Minolta AUTO ELECTROFLASH 450 User manual

MINOLTA
AUTO
ELECTROFLASH
450
OWNER'S
MANUAL
e

NAMES
OF PARTS Wideanglediffuser
Flash
tube
andref
lector
withguard
window
Built-in
sensor
Mon
itorlamp
Bracket
rel
Cartridge
socket
Connector
Cartridge-socketcap
Connecting
bayonet
Cartridge
rel
AM battery
cartri
Tripod
socket
Bracket
Attaching
screw
and
k
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Distance
scale
510v
power
socket
Aperture
scale
Controlknob
Normal/wide
switch
F
ilm-speed
window
Power
switch
Open-flash/test
bu
tton
H
andgrip
Sy
nc.-cord
/sepa
rate-senso
rsoc ket
Sync.
cord

Optional
accessories 510vbattery
pack
N
i-Cd
battery
cartridge
Ni-Cd
batterycharger
Separatesensor
Sensorsync.
cord
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ra
S-PECIFICATIONS
Type: Versatile
bracket-type
automatic/manual
electronicflashunit .5
withenergy-saving
series-SCR
(thyristor)
circuit
Flash
duration: 1/20,0001o1/6Ob
sec.inautomaticoperation,
1/600
in
manual
(
non-automatic)operation
Flash
power: Up
to79
Ws
Colortemperature. Balanced
fordaylight-type
color
f
ilm
Coverage
and
guide
number: Normal:
45" horizontally,
30" vertically
for normalor longer
l?n:lefi;;"i.3?ffi
;I;Riflil,lT1'5i:$J,:.3,i;
in meters
atASA 10O,74
infeet
at ASA 25,
or 32for
meters
at DIN 18
wid
eansIerLs'
i%i
jj:i:i ;:"ELP'?:iti.?,
i
yto,.widea
ng
Ierenses
(e.9.,
downIo 24mm
on full-frame
35mm
cameras)
at
in
feet
atASA25.
or i6for meters
atDIN1B
Working
ranges
atASA
100: Normal Wideangle
F2.8. 1.8 -16 m (6'-52') 1.8 -7.9m (6'-26')
F4: 1.3 -11 m(4'-36') 1.3 -5.bm (4'-18')
F5.6: 0.9 8 m (3'
- 26'1 0.9 - 3.9m (3'
- 13')
FB : 0.6b
- b.bm
(2,2,,_
18,) 0.6b
_ 2.gm (2,2,'_
g,)
Fl1: 0.5 4 m(i'8"-13') 0.5 -2.0m (7'8"-G'7"1

Built-in
sensor: Silicon photo diodewith 23" angleof acceptance;
inoperable
when
separate
seAsor
attached
Power
sources: 6
alkaline- 6 nickel-
manganese cadmium b10v
' AA cells AA cells battery
Number
offlashes:
At full power: 70 -900* b0
- 420 2OO
*2OOO
Within
%stop
under
full
power: 100
- 1100 b0
- 420 300
- 3OO0
/Recyclingtime:
Tofull
power:
Towithin%stop
under
full
power:
1-23" 0.33-7 0.33-3
1-14 0.33-4 0.33_2
* Depending
upon
subjectdistance
controls: Dialfor
setting
film
speeds
ASA25 - 400
(DlN
15-2v), knob
to setcomputerfor aperturesF1
.4- F22inautooperation
or
switch
over
to manual, normal/wide
switch,
power
switch
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Monitor-circuit
lamp:
Accessories:
Size
andweight:
Glowssteadilyto indicate
capacitoris
chargedto provide
expo-
sure
within %stop
of full {rarge
andblinkswhenfully charged
Supplied
with
basicunit,connector,
andbracket:
Sync.cordandAM batterycartridge
Optional: Separate
sensor
(specs
sameasbuilt-insensor),
sensor
sync.
cord,Ni-Cdbattery
cartridge,510vbattery
pack
withcord,
and
Ni-Cdbattery
charger
Width
98mm
(37/e"),
depth103mm
(41k"1,
height230mm
(9tk"l;
TBOg
(27%
oz.l

CONNECTING COMPONENTS
1. To attach connector to handgrip,
loosen the holder band byt turning
both screws on the opposite side of
the connector
counterclockwise.
Then
slide the band over the end of the
handgrip
to thedesired
position,
rnake
sure the connector is at the desired
angle (normally 90") to the flash
lighting
axis,
and tighten
the bandin
place
by turning the screwsclockwise.
2. To attach the bracket to the camera,
begin screwing the attaching screw
into the camera
tripod socket,
careful-
ly align
bracket
at right
angles
to the
lens
axis,
and
tightenin
place
with the
knob.
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3. To attach the bracket to the connec-
tof, first depress
both bracket release
grips.
While
doing this,slide
thecon-
nector'sheaded
stud into the slot on
the bracket
as
far as it will go.
Align
the rearmost white dot on the con-
nector with the index on the bracket
andrelease thegrips.
4. Plug the sync. cord into the socket
provided
on the handgrip
andconnect
the other end with the X sync. flash
terminalof the camera.
NOTE:
When the flashgun is usedattachedto
the bracket, it should be kept pointed
straight
ahead
parallel
to the lens
axisat
usualdistances.
For close-ups,it should
be turned slightly so as to point at the
center
of thesubject.

LOADING
AND ATTACHING AM BATTERY
CARTRIDGE
1.
To load, remove
the coverfrom the
AM battery cartridgeby turning the
screw
counterclockwise.
Insert
six
AA-
size (penlight)
i.5v alkali-manganese
cells
(Mallory
MN-1500
or equivalent)
with positive
(+)
andnegative
(-) ends
positioned
as indicated
inside
the car-
tridge.
Then align
the projections
on
the cover with the matching inden-
tions on the cartridge
and fastenthe
two parts firmly together again by
means
of thescrew.
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2. f o attach, with the flashgun
power
switch in the OFF position
insertthe
connecting bayonet of the cartridge
into the cartridgesocket
at theendof
the handgrip,
push
the two parts
to-
gether
slightlyand turn the cartridge
clockwiseor counterclockwiseuntil it
locksin
olace.
3. The
cartridge
is
removedby sliding the
cartridge
release
away from the hand-
grip
and turning
thecartridge
in
either
direction until its bayonet can be
lifted
out of the
socket.

USUAL
DIRECT
OPERATION
Automatic
1. For normal
or telephotolenses*,
the
wide/normal
srrritch
onthe back
of the
flashgun
should
be
snapped
allthe
way
into the NORMAL position
and the
clearguardw.indow
in front of the
flashtube and sensor
shouldnot be
covered
orobstructed
byanything.
2. Make-su
re that the cameraisset for
X-synchron
ization and/or that the
flashgunis properly connected
with
the
X-sync.terminal
of the
camera.
3. Also
makesure
that
thecamera
is
not
setfor a sh
utterspeed fasterthanthe
manufacturer's
recommendationfor
electronicflash in the instruction
manual.
(Between-the-lens
bladeshut-
ters can often be set at speeds
up to
1
/500 sec.,wh
ile 1
/60 is often the
max
imu
m safe speed
for fu
ll-frame
35mm cameras with focal-plane
shut-
ters;
if in
doubt,use
1l3O
sec.
withthe
latter.
)
* of 50mm focal length or longer
on
ful
l-frame
35mmcameras
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4. By means
of the grooved rim of the
f
lashgun's
control
dial,
turn
ituntilthe
index
isaligned
with the
speed
rating
of the film in use. (Dots on the
film-speedscale
represent
ASA ratings
of32,40,64,80,
125,160,25O,
and
32Oor D
lN indexes
of 16,
17
, 19,20,
22, 23, 25,and26,
respectivelyfrom
left
to right.)
5. The computer
will vary flashduration
from 1/600 to 1
120,000sec. to pro-
vide auto-flash
exposureat the range
of f
ive F-n
u
mbers appearing in the
g
reen area
visib
le throughthe apertu re
scale.Turn the control knob to setthe
wh
ite index at the desired aperture
with
in th is
range.*
(The indexmay be

setbetweenclick-stops
if desired.)The
ends
of the two circular
red lines
on
the distance
scaleindicate
the maxi-
mum range
of the flash
at the aperture
set. Note th is caref
ully, sinceaverage
subjects wil
I be underexposed
at d
is-
tancesfa ll
ing within the red lineson
thescale.
Minim
u
m f lash
-to-su
bject d
istance,
on
the other hand
, varies
with the aper-
turesetfrom 0.5
to 1.8m
(1
ft. B in.
to
6 ft.); seethe specifications
(p. 6) for
details.At distances
shorter
than these,
subjectswill beoverexposed.
For normal exposure, set the lens
apertureto the same
F-number
as
set
on the
f
lashgu
n.
With a properly loaded AM battery
cartridge attached, slide the power
switch to ON. (For operatinginstruc-
tions
when usingan N i-Cd,cartridge
or
the 510v battery pack, see p. 27 or
p. 29, respectively.
) Witfr f
resh bat-
teries,the monitor lamp
will come on
within about ten seconds and will
7.
6.
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8.
begin
to blinkonandoffwithinabout
23 seconds.For full power, the
moni-
tor mustbeflashingbeforethe flash
is
fired. lf necessary or desirable,
how-
ever,
itmay
be
f
ired
while
only
lighted
before
starting
to flash,but in this
case,to assureadequate
exposure,
maximumflashrange
shouldbecon-
sidered
to be the distanceappearing
at a point halfway betweenthe F-
numberat whichtheindexisset
and
the nextF-numberto the right
of it.
Further,inthis
case
the
manual
guide
numberis38
forcalculations
inmeters
at
ASA 10O,62
infeet
atASA
25,or
2l inmeters at
DIN18.
Fire
the flashby releasing
thecamera
shutter.At full power
with monitor
flashing,
number
offlashes
per
AM bat-
tery cartridgewill be betweenabout
70 and 900,and recycling timewill
be betweenone and23 seconds,
de-
pend
ing upon subject
d
istance.
At
partial
power
with monitor glowing
steadily,
numberof flasheswill be
from about 1 00 to 11 00; recycling
time,
from aboutoneto 14 seconds.
For more
flashes
or shorter
recycling
times,usean Ni-Cdcartridgeor 510v
battery
pack
(see
p.271
*CAUTION:
At settings
to the
left
of the
5-aperture
greenareaon
the
dial,adjustment
offlash
duration
is not automatic
and
will be
at
fu
ll power ataf
ixed
1
/600
sec.

Manual
operation
For non-automatic
exposu
res at the
max
im
u
m f lash
du
rationof 1
/600 sec. :
1. Make
f
ilm-speed
and
othercamera
and
flash adjustments
as indicated in in-
structions
1
th
rough
4onpp.
1
2 and1
3.
2. Turn the control knob index to the
MAN
UA
L setting.
3. Note the F-numberappearing
opposite
the appl
icable
flash-to-subject
distance
at any point on the f
lash
d
ial (green-
area
range
lim
its
arenot applicable
in
manual operation).
Then set the lens
aperture on the camera to this F-
numberfor normal
exposure.
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4. Further operation is as describedin
instructions
7 andBon pp. i4 and 15.
Because the flash operates at fixed
maximum duration on manual,how-
ever, the number of flashesat full
power would be about 70, with a
23-sec. recycling time; at partial
power, about 100 with 14 sec. Fur-
ther, at partial power, the lensaper-
ture should be opened one-half
stop
morethan indicatedby the dial.
(With ASA 25 or D
lN 15 f
ilm, f or
example,
the flashdial indicates
an aper-
ture of betweenF4 and F5.6
for asubject
5m or 16 ft. from the flash. Set the
camera lens aperture to the F-number
opposite
the applicable d
istance
- say,
be-
tween F4 and F5.6 for a distance
of 5m
or 16 ft., or one-halfstop farther
open,
i.e.,atF4for partialpower
- and
proceed
to shoot.)
NOTE:
Exposure
atapertures
indicated
should
be correct for subjects
andsurrounding
conditions
of average
reflectivity.
With
very
light-colored
subjects
andlorin
small,
brightrooms,
etc.,
exposure
may
need
to
be reduced
by closing
the lens
aperture
down somewhat.
Dark-colored
subjects
and/or large,
high rooms;
outdoors
at
night;
andcomparable
conditions
general-
ly require
increasing
exposure
somewhat
by opening
the lens
aperture.
The
exact
number
of stops'increase
or decrease
in
exposure
will of course
vary with indi-
vidual
conditions.
lt is
generally
recom-
mendable
in non-average
conditions
to
take "bracketed" exposures
at several
different
apertures.

WIDE SW]TCH
AND DIFFUSER
The clear guard window with the
NORMAL sl.ritch setting will provide
proper f
lash coverageand exposu re for
lenses
of normal
or longer
focal length.
*
For wider-angle
lenses
havinga diagonal
angleof viewof up to about
85o:
**
1
. G
raspthe tab and pu
ll the opal
plastic
wideangle d
iff
user plate out of its
storage slot, push the non-tabbed
longer edge of it against
the spring
tension
into the retaining
groove
above
the slot,andsecure
it in place
overthe
f
lash
tube with the lower edge
beh
ind
the two small tabs at the bottom of
the
guard
window.
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2. To adjust the computer and dial for
proper exposure, snap the wide/nor-
mal sruitchall the way to the Wl DE
posit
io
n
.
3. Proceed
as
for usual
operation (p.12], .
In wide.as
in normal
operation,
if the
flash is to be fired while the monitor
lampis
only lighted
but not blinking,
the
maxim
u
m rangeis the d istance
that ap-
pears
at a point halfway betweenthe F-
number
at which the index is setand
the
next F-number to the right of it. The
manual
guide
number in wide operation
in
this
caseis
1
B
for calculationsin meters
at ASA 100,30 in feet at ASA 25,or 13
inmeters
at DIN 18.
* (i.e., 50mm or more on full-frame
35mm cameras)
** (i.e.,
down to 24mm focal length
on
fu
ll-f
rame35mm cameras)