Flash Delay on A33/A55


i did a test with my A55.

Firstly the flash was set at auto and Sony probably designed it to "fill-in flash" which fire multiple shots before a final burst. it looks like there is a delay of 0.5sec.

then i tried setting at 'manual mode', setting flash to "rear flash"...the flash fire instanteously like a compact camera.

maybe this is the reason why I dont feel the delay coz I hardly or never shoot in auto mode.... I always have my flash as fill or on in M, A, and P Mode and they fire right away
 

maybe this is the reason why I dont feel the delay coz I hardly or never shoot in auto mode.... I always have my flash as fill or on in M, A, and P Mode and they fire right away

another point to note is that your RED EYE reduction should be switch to OFF mode. This will fire the flash instanteously.

The major delay is due to red-eye mode turning ON, i believe.

pls correct me if i am wrong... :D
 

i did a test with my A55.

Firstly the flash was set at auto and Sony probably designed it to "fill-in flash" which fire multiple shots before a final burst. it looks like there is a delay of 0.5sec.

then i tried setting at 'manual mode', setting flash to "rear flash"...the flash fire instanteously like a compact camera.

shooting in rear sync.. your flash will fire at the end of the shutter timing. if you set it to at least 2 seconds you'll see what i mean.

never experienced this flash lag before with my A550 though...
 

.The major delay is due to red-eye mode turning ON, i believe.

pls correct me if i am wrong... :D

Nope, red eye reduction off and still expereience delay.......:(
 

Firstly the flash was set at auto and Sony probably designed it to "fill-in flash" which fire multiple shots before a final burst. it looks like there is a delay of 0.5sec.

The 'multiple flashes' are for AF and maybe the auto mode to determine the best exposure and other settings. I believe the camera probably uses rear or slow sync instead of fill flash (which explains the 0.5s delay) exceptions will be when it sense a very dark(-EV) centre and very bright(+EV) edge, in which case fill flash would be selected.

...have you tried to see if there are any differences between auto and I-auto modes ?

then i tried setting at 'manual mode', setting flash to "rear flash"...the flash fire instanteously like a compact camera.

Not quite ! ...with rear sync flash selected and you have 1 sec shutter speed, the camera WILL appear to have a lag of 1 sec ! ...try it ! ;)
 

The 'multiple flashes' are for AF and maybe the auto mode to determine the best exposure and other settings. I believe the camera probably uses rear or slow sync instead of fill flash (which explains the 0.5s delay) exceptions will be when it sense a very dark(-EV) centre and very bright(+EV) edge, in which case fill flash would be selected.

...have you tried to see if there are any differences between auto and I-auto modes ?

hmm maybe that explain why I dont experience flash delay as most of the time I have my flash in fill-in mode and hardly use Auto mode when shooting.
 

Guys,

I'm pretty sure this is a issue. I don't shoot in auto mode or set to red-eye reduction mode. I shoot in Aperture mode. Even an experience site reviewer also encountered this problem, so I guess it's a real big issue. But funny thing is that it seems that the camera flash sometimes is ok and other time is not.. Meaning the problem is inconsistence.
 

I have not encountered this problem with both of my A55 :think: ...maybe you could send yours in to SSC for a check.

All the best !
 

I have not encountered this problem with both of my A55 :think: ...maybe you could send yours in to SSC for a check.

All the best !

same for me bro... hmmm strange.. maybe ours is different as most DSLT users complain about this issue...
 

I don't shoot in Auto or I-auto modes as there is no control over anything ! ...in these modes, you are leaving everything up to the camera thus I'm not surprised to hear of flash delays complains.

However I can duplicate the flash delays in A,S,M modes which leads me to believe that the auto modes is using a flash program which causes the delay.

I am confident of Bro tokrot's knowledge so that rules out user issues, I am concern that it's 'sometimes is ok and other time is not' which could mean a dodgy unit thus the recommendation to send it in to SSC (Since it's still under warranty ?)
 

I don't shoot in Auto or I-auto modes as there is no control over anything ! ...in these modes, you are leaving everything up to the camera thus I'm not surprised to hear of flash delays complains.

However I can duplicate the flash delays in A,S,M modes which leads me to believe that the auto modes is using a flash program which causes the delay.

I am confident of Bro tokrot's knowledge so that rules out user issues, I am concern that it's 'sometimes is ok and other time is not' which could mean a dodgy unit thus the recommendation to send it in to SSC (Since it's still under warranty ?)

oh did i told you guys my A33 fries two flash??? I was previously using sunblitz flash and I return it twice (now the the 2nd time they didn't do 1-1 exchange they brining it back to manufaturer) what happen was the flash just dies.. it wont fire anymore but I could hear the it charging the capacitor (if they still uses capacitor) . i heard from one shop it was the flash firmware issue with DSLT. Currently I am using Sunpak and it's much much better still alive though lols

Bro could you tell me what's your flash setting in A S M mode you set it up so i could try to replicate see if I could get the flash delay. tonight will try the Auto and i-Auto mode see if I could replicate the delay
 

I'm an absolute newbie with photography...
Can someone please show me a wrong picture because of the flash delay and perhaps a sort of simular photo with the right flash?
 

I'm an absolute newbie with photography...
Can someone please show me a wrong picture because of the flash delay and perhaps a sort of simular photo with the right flash?

You probably need a video on this phenomenon . I don't think any bro can capture that delay on still picture.

Before we get too excited about the delay, the time we are talking about is in terms of millisecond not seconds
 

I'm an absolute newbie with photography...
Can someone please show me a wrong picture because of the flash delay and perhaps a sort of simular photo with the right flash?

I have no photos to show because it's private.. :bsmilie: anyway, it's like a shutter lag. The flash delays 1/2 second before firing after u press the trigger. Its kinda annoying. Happens sometimes and sometimes ok.. I'm trying to figure out what's the exact issue causing it. I need more time to duplicate the fault.. :embrass:
:think:
 

I don't shoot in Auto or I-auto modes as there is no control over anything ! ...in these modes, you are leaving everything up to the camera thus I'm not surprised to hear of flash delays complains.

However I can duplicate the flash delays in A,S,M modes which leads me to believe that the auto modes is using a flash program which causes the delay.

I am confident of Bro tokrot's knowledge so that rules out user issues, I am concern that it's 'sometimes is ok and other time is not' which could mean a dodgy unit thus the recommendation to send it in to SSC (Since it's still under warranty ?)

Thanks bro for the vote of confident... :sweat: but when I assume you are referring to flash delays in A,S, M mode which you can duplicate is it the red eye-reduction stuffs etc other than the fill in flash you are taking abt? :p
 

Bro could you tell me what's your flash setting in A S M mode you set it up so i could try to replicate see if I could get the flash delay. tonight will try the Auto and i-Auto mode see if I could replicate the delay

Thanks bro for the vote of confident... :sweat: but when I assume you are referring to flash delays in A,S, M mode which you can duplicate is it the red eye-reduction stuffs etc other than the fill in flash you are taking abt? :p

Nope, my red eye-reduction feature is always OFF.

Try this:

Shutter Priorty mode
Shutter speed: 1/2 sec
Flash mode: rear sync
AF Assist illumination: Off
Red eye reduction: Off

Snap a few shots and see if this feels like the 'delay' problem you're talking about.
 

If you have a stop watch function in your handphone or watch, try taking a flash and non-flash photo of the stopwatch at every 10sec interval with different settings to see the results. You have to pre-focus or use MF, either way I am getting consistent 0.4sec lag with built-in flash. Without the flash, I am getting 0.1 sec lag. Setting : Fill Flash, Red eye off, smile detection off, face detection off, Aperture mode.

Checking the various forums, so far the only official response comes from Swiss Sony (unverify):

Original mailtext by SONY:

"Die Aufnahmeprozedur mit internen oder externem Blitz wurde bei den neuen Alpha Modellen (zB. SLT-A33/55, DSLR-A560/580) neu koordiniert. Somit wurde das Vor-Blitzen im Ablauf später angereiht und erklärt daher die Auslöseverzögerung. Selbstverständlich werden wir Ihr Schreiben intern, an die zuständige Stelle weiterleiten. Diese Meldung wird dann weiter nach Japan geleitet."

Google translate:

"The admission procedure with internal or external flash is in the new Alpha models (eg SLT-A33/55, DSLR-A560/580) coordinates new. Thus, the pre-flash in sequence lined up later and said, therefore, the shutter lag. We will of course write your internal, on to the appropriate location. This message is then forwarded to Japan."
 

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Well, I asked because yesterday I tested on some photo's of my dog in the living room. There was only dimmed light and i tried to make a photo on portret mode and with A mode. besides that, they came out pretty dark.
 

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