NEX 5 Flash unit

[sadowne46]

NEX-5

Does anyone else have any quibbles with the flash unit for the Nex?  It is very limited and not having the hotshoe fitting prevents the use of stand-alone flash units. My results using the flash supplied have been disappointing. Colours have been disappointing, I have been trying to take pics upping the IOS, which makes pics grainy. Suggestions please.

[Blencogo]

Hi sadowne46 and welcome.

There is an upgrade for the NEX-5 flash unit available here: -

http://www.sony.co.uk/product/nex-accessories/hvl-f20s

It is only GN20 but a significant improvement over the supplied flash.

Alternatively, have you tried the 'Anti Motion Blur' Mode?

[Mick2011]

As Biencogo points out, the upgraded flash has a slightly higher output, which may help improve image quality in certain circumstances. It should help you get better flash performance at distance, which may be the source of your problem.

It's probably helpful to know what the guide number (GN) means in real-life situations: it's an expression of the power of the flash output over distance. So a higher GN will create a good exposure upto and including the number (in feet, at ISO 100) represented by the GN. Any further to the subject and the flash will not perform as well, or you will have to raise the camera ISO to compensate.

Hence even the lower (GN16) flash you have should perform well, as long as you keep the subject distance down.

Have you tried the flash for nearby subects and it still gives a poor result?

Cheers

Mick