topic A99 flash sync speed in Alpha & NEX interchangeable lens cameras

A99 flash sync speed

mikeyp2000 — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 09:46:53 GMT

There is a growing concern over the sync speed for the A99 when used with third party flash or radio triggers.

It seems the centre pin on the new hotshoe has a slight delay in sending the 'fire now' signal. This causes black bars to appear at the top of the photo at shutter speeds of 1/250. 1/250 is the A99's published flash sync speed.

Re: A99 flash sync speed

blaireau_photo — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 09:44:52 GMT

Hello Michael

I am going to flag this message to a contact who works at Sony to see if there is any further information available about this. When I get a response, I will let you know about it here.

Thanks,

Simon

Re: A99 flash sync speed

mikeyp2000 — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 23:34:53 GMT

Simon,

Much appreciated!

Re: A99 flash sync speed

petowen47 — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 13:25:40 GMT

This is pretty important.

When studio lights that work with the a900 cease to work with the a99, it's bad.

Why would Sony cripple the a99?

A99 flash sync speed

cmosse — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 16:47:21 GMT

I have checked with 2 studio flash sets (Multiblitz compact plus and Varilux Pro, connected with PC sync cable) and indeed at 1/250s (both with SteadyShot ON/OFF and also el. 1st curtain shutter OFF) the image at 1/250s showed a small black bar at the top of the image. Image taken with 1/200s are OK.

I do NOT consider this as a major problem. The sync spped as specified from Sony (1/250s) works perfectly well with Sony system flashes. Sony also mentions this issue in the manual page 118:

"Select the manual exposure mode and set the shutter speed to 1/250 second. If the shutter speed recommended on the flash is slower than that, use the recommended speed or an even slower speed."

Please also note that the Canon 5D MarkIII also features a flash sync speed of 1/200s - so the SLT-A99 is defintely in the same "league" regarding this spec....

Message was edited by: cmosse

Re: A99 flash sync speed

mikeyp2000 — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 17:48:09 GMT

Cmosse, my a99 and sony f58 will not sync faster than 1/200 when used with a radio trigger. Mounted on the camera, it syncs nicely at any speed with HSS enabled of course.

The same flash/trigger setup synced perfectly at 1/250 on my a77.

You won't have to look hard for people who have triggers that work at 1/250 on their a900 or a77 but out 1/200 on the a99.

It just seems a shame that such an expensive camera represents a downgrade in this respect. If it is an easy fix in firmware, that would be great.

Re: A99 flash sync speed

codysims — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 05:41:44 GMT

This isn't just for wireless triggers, you can't achieve 1/250 even with PC sync, whether the cable is connected to the camera directly, or to a hotshoe adapter that provides a PC sync socket.

I think it's a pretty big deal.. the camera isn't performing to advertised specs. I shoot with studio lights outdoors, and every 1/3 stop counts.

Re: A99 flash sync speed

blaireau_photo — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 09:26:34 GMT

Hello everyone

I just wanted to let you all know that this is something that has been alerted to customer support at Sony. When there is any feedback on this, I will return here with details.

Thanks,

Simon

Re: A99 flash sync speed

cmosse — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 10:17:38 GMT

"the camera isnt performing to advertised specs"

I do not think this statement is correct. WIth a system flash mounted on the camera it is definetely possible to use 1/250s with full flash output (no HSS).

Regarding sync speed with studio flashes Sony makes clear notes in the manual.

I wonder where is the real problem in practical use in using 1/200s instead of 1/250s. The pro Canon 5D M3 also can not get faster than 1/200s.

The A99 has different shutter than A77 (with significant higher durability) and therefore you can not directly compare these two models.

Re: A99 flash sync speed

mikeyp2000 — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 09:33:02 GMT

Simon, that is good news and any updates are always appreciated! Did you manage to bundle in the query about wireless flash delays with the f20?

Going back to the sync speed issue, I believe a number of people have managed to trigger studio flashes at 1/250 with no black bar by using "dumb" optical triggers. The problem only seems to arise when using triggers that rely on the PC sync port on the a99 or the centre contact on the new hotshoe.

A99 flash sync speed

sradwan — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 14:44:40 GMT

I own a Metz 50 flash, Sony HVL-F60AM and several Bowens heads. I also at one point owned the a77 at the same time that I had the a99, so was able to make a direct comparison with speeds. In short, if I use a trigger on the a77, I get 1/250 with no issues, however on the a99 at 1/200 and pedantically examine it alongside an identical shot at 1/160 I can see a sort of vignetting but on the top part where you would see the black bar at higher synch speeds, in my books not an issue, however when you go 1/250, the dreaded black bar is there, occupying about 15% of the frame or more, which is an obvious issue. I put this down to using the adapater supplied on the wireless trigger, and just put up with it.

I was about to purchase a different trigger that used the standard ISO shoe, but stumbled across this forum, so I now know it's not the adapter and that other people are experiencing the same issue.

This to me is an issue when trying kill that little bit of ambient light, and although can be rectified in post processing, it seems such a shame to have such a brilliant camera with such a simple flaw.

Message was edited by: sradwan

Re: A99 flash sync speed

jcroy123 — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 13:40:07 GMT

Hello all,

I have joined this group to share my disappointment with the A99. I have been a faithful Sony user for the past 12 years. I have the A100, A550, A55, A850, A77 and the A99. In my studio shoot, not willing to change lenses, I regularly use 3 cameras: 850, 77 and 99. All studio lighting and triggering devices are of the same brand. Out of 10 pictures taken with the 99, 3 are either complete misfires or show black bars of different sizes. I have gone down to 1/90s and still get very erratic results. I have interchanged the triggering devices and still suffer the same annoying misfires or black bars. None of the other cameras has that problem. It has come to the point where I am sending the camera for repairs. SONY MUST ADDRESS THIS ISSUE.

On an other matter, can we ask sony to reinstate the intelligent preview they have in the 850 and 900. It is sorrily missed in the studio. The live view and preview result do us no good in the studio if we cannot trigger or strobes and preview the results.

Re: A99 flash sync speed

cmosse — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 11:28:59 GMT

Can you specifiy which triggering devices you are using. Are you connecting the studio flash to the PC-sync socket of the camera or are you using some wireless trigger mounted on the hot shoe (Multi Interface shoe)

Best Regards

Michael

Re: A99 flash sync speed

mikeyp2000 — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 19:03:58 GMT

I use IShoot PT04 trigger/receivers. The trigger mounts on the hotshoe via the adp-Maa adapter. The receiver attach directly to the flash hotshoes on my f58 and Minolta 5400HS flashguns.

I also bought the canon/Nikon/Pentax version of the trigger. It fits directly onto the a99 hotshoe and works fine except for the sync speed is 1/160 for 100% success or 1/200 for a strong chance of a black bar at the top of the frame.

They all synced perfectly well at 1/250 on my a77.

Re: A99 flash sync speed

smithphilip1 — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 23:04:52 GMT

I done a shoot the other day. Used Phottix II triggers with Bowens 200 strobes had black line at 1/200 but not at 1/160. Would be nice to kill more ambient light with higher shutter speed without that black shutter line.