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Lighting

First Impressions: Sony HVL-F60M Flash

Chris Gampat
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09/12/2012
3 Mins read
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Last Updated on 09/12/2012 by Chris Gampat

The Sony HVL-F60M flash is an interesting one in the pure way it was designed. Sony creates and has always created their flashes in a different way from Canon and Nikon. The head swivels in a much more unique way and this new flash announced just today includes a new interface and a new LED light that is super useful in case a deer happens to walk onto the set of your photoshoot.

Tech Specs

– Guide No. 60 (ISO 100)

– LED light max 1200 lux

– Quick shift bounce ability

– Multi-flash ratio control

– Dust and moisture protection

Ergonomics

The new F60M sports buttons on the back that are not only very comfortable to operate, but are also not tough to work with. There is a mode button (for the various modes like manual, TTL, and others like stroboscopic and HSS). Besides that, there is a function button, menu button, dedicated light button, on/off switch and a large control dial that will remind Canon users of the old 580 EX II speedlite.

The flash also includes slots for battery packs. Oddly enough, I didn’t see a PC port anywhere for connection of PocketWizard Plus III units.

The new flash also uses the new Multi-interface shoe for the A99. Don’t own an A99? It can be used with any other non-Minolta Hot Shoe camera.

The head tilts forward, backward and from left to right much unlike the units from Canon and Nikon which basically turn around in a fashion synonymous to an Owl turning its head around. Because of this, it was a bit tough to do HSS and bounce the unit at the ceiling.

It would’ve been nice if I had a softbox to shoot through or something.

Editor’s Note and Clarification: Yes, I know that HSS can only be done with the unit pointing forward. What I forgot to mention was that I also had the included diffuser on here, and it cuts down the light output by around two stops. But I couldn’t slow the shutter speed down enough to balance out the lighting and therefore get rid of the shadow or else I wouldn’t be using the HSS mode for its designed purpose.

Here is a photo of the new stroboscopic setting interface.

This screen shows off the new look of the power level. Pretty cool and extremely modern if you ask me.

Sony did something pretty awesome here: they decided to put the LED light on the flash head instead of on the front of the flash. Because of this, the flash can also still act like a slave unit.

For strobists like me, that’s super sweet.

First Impressions

In my brief time with the F60M, I was very impressed though accept its limitations. It might be a bit tough to use at events or weddings, but I’m only saying that because I haven’t sat there and wrapped my head around Sony’s philosophy and the way they designed this flash to be used.

I seriously need to get it in, put it in a softbox, and shoot a model with it too though. Heck, I’d love to get four of them in and cause some real trouble.

Said trouble will happen eventually

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flash guide number hss led light softbox Sony HVL-F60M Speedlite stroboscopic
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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