Flash, or more specifically TTL & HSS has always been Fujifilm’s Achilles heel. Sure you could get HSS and TTL with systems like Cactus and Roboshoot, you could get some level of support, but it wasn’t native and required expensive triggers and receivers.
Then the EF-X500 came out and although there was initial fanfare, it came with a premium price a lack of wireless support. Since then, we’ve been waiting for suitable alternatives and fortunately that day has arrived.
Godox released it’s TT350F which is the first one of their proposed TTL/HSS flashes for Fuji. It’s on the lower end of the power spectrum, but it’s also a good size for a small mirrorless. With the lack of wireless support for the EF-X500, I’ve been working with a Yongnuo YN560 along with a Elinchrom Ranger for the heavier stuff, but there are times where there simply isn’t any other alternative for TTL.
It’s unusual for Australia to be the first (or one of the first) to get something. These days global release dates seemed to be aligned, so when I saw the release date for Adorama on fujirumors as the 30 June, I wasn’t expecting anything better. I emailed one of the Australian suppliers (Hypop) and asked them to let me know when the were expecting stock. I got a response to say stock had just arrived so I put in an order. Pricing was better than I expected, I haven’t followed the pricing of the Godox gear recently but A$139 (US$85 on Amazon) for a TTL/HSS flash is pretty reasonable by any standards . My Yonguo manual flash cost more than that although it is a high power output.
NOTE: FujiRumors is in no way Affilitated with Serene Automation. I don’t get any money from them.
Often I’ve been asked about TTL flash groups, why they are needed and how they work. Of course, you might ask yourself if this is something that applies to Fujifilm cameras – it does, and we will concentrate exactly on that. Flash groups are an extension beyond off-camera flash. Simply taking the flash off-camera usually improves the quality of the shot immensely. Enhanced vibrancy, depth, and wonderful shadows are a few benefits. But sometimes it would be nice to add light in more places and direct it where you want, maybe even with some color. For example, I may want to illuminate the background to resemble a cool green jungle and illuminate the subject with a more warm light. When we do that, things get a little more complex. For one thing, you need a flash trigger with multiple receivers. But, more importantly how do you balance the light and exposure? After all when you shot TTL the camera sets the exposure – blindly. The answer, of course, is flash groups. With flash groups you can add as many speedlights as you wish, assign them to one of several groups, and set the group exposure and even flash head zoom independently.
Foreground – two groups on speedlight each, one using yellow gel. Background one group with green gel on two speedlights.
In the above example I may place a couple speedlights with green gels to illuminate the background and a couple on the subject to provide warmth and depth, maybe from different angles. In this case, if I apply the background to one group and each subject light to their own group, I can control the lighting as I please. And because we use TTL, the overall result will be exposed correctly – always. But, what if I want to decrease the background? Simple, just reduce the background group’s exposure. Since it is still TTL, the camera will compensate and maintain a good exposure, but with the background a little lower.
