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New Sony Alpha flash with a twist

Sony announces a new flash unit for their Alpha dSLRs.

Matthew Fitzgerald Associate Testing Analyst
Matthew Fitzgerald, a CNET associate editor, has been involved with digital camera technology and the photo industry for more than 15 years. His background includes work as a professional photographer, a technical representative, and a repair technician.
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Matthew Fitzgerald
Sony

Sony today announced an addition to their line of accessories for the Alpha digital cameras, the HVL-F58AM flash unit. A follow-up to the HVL-F56AM, the flash features Sony's new Quick Shift Bounce system, an innovative design where the flash head can pivot 90 degrees left or right on a horizontal axis (see photo). This lets the flash stay in the same orientation as the camera, even when the camera is held sideways for vertical shots such as portraits. You will now be able to make full use of the built-in bounce card even when the camera is rotated for vertical shots, a very useful benefit. This is in addition to the traditional pivoting up and down.

The HVL-F58AM has a guide number of 58 at 105mm and ISO 100, it also recycles in as few as 5 seconds. There is a large LCD screen that is 13 percent larger than its predecessor, a modeling flash for previewing flash effects, and high-speed synchronization at speeds up to 1/4000 of a second. As well as auto wireless flash control to control several wireless flashes. The HVL-F58AM will be available in September for about $500.