Rokinon AF Dedicated Flash for Sony Alpha, Minolta

Rating

I placed this flash on my Sony A100 and compared it to shots taken with the on camera flash. It appears to put out at least twice as much light with more pleasing colors. My longest shot was at about 20 feet. The AF assist light worked in near total darkness to provide a satisfactory picture whereas the on camera strobe could not generate a focused shot. It appears to sync appropriately with the camera. I tried it in both Auto and Aperture Priority modes. The latch that secures it to the camera sometimes sticks and needs some fiddling. The battery compartment door is flimsy. I only used it in direct mode, not in bounce mode, and took about 20 shots. This is a nice affordable flash unit for those wanting more power than the on camera flash and for occasional use as the build may not hold up to heavy usage.

Rating

I consider myself an amateur photographer, though I've been doing it for the last 2 years, I have a lot to learn yet. This is my first flash purchase, and I have not studied flashes, but from my use of it already, it has proved to give great lighting, up to a good distance. I've use it tilted at different angles (because as you see the head can tilt). It has taken me some trial and error. It has to be angled correctly indoors for each room situation. When done so, it provides fabulous lighting. I was quite surprised actually. The only thing is there is no control of how much light is projected, except for this tilt. Be aware that it is quite bright, and can wash out your subjects face if you project directly on them at a reasonably distance, but tilt upwards for a bounce of reflection off of the ceiling for a nice warm or milder lighting. Overall I recommend it for beginners but then again it's better to invest on the next Rockinon up with the additional features, for not much more than what this one cost. (This fits fine on the Sony Alpha 100 that I own, except for some reason I can't get it to come off- This is actually very odd, and I don't think I jammed it on there at all, but I'm leaving it on there for now, until...) Not overly thrilled with it, but it's doing the job for me, ....for now.

Rating

I looked at Sony's cheapest flash unit, it was $60.00 more than this one. I thought that I'd be disappointed, boy was I wrong-- this unit provides everything that I need. I'm an advanced photographer (have been shooting since 1971), so I consider myself knowledgeable. If I need a better unit, I would opt for an off-camera setup. I've had a chance to compare this to a Sony unit, I didn't miss anything by buying this one.

Rating

The flash shipped quickly, in time to test it during a ceremony in a large room. I was able to stand at the back of the room and use a zoom to compose shots. The flash operated well with my Sony Alpha 300, with no over or under exposures, a quick enough cycle time so very few shots were missed.

Rating

Great flash! Works very nicely with my Sony Alpha A350