Customer Reviews

Sony HVLF32X External AutoProgrammable Flash for MVCCD500D, DSCV1/V3/R1 Cameras

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is an excellent flash. The built-in flash on the F828 is okay, but the HVLF32X flash vastly improves the quality of indoor and evening shots. I can tilt the flash up and use the built-in diffuser to backlight an entire living room, yet keep the subjects in the foreground properly exposed. Group shots turn out great as the light is bright and spreads out wide and even. This flash can illuminate an entire living room, or put light on close ups with just the proper exposure. A great convenience is that when this flash is attached to the F828, the F828 automatically switches to an external flash mode and disables the built-in flash. No need to fumble with the settings. Another convenience is that it uses easy to find and stock AA batteries.

What an excellent addition to the DSC-F828! For a flash with all these features it is a bargain. The focus assist lamp works great even in low light. The bounce ability gives your indoor shots the look of soft natural light. The 40ft plus distance is great. The modeling function is an added plus. What more could you ask for in an external flash. Why only 4 stars for such a fantastic flash? The thing sucks up batteries like there's no tomorrow. Get some rechargeable AA Ni-MH batteries, a charger and your set.

I use it on my Mavica CD500 and on my wife's DSC-V1 and we are both very pleased with it. Because it communicates with the camera, it fires a pre-flash to determine ideal exposure and then takes the shot. The pictures look like if they were taken during daytime, not with a centered, white "burn" that makes the picture more bidimensional. It's strong enough that when used during daylight it fills the shadows (i.e. under the eyes).

I bought it for my Sony DSC-f828 and now use it with my DSC-R1. I love this flash. If you have a Sony DSC-F828 or DSC-R1 then this flash will work with your cameras through the lens metering system. The flash will also assist with low light auto focus by using the built in LED's beneath the main flash head.

The flash mounts on hot shoe on the right side of the camera body providing a nice balance feel to the camera and more importantly; by the flash being offset from the center of the lens it eliminates that dreaded red eye you can get while using the built in flash.

There is also an optional diffuser that pops down over the flash for wide angle shots. This lifts up and stores in a special slot above the flash head where it can't get lost but it's always there when you need it. The flash can be used in full "Auto" mode or you can manually adjust the settings. the features in this flash are usually found in units costing many $$$ more, and this Flash communicates with your camera to get that perfect shot every time.

My only complaint with this flash is it does not use rechargeable batteries. I wish Sony had designed it to use the same battery as the camera (like they do with some models of video camera lights) This would be a great idea.

This flash operates on four AA batteries. I have tried all brands I could find and my best results (ie: quickest recycle times) were with Energizer e2 series batteries. This is not meant to plug the batteries, just to save you time trying them all out yourself.

Here's more from the Sony site:

Get outstanding flash coverage of up to 32 feet with this Deluxe Sony High Grade Flash. Offers innovative built-in model light mode, manual lighting control for increased creativity and a bounce and tilt head with built-in diffuser for easy use. Advanced automatic TTL Pre-Flash exposure control is offered through the dedicated hot shoe connector.

* Equipped with advanced ACC shoe allowing communication with camera without cable

* Included cable allows compatibility with ACC terminal

* Equipped with back light LCD for improved operation

* Power: 4 AA sized alkaline batteries

* 6 level manual flash selection

* Pre-flash adjustment: detects appropriate exposure before firing flash

* Allows detection when conversion lens attached

* AF assist lamp allows AF photography even when subject is too dark

* Test flash: sets the focal length of light adjustment sensor by DSC data, then fires the test flash

* Red-eye reduction, bounce flash function, equipped with wide panel, modeling flash

I use this flash with my V1. I works ok on the auto mode. Mode A using the camera light meter to control the flash. Mode B the flash itself provides the light meter. Both light meter works very well for general use but tend to over expose in dark area and under expose when using as fill flash ( my favorite shots). My favorite part about this flash is the manual mode which you can manualy set the intensity of the light output from 1/1 (full power)1/2 (50% power) to 1/32 (least intensity) so you can shoot with any aperture prefered, a big improvement from the old 1000 series (always fire at 100% and no TTL control). I give this one a 5 star because it served my purposes. ( try this shot: manual mode F7.2/ Shuttle 1/80 / manual mode on the flash set at 1/8 power/ shot you favorite model with the sun on his (her) back)

This flash is everything I have read it to be! It works great w/my Sony DSC-F717. It does go through batteries as I read previously on reviews (that is the ONLY bad review this flash got!), but as suggested I purchased the Duracell rechargeable batteries along w/the 1-hr. charger and it works great!! The 2300 mAh strength work the best-have the fastest recovery and last the longest. This flash is definitely worth what I paid for it and certainly is a great asset to my camera.

Nice looking unit, works great - until the batteries go dead. I took only 18 photo's before the batteries died. As the batteries get weaker, the charge time for the flash seems to grow longer. This caused me to miss several shots because the flash was not ready. I went through 3 sets of batteries at a wedding and finally had to remove the Sony flash and go with the cameras built in one. These results may not be typical, but it's what happened to me. On the plus side, the flash is powerful enough to illuminate an entire room with enough light to a get clean, clear exposure.

I use this flash with a DSC-F828, great twin, but I have an important dislike, the 4 AA batterys are too poor like surce of energy and meke the time between shots too long, specialy in crutial moments. I'm really happy with this product, but this problem make me take one star away.

If you want better indoor exposures from your compatible Sony camera this is definitely the flash to get. With this flash you will automatically eliminate red-eye, have the ability to exceed 10 feet of distance between you and your subject (which is about the maximum effective distance of most Sony built-in flashes), and one feature I especially like with this flash is being able to bounce the flash off the ceiling for a more natural look, avoiding the "washed out" look that happens with many flash exposures. As others have noted, this flash consumes a lot of batteries. Buy yourself some good NiMH rechargeables to go with this flash and enjoy better indoor pictures immediately.

This flash is very well built and the controls are better than other name-brand flashes I've owned and used. I've used it with an R1 and a V3. At GN 32, it's powerful enough to bounce, yet not so powerful it drains the four AA cells too quickly. It has the best shoe lock I've ever used - there's a little pin in the foot that drops into a tiny hole in the hotshoe. It's wide angle diffuser lives permanently inside the unit, sliding out and clicking into place with ease. The flash is very good close-up, very good outdoors against the light. Sony's sophisticated flash control helps get exposures spot-on. It has extra AF assist LED's for the R1 (best turned off for the V3). I knocked off a full star, though, because it does not rotate, and therefore can't be bounced off ceilings in portrait format. It comes with a superb pouch and an off-camera mounting bar. Physically it's neither too big nor too small for what it can do.