Rejuvenated ring flash.

With the small florets on the weeds I tried my Minolta Ring Flash again.

When I used it with film it was possible to use Adox 14 and that was Ok. Now with digital I am lucky that my SLT A77 goes down to 50 ISO.

(Why do they have to bugger about changing names. ASA to ISO Centigrade to Celsius?)

However 50 was still too high for the Minolta 80 flash, so a little while ago I made a diffuser to put on the front. Yes it worked but was not too good because it changed the colour bias.

To counteract this I bought a food container yesterday with a misted top. It has a bit of moulding but that helps to spread the light and – the main thing – IT WORKS.

Doesn’t look neat and tidy and the hole is a bit ragged. However as the lens is stopped down well that makes little difference. I can always have a go at tidying it up.

Love-in-the-Mist seed head

Prickly Sow Thistle Sonchus asper "clock"

Works well - no colour bias. 50 ISO close and at a distance 200 ISO works.

It is possible to find Minolta 80 and 1200 flashes on Ebay for around £40 to £70. The modern equivalent is up in the £300's. and that is a start not a middle price.