Sony HVLF20M, MI Shoe External Flash for Alpha SLT/NEX (Black)

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Battery life (using rechargable AAAs) was surprisingly good. I took over 200 photos some with bounce over a few hours and didnt have any issues with battery life. Illumination is good, much much superior to built in flash on my a6000. I was shooting in a large room. No one complained about burned retinas, didnt see a lot of red eye even though I didnt have the red eye feature turned on. Very Effective. Yes, Id buy another one. No need to spend $400 on a big flash unless you have professional needs.

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Picked this up to bring to a wedding I was packing light for in the hopes it would improve shots of my friends at the reception. The results totally surpassed my expectations. Even in a reception hall with a 30 foot ceiling, using the unit in bounce mode provided a great soft light and really enhanced subject separation from the background. Its no pro flash, but its leaps and bounds better than any built in flash and its still quite compact. I can see why some people dont like the fact that flipping it down is the only way to turn it off, but I found it super convenient when it was mounted on my camera. When I store it, I just take out the batteries so I can fold it flat. Quick recycling when paired with NiMH batteries.

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This seems to be the go-to "cheap" flash unit for Sony mirrorless APS-C cameras like NEX6 and the newer Alphas (i.e., Alpha 6000). Ive not seen any reviews of it being used with RX100M2 which its compatible with, so I went on blind faith that thing will turn out okay. RX100M2 is a nifty little camera with excellent image quality but its also been one of my most frustrating cameras to use b/c of the slow shutter speed it chooses for low light settings (wrote a lengthy review of that). Ive also always struggled with the poppy-uppy-flashy of RX100M2. Direct flash is too harsh so often, Id use bounce b/c the in-camera flash unit is spring loaded and can be tilted upwards as with most other Sony mirrorless cameras; however the bounce effect would only light up top half of the photo, so either the angle is wrong or the flash is too weak. I almost got to the point of selling the RX but decided to give it a try with this little guy (HLVF20M) to see how taking low-light, indoor photos might change. I used it at a wedding recently (as slave camera to the NEX5R outfit ;-) and must say, I got some fantastic photos with this thing out of RX100M2. I used bounce for all photos (the strobe can be pointed upwards), which is invaluable, and the pics came out smooth, evenly lit, and the color rendition was great. It looks rather funny to attach such a big piece of accessory to a little camera like RX100M2 but I really now appreciate the fact that the camera came with a hot shoe mount b/c it allows for things like this. If you think about it, to get TTL flash with a camera like RX100M2 is great. Also, the strobe part sits quite high distance apart from the camera lens, which is what you want anyway so this is good. Sadly, the updated RX100M3 model has dropped the hot shoe mount to make room for in-camera EVF, so as far as the RX100 series go, M2 is now the only model and perhaps the last model where you can attach external accessories. *Tears* Back to the flash unit. Its small, light, runs on its own batteries so the cycle time are fast and does not cut into the cameras battery, and is strong enough, as long as youre not expecting Speedlite-like strength and range. Again, the ability to bounce is invaluable. For mid-sized rooms, its perfect. I do wish it had swivel but Im not aware of any flash unit with swivel in this price range. One minor complaint is that the unit turns on/off by the hinge thats at the bottom of the unit. So in the off position, the flash unit sits parallel to the ground and to turn on, you swivel it upwards as you see in the product pic. I wish there was a separate on off switch, since the off position makes the unit protrude out compared to the depth of the RX100M2 camera. At $150, its not a bad price at all especially when you think full-sized flash units are $400+.

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I recently bought the NEX-6 and added this soon after (to replace the other Sony that incorrectly claimed to work with this camera). I had not used it much so when I decided to take pix at an outdoor - night - retirement party I had no clue what to expect. Since I was about 30 ft back from the guest of honor I used the 55-200 lens, something else I had not tried. I fired away from many angles and zoom levels and must say I was amazed at the results. The pix were clear and crisp and pretty much perfectly exposed. (I used auto settings on camera.) It turns out the wife of the retiree thought she had someone to take pix but he failed to show. I showed them my "practice" pix and they were ecstatic. I do think the price is a little high (no doubt due in part to no alternatives - yet), but its about as plug-and-play as it gets.

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I bought this flash for my SONY cameras for outdoor fill light on sunny days. This one is more than that. Can be a ceiling bounce and night time flash. Unfortunately it does not turn and does not have many positions BUT it is tiny, turns on and off by moving it up from the horizontal position and when fired sits quite high above the lens. Recharge time is fast. Control is from the camera (+/-, sync). Expensive but the ease of use and the dedicated SONY operation may justify the price. I used it with an a6400 and an a7RIII body.

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This is a great little flash. I use it on my Sony A6000 and its surprisingly good. Cycles in about 1 sec and its powered by 2 AAA batteries. Some people may complain that there is no on/off switch. When the flash is up, its on. When its flat light a right angle, its off. That too bothered me when I ordered it, but I figured out a work around. If you leave the flash in the on (up) position while mounted on your camera, and then turn off the camera, the power on the flash will go off as well even though its officially in the "on" position. The reason this is good is that now its off and flat so that it can fit into a camera bag better. If you use the Think Tank Mirrorless mover bags, this will fit perfectly into the iPhone pocket. Great little flash and gets the job done for those occasional fill flash moments.

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I always have my a6000 in my hand and love taking head shots. This has made the pics so much better. Easy to use, and uses 2 AAA batteries. Just place in the hot shoe and away you go. With the ttl feature all the shots are now perfectly exposed--especially in situations where you would normally have shadows without this simple flash. I am very impressed. My pics have improved overnight. Will use it a lot the next couple of weeks during my Christmas trip to the grandchildren.

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I have not had the issue with the hinge switch that others have mentioned. I am pleased with this flash and think it is easy to operate and performs admirably. Most other flashes I was looking at were more complex than a casual shooter would need and this flash is not to bulky for my a6000.

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Bought for my Sony A 7ii which doesnt have built in flash. This flash does a nice job when you need some direct, fill, or bounce flash for your subject. I have other, larger flash units but they can be cumbersome. This unit is very low profile. Just pop it up when you need it. Bit pricey for its size but hey, its Sony.

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This (very) small flash adds almost no weight or bulk to the NEX line of cameras, and its twice as powerful as the built in flash. For those of us who want to travel light and compact, this is a very good choice. Used as direct flash it has TTL metering. Used as a bounce flash you need to bump up flash exposure compensation and use ISO 400 to 800, but it does a very nice job at distances up to 12-14 feet (3 meters) with those minor changes. For further distances youll have to use direct flash, but theres a "tele" setting on the flash which supposedly will focus its light on a narrower but slightly more distant target.

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