Minolta Maxxum Flash 400AF User manual

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E]OWNER'S
MANUAL
trMODE
D'EMPLOI
MAXXUM
FLASH4OOOAF
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The MAXXUM Flash4000AF isdesignedfor totally automaticflash photography
with
your Minolta AF SLR. lts power zoom head
automatically
adjusts
flash
coverage
for lens
focal lengthsfrom 28mm through 70mm, evenwhile zooming.
The LCD flash
data panel
shows complete flash information, including pbwer level, flash-coverage
setting, and
minimum and maximum flash ranges.For simplifiedoperation,
the 4000AF isautomati-
cally set for full power, TTL metering,
and auto zooming when you switch on the unit.
The built-inAF illuminator
isactivatedautomatically
for autofocusing
in low light
or total
darkness.
Minolta Direct Autoflash Metering
(TTL off-the-film)assuresaccurateexposures
in all
modes.
The 40004F uses
Minolta's
new flash
program
for professional
results:
In Pmode,
fill flash is completely automatic with no calculations
or manualsettings needed.
Any
aperturecan be usedin A mode, while slow-shutter
sync
and
fill flash
arealso
possible.
ln
M mode,aperture
and shutterspeedcan be set
for creativecontrol with either
TTL flash
meteringor full manual
control of exposure.
Carefullyreadthis manual
to learnabout
your 40004F's parts
and
features,
and
keep
it
handyfor future reference.
\l
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TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Namesof parts . . .2
Batteriesandpower. ....4
Checkingbatteries ...5
Testbutton .... 5
Cold-weatheroperation. . . . . . . .6
Automatic charge
control . . .6
Attachingand
removingflash. . . . . .7
Basicinformation.. ......8
Flashdatapanel.... .....8
Power-level
selection ......9
Power
zoomhead
. . .10
Wideangleadapter ...11
Exposureadjustment.
. . . . . . . .12
AFilluminator .....12
X-syncspeeds. .....14
Camerasettings ....15
Flashsettings ..15
P-mode
autoflashoperation . . 16
Programmedfill
flash. ....17
A-modeautoflashoperation . . . . .18
Slow-shuttersync .,.19
A-modefillflash ....2O
S-modeautoflash
operation . . . . . .21
S-modefill
flash ...: ...22
M-modeoperation ....23
TTL flash exposure . .23
Manualflashexposure. ...24
Bounce-flash
photography. . .25
Accessories. .....27
Technicaldetails .....30
Careandstorage .....34
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NAMES
OF PARTS
Adapter
panelpin
Adapter grooves
Battery
cover
Powerzoom head
F
lashtube
AF illuminator
External
power
terminal
Accessory
terminal
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G
i
-.1I
/
Ffin
'rr!- [ I-
i? *l
Vertical-angle
guides
ftlm switch
Zoom headcontrol
Panel
light button
Testbutton
Flash-ready
signal
Mounting
clamP
Horizontal-angle
index
Flashdata
panel
TTL/M switch
Power-level
selector
Powerswitch
Suff
icient-exposure
signal
Mounting
foot
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BATTERIES
AND POWER
The MAXXUM Flash
is powered
by four
AA-sizebatteries.Either alkaline-manganese
or rechargeable
nickel-cadmium
batteriescan
beused.
To installbatteries:
1. With power off, slide battery coverout.
Wipe
terminalswith aclean
dry cloth.
2. Insertbatterieswith ends as
indicated.
3. Reinsert cover in grooves, and slide it
fully in.
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NOTES Checkingbatteries &
o To prevent battery leakage or bursting, To check battery capacity: Turn on
never mix batteries of different types, power and wait until the flash-readysignal
brands,
or ages. glows, indicating flash is fully charged.lf
o lf flash
will not beused for more
than two charging time is longer than listed below, '.i
weeks,
batteries
shouldberemoved. batteriesshould
be
changed
or recharged. ',
o Usedbatteries
should not be discarded
in Alkaline-manganese
30 sec.
-change
fire. Nickel-cadmium 15
sec.
- recharge
o Keepbatteries
away
from youngchildren.
o lf batteries
are
not insertedcorrectly, f lash Testbutton ,.
will not chargeand leakageor bursting
of Test firing is possible
by pressing
TEST iil
batteries
may result. button after
flash
ischarged.
6&ii{a.
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Cold-weather operation
In cold weather, always use fresh bat-
teries
andcarry
aspare
setin a
warm pocket.
For prolonged cold-weather use at approx.
O'C (32"F) or lower, use
of nickel-cadmium
batteries
is recommended.
Battery capacity
will berestored
astheirtemperature
rises.
Automatic charge
control
To conservebattery power, the 4000AF
automatically turns itself off if camera's
operating button is not touched within 15
minutesafter full chargeis reached.
lf this
happens, flash can be readied for firing
by touchingoperating
button.
'&
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ATTACHING
AND REMOVING
FLASH
To attach: With power off, turn mounting
clamp fully to the right. Then slideflash's
mounting foot fully into camera'saccessory
shoe and turn clamp to the left to secure
unit.
To remove: Switch power off, then com-
pletely loosen
mounting clamp. Graspbase
of flash, and slide flash straight out of
accessory
shoe.
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BASIC INFORMATION
Flashdata panel
The LCD panel
on the 400OAF
shows
the A'
following kinds of datat power level,flash B.
coveragewith either manual or automatic
zooming,
and flash range
with TTL metering C'
or manual
(M)f
lash
exposures.
With
camera's
meteron and flash
fully charged,flash
range A. powerlevel
isdisplayed
in flash data
panel.
Range
canbe ;' -;_
disprayed
inreet
or
meters
uv,..iing;il 3:
Filll
:."ffJ'n'
switchaccordingly.
Whenever an adapter panel (wideangle
adapter, color panel, bounce reflector) is
attached to zoom head, "PANEL" is dis-
played
in data
panel.
In low light, f
lash data panel can be
illuminated by pressing
the panel light
button (marked
LIGHT). Light remains
on
for 8 sec.
after
pressing
button.
MD %a
fA-ffiOr]
TTL
(
rull)
m
y2
mm
IE
1A
]-,
L'
UB
5
i.lI rt
LI'.
t:dff*
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Power-level
selection
The MAXXUM Flash 4000AF has six
power
levels:FULL, '112,
114,
118,1/16,
and
MD. For
maximumflashrange,FULL power
should be selected. Other settings can be
selected to reduce recycling time, control
flash range,etc. At "MD" (motor drive)
setting,
unit recycles
at up to two frames
per
sec.
for shootingflash
sequences.
Power
levelis setby pressingpower-level
selector
(marked
LEVEL). Each
time button
ispressed,
powerlevel
changes
in the follow-
ingorder:
FULL, 112,114,118,
1/16,MD,
FU
LL, and so on. ln f
lash data panel,
brackets
appeararound power level
selected.
Guide numbers
at each
power levelfor ISO
100film arelisted
on page
32.
CAUTION
When usingthe Control
Grip CG-l000
and
full power,
donotshoot flash
sequences
of more than twenty frames,
as this may
damage
the flash unit's internalcircuitry.
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Power zoom head
As soon asthe 4000AF isswitchedon, it
is set for automatic power zooming. When
camera's meter is on, the 4000AF's power
zoom head is adjusted automatically for
correct flash coveragefrom 28mm through
70mm focal lengths.With zoom lenses,
head
adjusts
automatically
as
lens
is
zoomed.
Zoom head can also be adjusted by
pressing zoom head control to extend
flash range
with short-focal-length
lenses
or
when taking bounce-flash photos.
Each
time
zoom head control (marked ZOOM) is
pressed,
setting changes in the following
order: auto zoom, manual zoom 28mm,
manualzoom 35mm, manual zoom 50mm,
manual zoom 70mm, auto zoom, etc.
Always use ZOOM button to adjust flash
coverage;do not push or pull zoom head
manually.
Store flash unit with zoornhead
adjusted
to its shortest
position.
To do this quickly,
simply switch power on, wait a moment for
head to adjust to 28mm position, then
switch power off.
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Wideangle
adapter
When lenses
havingfocal lengthsof less
than 28mm are mounted on camera,
flash-
coverage
setting in flash data panel shows
tl - - tt
mm
The wideangle adapter snaps onto the
zoom head and increases
flash coverage
to
that required for 24mm lenses.Whenever
adapteris attached;
"PANEL" is displayed
in flashdata panel.
Also, with zoom head
at itsshortest
position,
flash
rangefor 24mm
lensesisdisplayed. To attach: While holding
sides
and with its open edge
ward, gently snap it onto
head.
To remove: Hold tabs on
panel
and
detach
one
sideat
adapter by its
pointing
down-
front of zoom
either side of
a
time.
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Exposure
adjustment
The camera'sexposure-adjustment
con-
trol can be usedto vary normal TTL flash
exposure.
Refer to the explanationin the
cameraowner's
manualfor detailed
informa-
tion on how and when to use exposure
adjustment.
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AF illuminator
:l
,j
l
l
The AF illuminator's range is basedon :$
When required for low-contrast
subjects Minolta's
standard
testmethod
with a50mm .j
in low light,
the AF illuminator is activated lens.With longer
focal lengths,
cameramay 4
by pressing
operating
button halfway. This not focus lens accurately.In this case,
or l
focus-assist
illumination is projected
on the wheneverfocus
signals
blink,set focus
mode I
subject,thusenab|ingthecamera,Sauto-switchtoMandfocus|ensmanua||y.
focus system
to determine
focus
status
and
adjustthe lens.
AF illuminator is activated
only when flash
isfully charged.
The working
range
for the
AF illuminator
is 1m (3.3
ft.) to approx.Tm (ZS
ft.).
These
distances are for autofocusing in total
darkness
and are not relatedto the flash
unit's maximum flash
rangeindicated
on the
flash
data
panel.
ir
4
I
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X-sync speeds
Whenthe MAXXUM 4OOOAF
reaches
full
charge,
the shutter
speed
isautomatically
set
to the X-sync
speed
required
for taking
flash
exposures.
lf you take a picture before the
flash is charged,the flash will not fire and
exposure
is set for ambient light.The table
shows the X-sync speeds for the various
camera models and exposure modes
available:
MAXXUM 5000 and 7000: Speed resetto 1l1OO
sec.
for fastermanually
setspeeds
in M mode'
MAXXUM 9000: Speed reset to 11250 sec. for
faster
manuallyset
speeds
in M and
S mode.
14
MAXXUM
5000 MAXXUM 7000 MAXXUM
9000
Pmode 1/100above
EV 12
1/60 below
EV
12
1/100above
EV 12
1/60 below
EV
12
11250
above
EV
13
11125at
EV12-13
1/60
below
EV12
A mode Not
available 11100 11250
Smode Not
available Sameas
program
mode
1125O
or
slower
usa-
ble f/5.6 set
automatically
M mode 1
/100
or
slower
can
be set
manually
1
/100
or
slower
can
be set
manually
1125O
or
slower
can
be set
manually
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Camera
settings
After attaching
the flashunit, checkthe
following
camera
settings
:
1. Film-speed
settingfor TTL Direct Auto-
flash
Metering:
MAXXUM 5000/7000 - ISO25 to
tso 1000
MAXXUM
9000
- ISO
12totSO
1000
2. Focus mode switch: AF position for
autofocusing,
M for manual
focusing.
3. MAXXUM 5000: No other settings
are
requ
ired.
MAXXUM 7000: For single-frame
advance,
set drivemode to "S". For continuous
film
advance,set
drive
mode
to "C".
MAXXUM 9000: When advancing
the film
manually, no other settings
are required.
When using the optional Motor Drive
MD-90, refer to its owner's manual for
information
about
flash
operation.
Flash
settings
1. For maximum flash
range,
set
4000AF to
"FULL" power. Lower power settingscan
be used
for faster
recycling,
controlling
flash
range, etc. For shooting sequences,
set
power level
to "MD:' which provides
recy-
clingat up to two frames
persec.
2. Forsimplest
operation,
auto
zoom setting
should be used. Power zoom head then
adjusts automatically for uniform f
lash
coverage
at the focal length in use.When
desired for creativecontrol or bounce-flash
photos,
manualzoom settingscanbeused.
o*w,
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PROGRAMMED
AUTOFLASH
OPERATION
(PMODE}
P-mode
flash is ideal
for point-and-shoot
flash photography, since the camera sets
both shutterspeed
and apertureaccording
to
its flash program. In bright sunlight,
expo-
sure for fill flash is automatically set for
optimum results.
To use:
1. Set
camera
to Pmode.
2. Switch flash unit on to start charging.
When charged,
flash-readysignal
glows on
back of flashunit and the flash
signalblinks
in viewfinder. Also, camera-selected
X-sync
speedand aperturearedisplayed
in camera's
viewfinder
and
datadisplay
panel.
3. After focusing, check whether main
subject is within flash range
displayedon
flash data panel. lf 't < " appears
beside
minimum distance,usea higher
power
level.
lf " > " appears
beside
maximum distance,
refer to page
33 to determine actual
maxi-
mum flash distance.
4. Press
operating
button all the way down
to releaseshutter.
lf exposure
wassufficient,
flash
signal
in viewfinder
blinks
rapidly
and
"OK" signal
on flashunit
glows.
NOTE
Programshift is not possible
when using
fl
ash.
.MAK
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Programmed
fill flash
In P mode, fill-flash
exposure
is calcu-
lated
automatically.In bright
sunlight,
flash
duration is reduced
to f
ill shadowswithout
overexposingthe main
su
bject.
X-sync
speed
is
automaticallyset
accord
ing
to the ambient
lightlevel,thus
giving
morenaturalrendition
of the background.
Without flash
With programmed fill flash
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