External Flash Question (esp for 6900z)

[Tweek]

Yo people, got some questions on external flash units, particularly for the Fuji 6900z. I'm thinking of getting the S602z and an external flash to go with it, but don't understand lots of things. Hope someone can help me here.

6900z has a hotshoe with a single contact, does that mean the external flash will not be TTL? If it isn't TTL, does it mean that the flash has to go full manual everytime, as in, got to calculate using the GN and distance to determine aperture?

What sort of external flash will be compatible with the 6900z?

Thanks in advanced.

 

[mpenza]

nope. there's no need to go full manual. a lot of external flashes come with light sensors that will adjust the duration of flash accordingly. this is called the "auto-sensing" mode if I'm not wrong. You just need to set the correct aperture and ISO.

 

[Tweek]

Originally posted by mpenza
nope. there's no need to go full manual. a lot of external flashes come with light sensors that will adjust the duration of flash accordingly. this is called the "auto-sensing" mode if I'm not wrong. You just need to set the correct aperture and ISO.

i see...but it's not TTL right? Does it make a lot of difference, in terms of exposure control?

btw, if the flash is bounced, is there any form of compensation to be made? I asked this with assumption that less light will fall on the actual subject since the light is bounced.

 

[mpenza]

Originally posted by Tweek


i see...but it's not TTL right? Does it make a lot of difference, in terms of exposure control?

Guess it would depend on how good the flash is. I don't have much problems with mine All my fashion show pics were taken with the external flash on auto mode and the exposure were fine.

Originally posted by Tweek

btw, if the flash is bounced, is there any form of compensation to be made? I asked this with assumption that less light will fall on the actual subject since the light is bounced.

For mine, I usually set the aperture on the camera larger than the one set for the flash. But under different conditions, the setting will be different (e.g. height of the ceiling, color of the ceiling, evenness of the ceiling, etc).

 

[YSLee]

When you're doing fill, it's never accurate enough.

Use GN and calculate. Most flashes are about 1 stop less than the specifications, so you'll have to go through some trial and error (but with a DC, it should be easy).

Oh, and if you're doing manual, please get a flash that has variable power settings. Else it's super annoying to have a flash that only fires in full power in manual mode.

 

[mpenza]

agree agree

I have to experiment quite a lot before getting my settings right. It's partly because my camera only allows 3 aperture settings.

 

[Tweek]

ok ok...thanks YS and KC.

6900z users (hint hint: bluestrike! kanu!), please feel free to add more comments hor!

 

[mpenza]

saw a few discussions on external flash in dpreview forums....
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1012&message=2296014

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1012&message=2277020

 

[Tweek]

woa very useful information in dpreview...

thanks for pointing out, KC!