Need help/advice..

[Wiley Akin]

I’m a real estate photographer and shoot with Sony a7riii, I use a Nikon SB-700 to bounce light off the ceiling and shoot aperture priority with the drive mode BRK-S (I don’t shoot continuously so the flash capacitor can charge between shots) and merge the photos into an HDR image. 

It works OK (i know everyone is shooting Flambient now) though the flash doesn’t always communicate with the camera properly (it’ll go into standby mode after a few seconds not being used, get stuck on a setting and need to get shut down/disconnected to change, etc), so I bought a Sony brand flash (no model name/number on the front but I believe it is HVL-F45RM) in the hopes it might communicate with the camera better as well as maybe set it up wireless so I could try shooting Flambient instead of HDR. I tried it a few times and it was causing all sorts of random changes to the way the camera operated that I couldn’t seem to correct in the menu. I decided to just continue using the Nikon flash and set the Sony flash aside. 

I had an accident on Friday where my tripod was knocked over and smashed the flash so I had to use the Sony flash instead, it was doing a few things that almost caused me to not be able to get usable images from the shoot, but I managed to figure a few things out and get by. 

Here are the things it was doing that I need help with, I have tried googling all of this to no avail:

-when in Manual, with the drive mode set to BRK-S, it changes the f/stop instead of the shutter speed, something I never saw on my Nikon cameras and have never seen on this one, and I can’t seem to find anything that would change it on the menu

-when in aperture priority, it sets to 1/60 for the shutter and doesn’t adjust for the in camera metering, which flashes to indicate the settings won’t expose the image properly. When I set to BRK-S, same thing, it just remains at 1/60 with the meter indicator flashing 

- auto-white balance comes off with a terrible yellow cast. 

When I turn the flash off, both of these settings go back to operating the way they’re meant to. 

Please anyone with a tip or advice, I would so appreciate it, I have to go back to work Monday. 

[XKAES]

I know very little about your camera, and nothing about your flash, but I know that certain cameras will only work in certain ways with certain flashes.  Most Sony cameras will work in most ways correctly with most Sony flashes -- but there are plenty of exceptions.

Throw in a Nikon flash, and who knows?  I assume you have a manual for the camera, and not the flash.  The camera manual will give you general information about Sony flashes, but usually tell you to read the flash manual which usually tells you how it operates with current or older Sony cameras.  (It will also say that it can't guarantee anything with non-Sony flashes.)

If you don't have the Sony flash manual, you can probably find it on line.

Then, I would run some simple tests for the camera and flash in BASIC flash modes.  See if these work OK.  If they do start adding other modes.  Keep good notes and determine what modes work and what don't.

Just basic, time-consuming detective work.  It might be something simple, but it might be some incompatibility that you can't fix -- but might be able to work around.

Edited May 29, 2022 by XKAES

[Theomachist]

I use a Godox flash with my A7R4 and I also get that terrible yellow cast, which I always have to fix when editing.  I have tried diffent things but nothing seems to help.  Overall I have been having so many other strange problems with this camera that I´m planning to switch back to Canon, as soon as I can afford it.

Edited June 23, 2022 by Theomachist

[XKAES]

Have you run a CUSTOM WHITE BALANCE for your flash?

[michelb]

You've got yourself a few bizarre behaviors.

1) Are you using Bracketing or flash bracketing since both will provide different adjustments sets

2) When using the HVL-F45RM, everything should be OK since this is one flash that can communicate properly with your body and offer  seamless operation so your description of yellow cast using AWB is difficult to understand ( I never had any color cast issues when using this and other units unless i bounce off a colored surface) 

3) In A-Mode, it is normal for the body to be using 1/60 sec by default. With flash bracketing with your Sony flash it should remain set like that but change the power of the flash from one BRK pic to the other.

4) When in M Mode, if you are using Auto ISO, it will change ISO from one BRK pic to the other.

 

You really, really need to download the Help Guide from the Sony web site and read through the Drive mode and flash operation sections. Here is a link:

https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/e-mount-body-ilce-7-series/ilce-7rm3/manuals

 

 

Edited June 24, 2022 by michelb