A portable wireless flash s
Gary Friedman, author of the popular downloadable e-book all about using Dynax 7D and 5D, explains how he uses Konica Minolta 5600 HS (D) flash units to create professional portraits
m a big fan of anything portable. Im also a big fan of Konica Minoltas wireless flash system, which is indeed portable yet more powerful than most people realize. Since I hate lugging lots of heavy studio lights, light banks, and cords when doing field work, I have devised a rather portable studio setup which, while not a replacement for more traditional equipment, is still ideal for small gigs, is relatively inexpensive, and produces outstanding results. In this article I will share the secrets to setting up a studio and making exceptional portraits using these little gems, and in the process Ill also alert you to common pitfalls. The Konica Minolta 5600HS (D) flash is ideal for this kind of work because it is quite powerful, has a swivel head and a manual flash mode, and is amazingly energy efficient. For example, I have shot weddings using only eight AA batteries in my 5600 no burdensome or bulky Q-flash, or battery pack, or cords! My portable studio setup pushes these versatile flashes to the edge of their capabilities in terms of light output and recycling time. But again, it is easy to transport, sets up in 10 minutes, and is cheaper than a low-end studio flash setup. For those of you who are not familiar with Konica Minoltas wireless flash, it is quite an ingenious invention it uses rapid flash bursts of varying duration (kind of like a Morse Code using lowintensity bursts) to communicate to any flash in the vicinity. Although the systems work somewhat differently for film vs. digital cameras, the basic idea is that the cameras pop-up flash can communicate with all off-camera flashes and control how much light is output and when to fire. Although it uses light bursts to communicate, youd be surprised to learn that direct line-of-sight between the camera and flash is not always required to have it work properly. When used indoors, the control signal from the camera will often bounce off of the subject, walls, and ceiling and still be received by the off-camera flashes, making the use of wireless pretty foolproof for automatic exposures. The basic setup requires only three flashes: One main light
bounced into an umbrella reflector, and the other two which illuminate the background. Because the white background will almost guarantee underexposure when using automatic (TTL) exposure, all three flashes must be put into Manual flash mode and checked with a flash meter or by viewing a digital test exposure and histogram to get the desired results. Older flash units such as the 5400 HS not TTL or wireless compatible with 5D/7D can be used with suitable film bodies for this set-up, but need cable connections for the 5D/7D and work at full power only.

Two heads and a sheet

For the examples, I used a large white backdrop and illuminated it using two unmodified flashes set to 24mm zoom: one pointing to the top half of the backdrop; the other to the bottom half. See photo, left, and above it examples of shots taken with this setup. Even if the coverage seems blotchy when shot as a wide angle of the set, when zoomed in the results can look quite consistent and professional. When setting up the flashes to illuminate the background, I used the 5600s swivel head feature to allow

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studio
the flash head to point at the backdrop while the control signals sensor points at the camera not always necessary but in theory its the best way. A third flash is mounted on a lightstand with a softening umbrella, near the camera position. For flash/ umbrella brackets with standard flash shoes, an OS-1100 adaptor can be used to fit the 5600s proprietary hot shoe. If the stand has a tripod head, the supplied flash stand foot is threaded to fit this and no adaptor is needed. Again, to maximize the sensitivity to the control signals, the flash swivel head is turned 180 degrees, so that the flash tube faces into the umbrella, but the wireless flash sensor is facing the subject. As mentioned earlier, the guns have to be set to manual because of the white backgrounds. To set the 5600 (or 5400, etc) to manual, hit the MODE button on the back of the flash until the displays shows a large M on the left-hand side. Then use the + and buttons to adjust the amount of output desired all the way from 1/1 (full power) to 1/32nd of full power. Using a conventional handheld flash meter to measure a wireless triggered flashs output will yield inaccurate results. The control signals from your camera pop-up flash confuse the flash meter. To make it work, you have to put an infrared filter an exposed and developed strip of color negative film works nicely, see below on the pop-up flash, reducing the control signal power so that the flashmeter picks up only the real flash

If the background light power is bright enough, a very clean result can be obtained. Gary turned from facing his subjects (above) to photograph his 5600 flash with bounce umbrella, standing just behind him, to the right, a little above shoulder height. You can see the quality of light and shadow produced by this in the shot above. Because the filtered pop-up control flash is aiming at the subject, and the main flash is behind the camera, the flash body is turned so its IR receptor faces the set.

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burst. If you dont own a flashmeter (or dont want to bother making an IR filter) you can always shoot test shots with your digital camera and check the shot using the playback histogram to make sure the amount of light being output is registering as white but not being completely blown out. When setting your studio up, check the output of the background flashes first. Hold your flashmeter in front of the centre of the backdrop and fire a test shot with the camera (remember to have an IR filter over the pop-up flash). The two background flashes will fire simultaneously and your flashmeter will measure the total amount of light on that spot. Since youre measuring the incident light thats falling onto the backdrop, you dont have to compensate by +1.5 to get it to look white. My settings are typically ISO 200, 11, and flash power. Next, measure the output of the main flash on the subject. Turn off the rear flashes, place the flashmeter in front of your subject, and fire the camera again to trigger the main flash. Using the previous settings of ISO 200 and 11, the diffusing nature of the umbrella usually warrants either 1/2 or 1/1 (full) power for the main flash. Since such high power can easily cause long recycling times, I invested in a Minolta EP-1 external battery pack which houses six C batteries and plugs into the 5600s power socket. The EP-1 reduces recycling time to something close to 1/2 second. The EP-2, which uses six AA batteries instead of six C batteries, is the successor to the EP-1, and is more commonly available. Once your flashes are set correctly, turn the rear ones back on, set your camera to manual exposure mode (safe setting, 1/60th of a second and whatever -stop you measured) and shoot away! I am probably the only person in the world to ever try to use these accessory flashes in this way.

Make it fun!

Truth be told, nobody cares about how simple your lighting setup is or how sharp or natural your skin tones are. Only other pros care about these things. People only react when a photo catches a persons true spirit. For this reason, all photo sessions much be designed to be FUN to put people at ease and relax in front of the camera. You can help by posing people so they touch and interact with each other. Digital can help by letting your subjects see intermediate results (like on a TV screen!) which tends to warm them up even faster. Away with standard boring poses! Let digital and a new paradigm herald in the age of portraits that capture spirit!

A little simpler

Does all this sound like too much work? You can greatly simplify the studio setup and get very nice results by using only ONE flash (the main light with umbrella bounce) and NOT light up the background at all. This results in darker (but not black) backgrounds as shown in the male portrait above. For this shot I used TTL (automatic) flash metering instead of manual which simplified the setup even further, and is possible when you dont have a white background.

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Drawbacks
My three-flash system does have its drawbacks. For starters, it is limited to one- to three-person portraits (group shots require more light). For finishers, flash recycling times can be slow, even when the pop-up flash is only being used to trigger the other flashes. The 7D and the 5D, for example, will only allow one shot every two seconds using the built-in flash as the trigger or wireless master. This can sometimes make it difficult to capture the truly natural expressions which almost always occur just after the first, posed picture is taken. This problem didnt occur with film cameras, where when used with the EP-1 for fast recycle times mounting an accessory flash to the camera and setting it to control mode provided no practical restriction to how often I could take a picture.
feature that you cant disable, people with slightly slower reaction times are starting to display this problem. Everyone will blink at one point or another; all you have to do is find the right interval between the pre-flash and the blink. What can be done? Bear in mind that this is NOT a digital camera problem; it is a people problem. Everyones different. If you find that you get a subject who consistenly displays droopy-eye syndrome, then switch to either film (where the pre-flash is non-existent) or a Dimage A1 or A2 (where the pre-flash is significantly longer) and the problem will go away.

Conclusion

We Minolta photographers have always been ahead of the curve. We employed our Maxxum 9000s when the pros were dismissing autofocus; we enjoyed wireless flash long before any competitor thought it was worth copying. Now with the advent of more powerful flashes and a phenomenally good digital sensor with the best skin tones around, great off-camera, bounced and controlled shots are within everyones reach. The 3600/5600 HS (D) kit can be your stepping stone to real studio skills.

Those lazy eyes

There are a small percentage of people in the world with remarkably fast reflexes. They are the ones who always seem to be blinking when the flash goes off. This happened in the days of film, too! Now with the advent of digital cameras and a pre-flash
Gary Friedman is a larger-than-life character with a great rapport, an adventurous tourist, occasionally serious traveller, expert teacher and an exceptional photographer. Visit his website (www.friedmanarchives.com) and youll spend hours reading his illustrated diaries David Kilpatrick.

New Konica Minolta 5.0-Megapixel Digital Camera: The DiMAGE Z5
Product Highlights 12x optical Mega Zoom and 4x digital zoom for 48x total zoom; complemented with CCDshift Anti-Shake System Fastest-in-class*1 Rapid AF with Predictive Focus Control High-quality pictures with 5.0-megapixel CCD, Konica Minolta GT APO lens, and Konica Minolta CxProcess III image processing technology High-resolution, shake-free VGA movies that look as good as TV images Ease of operation with large 2.0-inch LCD, compact body, and fast response Super Macro mode for shooting subjects as close as 0.4 inches from the lens 26mm wide-angle shooting (35mm equivalent) with the optional Wide-angle Converter ZCW300
Features Incredible 48x Total Zoom Range Combining the 12x optical zoom with the 4x digital zoom gives users a 48x total zoom, ideal for taking distance shots at sporting events or when capturing far-away landscapes. This incredible optical zoom delivers a focal range equivalent to a 35-420mm range on a 35mm camera lens. With the digital zoom, total zoom is equivalent to 35-1680mm (35mm equivalent). CCD-Shift Anti-Shake Function The DiMAGE Z5 uses Konica-Minoltas proprietary CCD-shift Anti-Shake function, convenient for telephoto shots and dimly lit situations. Anti-Shake compensates to minimize the effect of camera shake, allowing photographers to shoot with shutter speeds four to eight times longer (2-3 stops) than on cameras without an Anti-Shake function. The DiMAGE Z5 can correct shaking without increasing shutter speed or raising ISO sensitivity, factors that increase image noise. The CCD-shift method doesnt require extra correction lenses like optical anti-shake systems, so the DiMAGE Z5s body remains compact and light. The DiMAGE Z5s Anti-Shake system is effective in correcting both the fine movement of pressing the shutter-release button and the larger and slower movements of the users body. Rapid AF is Fastest in Class*1 for Autofocus (AF) The DiMAGE Z5 focuses in approximately 0.2 seconds at wide angle and approximately 0.3 seconds at telephoto. In Continuous AF, the DiMAGE Z5 includes Predictive Focus Control, which allows users to capture sharper images of moving subjectslike a child running in the backyard. The DiMAGE Z5 also offers improved AF accuracy through 5-point Area AF, which gives five focus areas that overlap horizontally and thus reduce AF failures that occur when subjects appear in between focus areas and cause a perspective conflict. Large, Easy-to-View 2.0-inch LCD The DiMAGE Z5s 2.0-inch LCD makes it easier to take pictures, easier to play back and view stills and movie clips, and easier to navigate menus.
Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z5 Backgrounder (contd)
5.0-Megapixel CCD for Beautiful Prints The 5.0-megapixel, 1/2.5-inch CCD produces plenty of detail for creating high-quality enlargements as big as 6x8 inches at 300-dpi print resolution. In addition, the CCD's primary color filter offers high color fidelity. Konica Minolta GT APO Lens The DiMAGE Z5 employs a high-performance lens system that supports CCDs with 5 million effective pixels. The optical lens system consists of 13 elements in 10 groups and includes two AD (anomalous dispersion) glass lenses and two aspheric elements, a construction that adds up to sharp, high-quality images. Multi-coating on 14 lens surfaces ensures minimal flaring and ghosting in all zoom ranges. A 5-vane iris diaphragm beautifully reproduces a near-circular fading effect. Superbly Detailed Images with Konica Minoltas CxProcess III The DiMAGE Z5 incorporates CxProcess III, the latest evolution of Konica Minoltas proprietary image processing technology. This means even higher resolution and the ability to capture the subtlest details of texture, resulting in photos that look as natural as the subject itself. High-quality Movies as Beautiful as TV Images The DiMAGE Z5 takes movies in VGA size (640x480) at 30 frames per second for smooth video with sound rivaling TV images. Users can also choose from other movie image sizes. The AntiShake function also works with the movie function to give shake-free telephoto movies. The XR (Extended Recording) Movie function lets users record movie clips onto the SD memory card as long as it has the capacity. With Night Movie, the DiMAGE Z5 can record in extreme low-light conditions. The Select Shot function allows users to make stills from movie clips, while the Movie Editing function allows photographers to cut unwanted parts from movie files. Get as Close as 0.4 inches with Super Macro Shoot amazing close-ups in either Macro or Super Macro modes. Whichever mode is chosen, Konica Minoltas superior image quality will make close-ups look stunning and powerful. In Super Macro mode, photographers can bring the lens as close as 0.4 inches from their subject. Real Motion LCD Monitor The DiMAGE Z5 features the Real Motion LCD monitor, which delivers crystal clear images. The smooth, realistic movement displayed on the monitor makes it ideal for shooting moving subjects. UHS (Ultra High Speed) Continuous Shooting The DiMAGE Z5 captures 20 images at approximately 10 frames per second at an image size of 1024x768 in UHS (Ultra High Speed) continuous shooting. This function is convenient for situations where users need to capture and study their form in continuous movement, such as with a golf swing. Progressive Capture With the DiMAGE Z5 in Progressive Capture mode, the last several images in the sequenceas many as 20 images at approximately 10 frames per second at an image size of 1024x768 get saved when users stop pressing the shutter-release button. So when photographing fast-moving subjects, Progressive Capture ensures that they are recorded when and where users want them. These functions are handy for shooting sporting events or for recording and improving form in personal sports training situations.

Noise Reduction Noise Reduction gives exceptional night images by automatically preventing the blemishes and graininess associated with slow-shutter shots. PASM Exposure Control and Metering Modes The DiMAGE Z5 offers incredible control over exposure. There are four modes: Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual. The DiMAGE Z5 has three metering modes: Multi-segment, Center-weighted, and Spot. Multi-segment metering uses 256 segments to determine exposure. Automatic Digital Subject Program Selection Automatic Digital Subject Program Selection automatically chooses the best recording mode for images. Users can also manually select from Portrait, Sports action, Landscape, Sunset and Night portrait modes. Key Customize For added flexibility and convenience, the flash button can be customized to handle different settings. This means that instead of going through the menus on the LCD, users can use the flash button to change settings like the drive mode, white balance, focus mode, color mode, or sensitivity. PictBridge*3-Compliant Forget all about complicated connections with a PC. Users can get fast, fun printouts directly from their camera by connecting the DiMAGE Z5 to a PictBridge*3-compliant printer. Photographers can check which images they want to print on the DiMAGE Z5s LCD monitor and then print out their favorites. Ergonomic Design The DiMAGE Z5s design is advanced yet familiar and easy-to-use. Despite its long 12x zoom range and large 2.0-inch LCD, it weighs just approximately 12 ounces. Its also easy to tote and operate even for camera novices. The ergonomic form makes it easy to keep on holding even for those steady zoom shots. Optional Wide ConverterWide-angle Converter ZCW-300 Kit The optional Wide-angle Converter Kit allows users to fit more of the scene into each shot. The lens has a 26mm wide angle thats ideal for capturing indoor or outdoor architecture and panoramic landscape shots. Compatible with Optional Flashes The DiMAGE Z5 is equipped with a built-in flash. But if users need even more flash power, the Konica Minolta Program/Maxxum Flash 3600HS(D), 5600HS(D), or 2500(D) flash units can be used.

*1 As of November 20, 2004, for 5.0-megapixel-class digital cameras with built-in lens system and 10X or greater zoom. Based on Konica Minoltas standard test method. *2 Depends on the shooting conditions. *3 PictBridge is an industry standard established by the Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA).