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10/24/2013 06:53:32 PM · #1 |
I very recently bought a new camera to carry around with me instead of my big beastie.
It is the Sony DSC-RX100II and I already love it!!!!
I am making friends with all the functions, but canât get the hang of the external flash â Iâm hoping someone who owns this camera or its predecessor might be able to help me out.
Here is the stupid online manual, just in case YOU can find something useful in it.
The camera has a hot shoe (Sony calls it the âmulti interface shoe), but I canât figure out how to use it with an external flash â the onboard flash still sort of pops up every time, but canât quite make it because the big flash is now in the way, and the external flash doesnât fire, only the onboard one does.
Here is what I have tried so far:
⢠Read the manual â it is pretty useless
⢠Searched through the menus, but canât locate anything that would specifically assign the hot shoe/external flash, or disable the onboard flash, or sound vaguely useful to me in this case.
⢠Tried every possible flash settings â they only concern the onboard flash
⢠Tried three different flashes (or âspeedlitesâ) â I know that at least two of them work on the Canon DSLR
Any bright ideas for me? Thanks in advance.
Karin
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10/24/2013 07:18:33 PM · #2 |
This is probably your issue: the hot shoe is a special multi-purpose accessory shoe, and it only works natively with very late-model flashes. There's apparently an adapter you can get to make it work with older flashes.
Originally posted by Imaging Resource Review:
But if you like flash photography, you're going to have a lot more fun with the RX100 II thanks to the new Multi Interface Shoe, a Sony-proprietary intelligent flash hot shoe that's based on the standard ISO 518 hot shoe. This accepts strobes including the HVL-F20M, HVL-F60M, and the new HVL-F43M. (This last is, essentially, an HVL-F43AM with the new Multi Interface Shoe mount, and an LED video light.) You can also mount older strobes including the HVL-F20AM and HVL-F43AM using an ADP-MAA Multi-Interface Shoe Adapter. |
Taken from this useful, hands-on review. |
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10/24/2013 07:24:38 PM · #3 |
| Dang.... so does even my Canon 580EXII count as too old? |
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10/24/2013 08:38:22 PM · #4 |
I just got the same little beastie today. It's pretty sweet. It takes beautiful pictures, in many ways as good as my DSLRs, although with more DOF and less flexibility. But Oh...My...Gawd... that manual is useless. And who makes the battery charger an extra cost accessory on a $700 camera???
I hadn't even thought of the flash issue. I got it to carry around everywhere, and I figured I'd use my big camera when I wanted flash. |
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10/24/2013 09:21:31 PM · #5 |
Obligatory first day cat snap. Very poor lighting, straight out of camera.
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10/25/2013 01:22:09 AM · #6 |
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10/25/2013 01:56:45 AM · #7 |
Originally posted by Beetle:
I very recently bought a new camera to carry around with me instead of my big beastie.
It is the Sony DSC-RX100II and I already love it!!!!
Karin |
I can see it now... she will make me buy this one too. :O)
Ray |
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10/25/2013 01:58:52 AM · #8 |
Originally posted by RayEthier:
I can see it now... she will make me buy this one too. :O)
Ray |
Just as I am to blame for ALL his other gear....... sigh....... oh Raymee... you're priceless! |
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10/25/2013 02:04:43 AM · #9 |
Originally posted by Beetle:
Originally posted by RayEthier:
I can see it now... she will make me buy this one too. :O)
Ray |
Just as I am to blame for ALL his other gear....... sigh....... oh Raymee... you're priceless! |
FINALLY...I got her to admit it. :O)
Ray |
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10/25/2013 06:07:34 AM · #10 |
Originally posted by Beetle:
I agree the manual is useless, and the charger issue is pathetic. I ordered one from ebay, complete with two spare batteries, but it is sad that I had to do that.
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The large online retailer that pays my salary has a kit with 2 batteries and a charger (off brand, but highly rated) for $16.99. I'm going to get that.
I've never ever had a small camera before. I went from my dad's Pentax to my own Olympus OM-1 to a Nikon D70. This is gonna be fun...
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11/09/2013 02:47:37 PM · #11 |
Now that I've had a couple of weeks with it, I'm starting to like this camera.
  
It's not a D800, but the D800 doesn't fit in my pocket, either. The first two are zoomed as wide as it goes. The third is zoomed as long as it goes. All processed with Nik, but straight out of the camera B&W jpegs are surprisingly good.
I wish the lens went wider, but not enough to want to pay the resulting size penalty a wider lens would cause. |
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11/09/2013 11:58:10 PM · #12 |
Ugh.
My lovely new camera went in for repairs after only three weeks.
Because Sony is being ultra cheap and stingy and doesn't supply any external battery charger, I had to use the supplied USB cable to charge it.
After opening the flimsy little plastic flap to the mini USB port less than 10 times, the latch broke and it no longer shuts.
Just for the record: I am not klutzy and I take good care of my stuff, so this is NO fault of mine.
You'd think they would simply replace it, but it had to be sent off to Sony (from Brisbane to Sydney). I phoned after one week, and Sony hadn't even received it yet.
Don't know what will happen next.
I did order the charger via ebay from China the day I bought the camera, but it didn't arrive until 3 days after the stupid door broke and I took it back.
I still adore the results I was getting from the camera, but I am NOT impressed by the way Sony (plus my local camera store) has been handling this problem so far. |
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11/10/2013 09:26:14 AM · #13 |
Originally posted by Beetle:
Ugh.
My lovely new camera went in for repairs after only three weeks.
,,,,
I still adore the results I was getting from the camera, but I am NOT impressed by the way Sony (plus my local camera store) has been handling this problem so far. |
As much as I love form factor and the images I'm getting out of this camera, there are several things that Sony did as "cost cutting" moves that I don't like, especially given the price of the camera. The battery charger thing is one. The lack of a proper manual is another. I can understand leaving a charger out of the box on a $200 P&S that takes AA batteries, but this is a $750 camera targeted as a second camera for people who already have DSLR's.
Fortunately I got the $17 non-OEM charger and batteries before I broke anything, and they work brilliantly. I'd still like a proper manual, however.
Edit: They don't even need to print the manual on paper, but this is not a simple camera, and a downloadable PDF explaining how to work all the features would be really helpful. Nikon DSLR's that cost less than this thing have 400 page manuals. This has a 32 page pamphlet, about 4 pages of which are in English. The manual on the website has the exact same content.
Message edited by author 2013-11-10 14:30:01. |
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01/08/2014 06:01:28 PM · #14 |
You have no problem using the Canon 580EX II Flash on your Sony RX100 II.
I was told by ATG that I needed the following on my ATG Sony A7r+, which has the same hotshoe as the RX100 II, if I wanted to use other speedlights:
Sony ADP-MAA Adapter
Seagull SC-5 Adapter
Then just place the Canon 580EX II on top of the Seagull SC-5 and set the flash into the External Automatic Flash Exposure Sensor.
If you are lost send me an email.
An
iphoto27@yahoo.com |
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01/08/2014 06:13:23 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by An1:
You have no problem using the Canon 580EX II Flash on your Sony RX100 II.
I was told by ATG that I needed the following on my ATG Sony A7r+, which has the same hotshoe as the RX100 II, if I wanted to use other speedlights:
Sony ADP-MAA Adapter
Seagull SC-5 Adapter
Then just place the Canon 580EX II on top of the Seagull SC-5 and set the flash into the External Automatic Flash Exposure Sensor.
If you are lost send me an email.
An
iphoto27@yahoo.com |
Hi An1, welcome to DPC, and thanks for such a helpful first post. Hopefully you'll stick around and enter some challenges?
ETA: I'd be a little scared to stack three devices on the hotshoe, but it does look like that would work.
Sony Adapter
SC-5
Message edited by author 2014-01-08 23:15:58. |
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01/08/2014 06:51:59 PM · #16 |
| Thanks guys, but it is a bit too late now. I ordered the proper Sony flash a few days ago. If Australia EVER gets another shipment of them, then I'm on the back-order list to get mine. |
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01/09/2014 07:28:33 AM · #17 |
You have no choices but to stack adapter(s) when having this Sony headache hotshoe.
Stacking up to three plus are not safe when shooting portraits and landscape flash modes.
It is Sony (Minolta) second latest hotshoe which is not the same like those regular
cameras' hotshoe.
You want to get a flash that can do Commander/Remote (Master/Slave) without using the adapter.
Their are only four models that can do that:
1. ATG Gold MG8k Flash Kim X3
2. ATG Gold Pro II Flash
3. ATG Sony HVL-F60M Flash
4. Sony HVL-F60M Flash
Or using the Sony ADP-MAA (Sony Multi-Interface Shoe Adapter):
A. Metz 58AF-2 for Sony, which ATG assisted & launched.
B. Sony HVL-F58AM Flash, used.
If you are not serious, an elite or pro, then get Sony flash.
Because the Sony HVL-F60 overheat & shutdown very quickly.
Unless you are a NASA's rocket scientist with a Ph.D degrees, you will have a hard time reading the manual and that including most Sony camera manuals.
Plus it does not have a PC Sync Socket nor an ATG Auto Flash Sensor and ATG two flashheads.
For that matter Canon, Nikon and Sigma DO NOT have two flashtubes.
Then you can buy a supported Remote ADI TTL flash to get wireless IR flash in 1st, 2nd and HSS.
Or just buy another one of those above flashes.
Again, ATG/Gary Friedman and I have a hard time understanding Sony manuals. |
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01/09/2014 11:53:28 AM · #18 |
| I don't know. I've read the specs on the ATG flashes, and I think the design of the flux capacitor on the ATG flashes needs improvement. I think they might need more dilithium crystals to get full resonance. |
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01/09/2014 11:59:43 AM · #19 |
LOL.. Apparently we have a celebrity in the house.. :D
I was wondering but figured I'd just be supportive. :D
FWIW, I don't see any harm. Kinda funny really. |
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01/09/2014 05:10:03 PM · #20 |
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02/06/2014 11:53:19 AM · #21 |
Okay, back to the original topic of this thread, I told  Mike I would write a review.
Pros:
Image quality - The image quality is very, very good. Compared to my D800, at pixel peeping distances, I see a bit more noise, and a bit less dynamic range. The D800 is a monster at highlight recovery, and the RX100 II is merely good. The Sony is better at highlight recovery than my D300 was, but not crazy good like the D800. The RX100 II raw files have a bit of noise even at base ISO (160), and always have more noise than the D800, but the files are usable without needing any real help up to ISO 3200. In general, I can print as large as I want (I have a 17x22" printer) without doing anything special to the files, and I won't be able to tell which camera I used to shoot the image.
Size - It fits in my jacket pocket. It fits in my pants pocket as well, but I don't like the thought of pocket lint getting into my expensive unprotected camera. It might be a little heavy for a shirt pocket. I literally carry it everywhere.
Wifi - I didn't buy it because it had wifi, but I use the wifi a lot. I shoot, then use the wifi to transfer the images to my iPad for previewing. Very handy. I can also control the camera using the mobile app, but I've never tried it. My understanding is that the remote app only really does full auto, and I haven't really found a use for this functionality.
Auto white balance is better than my D800.
Focus peaking is very cool. I wish my D800 had it.
Cons:
Autofocus is snappy for a mirrorless camera, but if you're used to a DSLR, it will seem slow. In order to speed up the autofocus, it prefocuses on whatever it's aimed at, kind of like my iPhone does. I found for some types of street photography, the autofocus was too slow, and I had to switch to manual focus and prefocus it myself. Focus peaking is really helpful for that.
Ergonomics - The buttons are itty bitty. It would be hard to operate them with gloves. I live in a warm enough climate that this is mostly not a problem, but it's worth considering. The menu system is not horrible, and things are pretty configurable, but this isn't really a strong point of the camera.
Shooting into the sun, the little lens is more prone to flare than I'd like.
Both the manual and the on-camera help system are terrible to the point of being useless. For example, in the section on the menu items, the text for Aspect Ratio is "Sets the aspect ratio." There are a lot of interesting features on the camera. Some of them I could figure out on my own. Some look like they would be really cool if I could figure them out. It took me several tries to figure out how to set a focus point, for example.
Battery - Battery life is about what you'd expect. I have no idea how many shots I'm getting. I usually carry the camera around for a week before the battery dies. There are a couple of problems, though. The first is that the battery indicator is buried on a display that I don't normally use, so I'm nearly always surprised when the battery dies, mid shot, leaving the lens sticking out. The second problem is that the camera doesn't come with a charger. I found a perfectly good non-OEM charger with two extra batteries online for $17, but a camera in this price range should have come with both a charger and a decent manual. The non-OEM batteries don't report status to the camera correctly, so even if I were watching the battery display, I wouldn't know they were about to die. I always carry extra batteries now.  Beetle broke the little flap over where the charging cable plugs in, and I've heard tales of people breaking the battery door off.
The LCD is actually pretty good, but it's hard to compose a shot using the LCD in the sun. The problem is not specific to this particular camera, but if you're coming from a DSLR, you may not be happy. There's a $400 EVF that's available, but $400?
If you're used to the shallow DoF you can get with a DSLR, especially a FF DSLR, you'll be surprised at how much DOF you have with a 1" sensor. If I work at it, I can blur the background some, but I've found that I have had to change my style of photography a bit, to pay attention to my backgrounds instead of just blurring them out.
Shutter speed - In aperture priority and all the auto modes when I'm using auto ISO, it tends to choose a slower shutter speed than I would. For the shorter focal lengths, it chooses 1/30, for example. As a result, I shoot in shutter priority mode a lot.
Other comments:
I have the Sony filter adapter. It works fine. I use it with a 49-52mm step up ring, and use the 52mm filters I already had. I also use a 52mm screw on hood I had from another lens, which helps for flare, but not pocketability.
Macro mode only works zoomed to 28mm, but then you can shoot about 3" away from the lens. Apparently it works well with the Canon close up filters, but I haven't tried that yet.
I know I listed more cons that pros, but the important things (image quality, size) fall on the pro side, and the problems tend to be minor. One thing that's worth mentioning is that the lens is a 28-105 f/1.9-4.9. I've been in a few situations where I wanted it to zoom wider, and I always want it to be faster, but to get a faster lens with a larger zoom range in the same size package would break the laws of physics. In camera design, everything is a compromise, and in most things, the choices they made were the right ones. I like this camera, and use it a lot.
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02/06/2014 03:25:39 PM · #22 |
Originally posted by Ann:
Okay, back to the original topic of this thread, I told Mike I The second problem is that the camera doesn't come with a charger. I found a perfectly good non-OEM charger with two extra batteries online for $17, but a camera in this price range should have come with both a charger and a decent manual. |
I thought the review at DPReview.com said it came with a charger ... though I always prefer a camera which can use regular AA batteries anyway ...
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02/06/2014 04:43:28 PM · #23 |
Thanks Ann, i'm still up in the air on whether I want to splurge for this of go with a Canon G1x or G16. The Sony has a smaller sensor but it keeps topping the G1x on all the image quality comparisons I can find.
im still not sure the Sony is worth the xtra $200 or $300 over the canon..
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02/06/2014 04:44:39 PM · #24 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Originally posted by Ann:
Okay, back to the original topic of this thread, I told Mike I The second problem is that the camera doesn't come with a charger. I found a perfectly good non-OEM charger with two extra batteries online for $17, but a camera in this price range should have come with both a charger and a decent manual. |
I thought the review at DPReview.com said it came with a charger ... though I always prefer a camera which can use regular AA batteries anyway ...
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i believe you can charge it through the camera, it doesn't come with an external battery charger |
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02/06/2014 04:55:40 PM · #25 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Originally posted by Ann:
Okay, back to the original topic of this thread, I told Mike I The second problem is that the camera doesn't come with a charger. I found a perfectly good non-OEM charger with two extra batteries online for $17, but a camera in this price range should have come with both a charger and a decent manual. |
I thought the review at DPReview.com said it came with a charger ... though I always prefer a camera which can use regular AA batteries anyway ...
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Nope, doesn't do that either. Proprietary battery, no charger. |
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