[future_retro]

The on board flash on my Kx is driving me mad

Problems:

1. The Pre-flash from the pop up triggered my Bower SFD926P prematurely in slave mode, it happened in all PASM modes and I checked all my flash settings and custom functions for a solution but could not find one, I returned the Bower Flash and got some YN460ii's that works awesome but I've read reviews for the Bower that state the slave mode works fine?

2. Even when I'm in full manual mode the pop up flash gives me varied results depending on the ambient lighting. I was taking pictures using a slave triggered strobe set up and a tabletop studio inside my house, it's a very controlled environment (Pic of set up) and I usually shoot stopped way down (f/11-16) and at max X-sync just so the ambient light wont affect the pictures (pictures taken without the strobes just turn out black no matter what ambient light there is), however I still get mixed results some times because even though I'm in full manual mode and choosing the power of the pop up flash it still seems to be making some sort of decisions for me depending on what lights are on in the house

I know I could get some radio triggers but I like having a 3 point lighting system, but only if I have full control over it

Thank you for your time

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Last edited by future_retro; 02-13-2011 at 11:36 AM.

[Ash]

1. Sounds like your flash has an optical trigger and doesn't ignore pre-flash, in which case you may need to resort to spending money on a radio trigger for the flash. Not sure about the features of that particular flash, but it's suspect.

2. Flash exposure is dependent on a lot of factors: scene lighting, metering mode, focus locking then recomposing (if AE-L is locked with focus point). But in your example, you're flogging your poor little popup flash to try and get the light you need for an adequate exposure at f/16 - this won't work. You need either a more powerful flash or go to high-sync speed.