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Minolta 1200 Ring flash

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keith_h View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote keith_h Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Minolta 1200 Ring flash
    Posted: 08 June 2022 at 16:34
To the OP, you'll need a mighty stack of adapters to make it work. So while its possible the answer is buy a Godox controller and MF12 twin flash kit.

I have both and after more than a decade of using the AF1200, will likely never use it again after getting the Godox kit. Excellent results are now easily achieved, the controller quick to configure and the flash heads can be used off cam for the win. I often use one off cam even hand held because wireless, not a thing that's possible with the AF1200, even by manipulating which elements flash.

I've always managed the AF1200 manually until now and its been a good thing on the A700. But the Godox kit on the A99 is a gigantic leap forward in light quality, control and usability.

Linky to image taken with the MF12 kit on A99.
 



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Micholand View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Micholand Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 May 2022 at 19:18
/Michael

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XKAES View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote XKAES Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 May 2022 at 14:35
I'm glad you posted this information because it proves my point exactly -- having an ADI flash on a camera flash handle/bracket (instead of on the camera flash shoe) will work exactly the same because the ADI flash is at the exact same distance to the subject as the camera.

The only difference will be less "FLAT-FLASH/RED-EYE" effect.

Try it, you'll like it.

Edited by XKAES - 27 May 2022 at 15:00
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Post Options Post Options   Quote sybersitizen Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 May 2022 at 00:03
I guess I now have to do this so we can all move on:

http://thesybersite.com/public/ADI-described-by-Minolta.jpg

http://thesybersite.com/public/ADI-described-by-Sony.jpg

My main point for hopefully the last time: ADI always works in conjunction with TTL pre-flash and metering, not with just subject distance alone.

Edited by sybersitizen - 27 May 2022 at 00:09
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XKAES View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote XKAES Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 May 2022 at 14:19
ADI -- Advanced Distance Integration.

Minolta -- "Unlike conventional TTL flash metering, ADI is not influenced by the reflectance of the subject or background ensuring optimal flash exposures."

Sony -- "When ADI Flash is selected, using a lens that is provided with a distance encoder feature can perform more accurate flash compensation by using more accurate distance information."

Having an ADI flash on a camera bracket will provide much more pleasing flash pictures, and will be just as accurate if the flash were on the camera.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote sybersitizen Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 May 2022 at 06:35
I didn't see anyone here advocating ADI. What I saw, and what I said, was that posters in this thread seem to be talking about it as if it's all based on subject distance, so I pointed out that it isn't.
 



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Post Options Post Options   Quote XKAES Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 May 2022 at 17:03
I'm not advocating for ADI flash. I'm only pointing out that it functions when an ADI flash is not on the camera, but attached with an ADI cable.
Anyone can use it if they like it -- or not.

Edited by XKAES - 25 May 2022 at 17:40
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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?
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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.




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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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