362
Post Options Post Options   Quote XKAES Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 May 2022 at 16:07
I should add that if you are looking for an off-cable that you can use in ADI mode without modification, you have to find one for the second generation of MAXXUM cameras. The first MAXXUM cameras used the typical ISO flash shoe, while the next generation used the iISO style but without ADI capability. Later, the ADI capability was added and the cables were modified to turn OFF ADI flash when the flash is off-camera.

So it's best to find the second generation cables -- these are the least expensive anyway. You can always use TTL flash with these cables by setting the camera or flash to TTL-mode.
http://www.subclub.org
http://www.subclub.org/minman
http://www.subclub.org/minchin
http://www.subclub.org/toko
http://www.subclub.org/fujinon
Back to Top
XKAES View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member

Joined: 24 September 2021
Country: United States
Location: Colorado
Status: Offline
Posts: 362
Post Options Post Options   Quote XKAES Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 May 2022 at 21:40
Originally posted by neilt3 neilt3 wrote:

[QUOTE=XKAES]

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.




As my simple test shows, the flash can be kept in ADI mode -- very easily -- when the ADI-capable flash is off-camera.

It is however important to keep the flash at the same distance as the camera -- keeping in mind the Cosine Law for off-angle exposure.
http://www.subclub.org
http://www.subclub.org/minman
http://www.subclub.org/minchin
http://www.subclub.org/toko
http://www.subclub.org/fujinon
Back to Top
sybersitizen View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member

Joined: 04 August 2006
Country: United States
Location: California
Status: Offline
Posts: 14453
Post Options Post Options   Quote sybersitizen Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 May 2022 at 22:57
All the folks talking about ADI seem to imply that the subject distance determines everything. According to Sony's and Minolta's documentation, it doesn't. The subject distance is taken into account along with subject reflectivity (TTL). Of course, if ADI can do what you want better than pure TTL can, by all means use it. But in my case it has never represented a benefit.
Back to Top
XKAES View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member

Joined: 24 September 2021
Country: United States
Location: Colorado
Status: Offline
Posts: 362
Post Options Post Options   Quote XKAES Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 May 2022 at 01:04
That's as clear as mud.




http://www.subclub.org
http://www.subclub.org/minman
http://www.subclub.org/minchin
http://www.subclub.org/toko
http://www.subclub.org/fujinon
Back to Top
sybersitizen View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member

Joined: 04 August 2006
Country: United States
Location: California
Status: Offline
Posts: 14453
Post Options Post Options   Quote sybersitizen Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 May 2022 at 06:25
I'll try again. ADI does not work just based on distance info. It combines distance info with pre-flash TTL measurements. That theoretically permits more accurate flash exposures than pre-flash TTL alone.

Is that clearer?

However, I and other longtime A-mount users have repeatedly found that ADI is not actually beneficial for our uses, and can sometimes behave unpredictably, so we avoid it.

Is that clearer?

Finally, I think anyone who does find ADI more beneficial than pure pre-flash TTL without ADI should use it.

Is that clearer?
Back to Top
Dyxum main page >  Forum Home > Equipment forums > Lighting Page  <1 2345>

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down



This page was generated in 0.059 seconds.

Monitor calibration strip

Dyxum.com - Home of the alpha system photographer

In memory of Cameron Hill - brettania

Feel free to contact us if needed.