Flash alternatives for Minlta Dimage Z5

I bought a Z5 just a little while before Minolta announced they were
stopping camera production. Perfect timing! It was at a nice price
however and overall it performs well. However the built in flash is
useless beyond ~3m. So I'm looking for a flash gun, the Z5 has a shoe
for the purpose. Then I saw the prices and gulped, the flash guns
(Minolta and Sony) are 2 or 3 times more expensive than the camera was!

I see that Sigma an Metz also produce "compatible" guns:
http://photoclubalpha.com/2007/06/12/flash-choices-for-the-alpha-dslrs/#more-73
however these are not cheap either.

I even started thinking about buying a new camera because it had a
cheaper flash (eg Canon SX 10is) but then I thought a slave flash might
be a reasonable alternative with the Z5.

Has anyone any experience to offer, please, or suggestions about a
reasonably priced flash?

Thanks
Merl

In article <2008022522241016807-Merlin@theCourtofKingArthur>,
Merlin the Mystic <Merlin.RemoveThis@the.Court.of.King.Arthur> wrote:

> I bought a Z5 just a little while before Minolta announced they were
> stopping camera production. Perfect timing! It was at a nice price
> however and overall it performs well. However the built in flash is
> useless beyond ~3m. So I'm looking for a flash gun, the Z5 has a shoe
> for the purpose. Then I saw the prices and gulped, the flash guns
> (Minolta and Sony) are 2 or 3 times more expensive than the camera was!
>
> I see that Sigma an Metz also produce "compatible" guns:
> http://photoclubalpha.com/2007/06/12/flash-choices-for-the-alpha-dslrs/#more-7
> 3
> however these are not cheap either.
>
> I even started thinking about buying a new camera because it had a
> cheaper flash (eg Canon SX 10is) but then I thought a slave flash might
> be a reasonable alternative with the Z5.
>
> Has anyone any experience to offer, please, or suggestions about a
> reasonably priced flash?


I have a Z5 and bought a Sigma EF-500 DG ST I- TTL for it. IIRC it
caused $165 from <http://47stphoto.com>. It is indeed a big improvement
on the built in flash. I don't know of any camera's built in flash that
can compare to a comparable external flash.

The Sigma works quite well. It has lots of power but I wouldn't mind
more (see my use below). In shooting indoors while bouncing off the
walls or ceiling it does a good job of providing even illumination. The
flash head has a zoom mechanism that automatically syncs with the camera
to concentrate the light when zooming in.

Sigma makes two models of flash, the ST and the Super. The model I
bought, the ST is cheaper. I don't recall what the difference is but I
do remember that when I was comparing them it didn't matter.

I did use a slave flash till I broke my old flash unit. I never got
particularly good results with it. For one thing just setting it up in
the dark, and putting it on a separate tripod caused lots of trouble.
My primary interest is in night photography of trains. They tend to
move so aiming the camera and a slave flash is a bit tricky. I think
the biggest problem was that my little flash simply didn't trigger the
slave reliably unless I placed the slave ahead of the camera and just
out of view. But that again made for tricky shooting of a moving train.
I might at sometime try one or more slave flash units in concert with
the Sigma. They shouldn't be as much trouble as the Sigma will be
providing the bulk of the light and it should have enough power to
trigger the slave(s) by bouncing off the subject.

One problem I've had is that many of the train engines and cars I shoot
have retroreflective decals on them. This reduces the amount of light
the flash puts out. I've taken to shooting them using full manual.

--
Clark Martin
Redwood City, CA, USA Macintosh / Internet Consulting

"I'm a designated driver on the Information Super Highway"