Thank you for your views.
Since 1977 I have been an enthusiast for TTL auto
flash control. That is when I bought two Olympus
OM-2 bodies, and the off-the-film flash control
was a major factor in my choice.
I just recently purchased a flash for my -DS but had these
thoughts in mind:
#1. I'm a cheap bastard.... $250 for a flash is A LOT to my mind.
#2. I've got a bunch of MF, non-A lenses. In fact, only one AF (kit)
lens. See fact #1
#3. I figured that a super-whizbang-auto-everything flash would be
convient, but lose a fair bit of auto functionality when used with MF
glass.
#4. Advanced exposure control (TTL, P-TTL) would be nice, but since I'd
like to move away from having the flash mounted on the camera, I'd need
expensive dedicated hotshoe cables. Again, see #1.
#5. High-speed and trailing-curtain would be nice, but I don't know how
much I'd use them at the moment.
#6. Relatively high power not optional.
So, I ended up with a cockroach flash... a Vivitar 285. It only
measures 8V on the hotshoe, has a surprisingly accurate sensor. It can be
had for cheap ($35 for mine on ebay), along with cheap sensor remote
cables to get the flash off camera.
Yes, more manual than a lot of people want to deal with. It's
nice to have auto for snapshots, but I doubt it'll work super-well with
all the old glass I've got anyway.
Anyway... just wanted to vent and give an alternate viewpoint...
:)
-Cory
--
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* Cory Papenfuss *
* Electrical Engineering candidate Ph.D. graduate student *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
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