The Sony HVL-F58AM flash unit has a rather unusual tilt / swivel mechanism called the "Quick Shift Bounce" system, which could prove rather more versatile in use than competing products. Instead of the traditional rotation around the flash's vertical axis (as adopted in, for example, Canon's current top-of-the-line Speedlite 580EX II), Sony has instead chosen a mechanism that can swing the bulk of the flash's body 90 degrees to either side. Above this is a separate mechanism which allows the head of the flash to tilt vertically upwards, but with a rather greater range of motion than is ordinarily the case. Since the lower swivel doesn't allow the flash to face behind the photographer's head, the upper mechanism makes up for this by being able to tilt anywhere from 10 degrees downward, through the fully vertical (90 degrees upward) position to a limit of 150 degrees (ie. pointing back over the photographer's head at an angle 30 degrees above the horizontal).

It's not the easiest mechanism to explain (thankfully Sony's press photos below should clear up any confusion), but it provides a good range of motion and brings a couple of important benefits. Firstly, the LCD display on the flash's rear is positioned above the lower swivel mechanism, and hence when you turn the camera / flash combo on its side for portrait shooting with bounce flash from overhead - a pretty common shooting situation - the flash's LCD display is still the correct way up for easier reading.

The other advantage is again somewhat challenging to describe, but could prove even more important when you're using a bounce reflector such as Sto-fen's Omni-bounce, rather than bouncing the flash from a wall / ceiling. Imagine you want bounce flash with the camera held in portrait orientation, and the flash head aimed so that the bounced light comes from above the camera body. With a traditional tilt / swivel mechanism, the narrow side of the flash head is facing your subject, making it difficult to accurately aim the bounce reflector at your subject, and concentrating most of the light in a fairly narrow "beam". With Sony's design, the front (wider) surface of the flash can still face your subject in this orientation, making it easier to aim the bounced light (and ensuring a less concentrated, wider flash illumination).

There's a lot more to the Sony HVL-F58AM flash strobe than the snazzy new tilt / swivel mechanism, though. The Sony F58AM has ADI flash metering or manual flash strength control, both built-in slide-out bounce sheet and 16mm wide angle panels, six-step manual or automatic zoom from 24 to 105mm (automatically taking account of whether you're using a camera body with an APS-C or 35mm frame-sized sensor), a bundled mini-stand with tripod-mountability for off-camera flash, and the ability to function as a wireless master controlling the relative brightness of up to three groups of wireless slave flash strobes individually. There's also the ability for the flash to retrieve and take account of focus distance information from lenses equipped with distance encoders, as well as for the flash to provide color temperature information to the camera body for use in determining correct white balance. A modelling light function allows photographers to visualise their lighting setup before taking a shot, and a stroboscopic flash function allows the flash to fire multiple times during a single exposure.

The Sony HVL-F58AM has a guide number of 58 meters (ISO 100, 105mm lens), and a high-speed synchronization mode allows flash sync at shutter speeds from 1/500 to 1/4000 second. Recharging between flashes takes just five seconds (said to be 55% faster than the previous HVL-F56AM model), and Sony's press materials note that a quiet recycle charge function means that the characteristic flash "whine" is prevented. The built-in LCD display is some 13% larger than on the previous model, making it easier for the photographer to confirm flash setup.

Sony's HVL-F58AM flash unit will ship this September, with pricing expected to be in the region of US$500.

Sony HVL-F58AM
General
Material	Poly-carbonate plastic
Operating Conditions
Operating Temperature	(+32 to +104°F (+0 to +40°C)
Storage Temperature	(-4 to +140°F (-20 to +60°C)
Flash Effective Range	GN58 = up to 58 meters (190 ft) at ISO100 with 105mm lens
Flash Mode(s)	Control: Bounce angles: Upward - 90 degrees; Downward - minus 10 degrees; Left/ Right (Front/Back) - 180 degrees
Flash Modes	Automatic Light Control
Power
Battery Type	AA Alkaline /AA Ni-MH - requires 4
Dimensions
Weight	15.6 oz (440 g)
Measurements (WHD)	3-1/8 x 4-7/8 x 4-1/4" (77 x 147 x 106 mm)
Supplied Accessories
Case Mini Stand
Other
Color	Black
UPC Code	027242730250
More Photos
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