Evaluation of Sony HVL-F60RM new flagship high-speed flash.

IT 168 Evaluation With the gradual development and improvement of Sony Quan Huafu micro-A7 series cameras in recent two years, users' demand for lenses and related accessories has gradually increased. Flash is one of the necessary accessories for professional photographers, but Sony has always lacked a real flagship product in this field. Finally, in February of 20 18, Sony officially released a brand-new top flash product: Sony HVL-F60RM flash. The editorial department was also lucky to get this product. Let's take a look at what's extraordinary about this so-called flagship flash evaluation.

Sony HVL-F60RM

Highlights: Sony Quan Huafu micro-single essential accessories

As the highest-end flash of Sony, Sony HVL-F60RM flash can cover the focal length range of 20-200mm. This flash is fully functional. In addition to TTL automatic flash, this product also has the functions of high-power output continuous shooting, multi-lightning station control, P-TTL flash, optional flash distribution, high-speed synchronization and so on. In addition, it is equipped with LED fill light function, which is relatively rare in the same level of products.

In addition, it should be noted that the maximum flash index of Sony HVL-F60RM is around GN60, which supports high-speed synchronization and radio flash function. When it is used as the main light, it can connect up to 5 groups 15 subordinate flashlights.

Callback speed has always been one of the important indicators to consider the performance of flash. HVL-F60RM flash greatly improves the return time when shooting, reducing it to 1.7 seconds. Combined with the new algorithm of flash interval, the maximum number of continuous flashes can reach about 220. (With FA-EBA 1 flash charging battery compartment and two sets of batteries listed at the same time, the number of continuous flash charging is increased to about 660 times, and the callback time is shortened to 0.6 seconds. )

Appearance details

The overall volume of Sony HVL-F60RM is not large.

Sony HVL-F60RM flash lamp has the characteristics of small size, light weight and portability. Its size is 78.1mm×139.5 mm×104.6 mm and its weight is about 449g g.. Spraying on the surface of plastic shell feels comfortable. Sony HVL-F60RM, as Sony's flagship flash, has no top-heavy feeling when used with Quan Huafu micro-single. Sony HVL-F60RM flash has good dustproof and splash-proof performance, which ensures that this flash can follow the photographer to complete shooting in various complex environments.

Sony HVL-F60RM Lamp Cap and LED Fill Light

Sony HVL-F60RM flash has a simple front and three LED lights, which are used to provide additional lighting for indoor shooting and outdoor backlight shooting, especially for dynamic image shooting. At the same time, the LED lamp can also be used as an autofocus aid to ensure accurate autofocus of dark subjects. In addition, Sony HVL-F60RM flash lamp also has the functions of photosensitive flash, wireless slave and external photometric flash, and the related receiving device is also designed on the front of the lamp body.

After pulling out the adapter of reflective flash lamp cap, it can provide additional diffusion for flash lamp, and the lighting area is wider than that of direct flash lamp, which is more suitable for still life shooting and can create softer shadows.

Design of LCD and dial of Sony HVL-F60RM

The back of the flash adopts an intuitive dial design. You can quickly adjust the flash mode, increase or decrease the flash compensation or set the flash power to improve the shooting efficiency.

cell box

Rice metal hot boots

Miniature USB interface

Sony HVL-F60RM flash is still powered by the traditional 5th battery (it is recommended to use a rechargeable battery with larger capacity). As the bottom of the fulcrum connected with the outside world, MI metal hot boots are more durable after upgrading, which can effectively reduce the possibility of damage. Through the MICRO USB interface on the fuselage, you can link with the computer to update the software.

Comes with white, amber and green color filters.

Sony HVL-F60RM can also use the attached white, amber and green filters to match and supplement the existing lighting to achieve natural white balance or create a specific lighting atmosphere.

Sony HVL-F60RM lamp holder has a rich steering angle, which supports folding up 150 and folding down 8. In addition, the lamp holder can be rotated by 90 degrees left and right, and can be quickly switched from the horizontal direction to the vertical direction.

System menu

Simple operation interface, efficient completion of the photography process.

For beginners, the menu design of Sony HVL-F60RM is intuitive and the classification is clear. For professional photographers, adjustable options are very rich, and the combination of dial and keys can improve work efficiency and realize more creative shooting.

The focal length of the flash of Sony F60RM covers the end of 20-200mm, and the diffuser can also cover 14mm, which basically covers all the lens focal sections we commonly use. In addition to manually adjusting the coverage focal length, it can also realize automatic adaptation in the automatic gear.

Random wireless flash

Sony HVL-F60RM supports the function of wireless flash. The wireless flash provided randomly can allocate up to 15 flash to five groups for wireless flash control, thus realizing flexible wireless shooting experience. After using the wireless controller, the control range with a maximum diameter of about 30 meters can be realized. For shooting distant objects or sites with complex terrain, the practicability of the wireless flash function is prominent.

Real shot test:

Among the many highlights of Sony HVL-F60RM flash, the most attractive one is its powerful quick callback ability. Combined with the high-speed continuous shooting function of the camera, motion capture and various creative shooting can be realized.

The Effect of Using Sony HVL-F60RM in continuous shooting Mode

In the test, we took some still life photos. As can be seen from the screenshots of the sample thumbnails, Sony F60RM basically provides a consistent lighting effect with no shadow. We also filmed a small video recording the continuous shooting flash of Sony F60RM. I hope everyone can feel the powerful strength of this flash.

Real shot sample:

Next, we selected a leather art studio to see the strength of Sony's flagship flash in creating an atmosphere through a group of still life photos.

From the above photos, we can see that Sony F60RM can restore the details of the subject well in the environment where the indoor light is not bright enough, and the ambient light created is not particularly stiff, which has a good shaping effect on the texture of the subject. White balance is also very accurate. A little later processing can reflect the sense of the picture.

For portrait shooting, flash is also an indispensable accessory. Participate in parent-child activities on weekends and take this flash to experience indoor portrait snapshots. Children's action expressions are rich, but it is difficult to capture them, especially in the case of insufficient indoor light. But the fast flash of Sony F60RM flash came in handy.

Judging from the actual proofs, the atmosphere created by Sony F60RM with soft light mask is very soft, and the children's expressions are captured quickly and the details are captured in place. The excellent resolution of Sony G main lens SEL2470GM greatly improves the success rate of film production, and the shooting effect is also worthy of recognition.

Evaluation summary:

As the new flagship of Sony's own external flash, Sony HVL-F60RM has greatly improved its performance compared with the previous products, with simpler and more convenient control mode, brighter brightness and more accurate white balance, which fully deserves the title of Sony's new flagship flash. The front LED lighting can play a very good role in the shooting process, and it can also assist the camera to focus automatically in the dark environment. The flash coefficient of GN60 also makes this Sony HVL-F60RM have a wider flash range, especially better support for telephoto (up to 200mm focal length), which is very attractive for friends who like to shoot with telephoto. In addition, the support of wireless flash and multiple flash further expands the application range of this Sony HVL-F60RM.

Generally speaking, Sony HVL-F60RM, as Sony's latest flagship flash, has comprehensive functions, fine workmanship, fast callback and wide coverage. Its appearance gives users a more firm reason to choose Sony.