Coming just before the annual WPPI wedding and portrait show in Las Vegas, Sony announces a new flagship flash with a GN of 60.  

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 22, 2018 – Sony Electronics, a worldwide leader in digital imaging and the world’s largest image sensor manufacturer, has today announced a new flagship addition to its digital imaging range with the launch of the HVL-F60RM Flash.

Addressing the needs of the increasing numbers of professional photographers adopting the Sony α system, the HVL-F60RM offers high-power flash output, reliable continuous performance and advanced control features with integrated radio control options.

The HVL-F60RM has a guide number of 60(1) and covers illumination angles from 20mm(2) to 200mm(3), providing uniform wide-range zoom coverage without shading with continuous shooting up to 220(5) flashes. The use of heat resistant materials and the deployment of new advanced algorithms means that heat resistance has been increased by as much as 4X (4) compared to the previous model, HVL-F60M.

Further improvements have been made to the recycle time which has been reduced to 1.7 seconds(5) or just 0.6 seconds(5) with the new External Battery Adaptor, product code FA-EBA1. A unique benefit of previous Sony flashes, Quick Shift Bounce is included, allowing the photographers to quickly shift from horizontal to vertical orientation, 90 degrees left or right, upward by up to 150 degrees, and downward by 8 degrees for flexible positioning and optimum lighting for a wide range of scenes.

Independent light output level (LEVEL -/+) buttons allow direct control of output or compensation, supporting an efficient workflow. A comprehensive display facilitates adjustments and flash output level confirmation, and also provides intuitive access to flash output settings for paired wireless flashes.

Functions can be freely assigned to the unit’s four-way controller, center button, and control wheel for easy access when required. Furthermore, TTL flash output can be memorized and recalled in manual mode when needed for immediate use or use after minor adjustment. This is another feature that can simplify manual workflow and save time.

The dust and moisture resistant design (6) of the HVL-F60RM allows flash shooting even in challenging environments and a new optional Rain Guard(7), product code FA-RG1, provides added protection to the connection between the flash and camera(8). Another example of the complete attention to detail that has gone into the design of the HVL-F60RM, is the metal foot of the Multi Interface Shoe™ connection which has been re-designed for increased rigidity and reliability.

A pre-requisite for leading-edge studio set-ups, the wireless radio communication is non-directional so receiver flash units can be positioned anywhere up to approximately 30 meters(3) away from the camera, even in situations where reflectors or other obstacles would interfere with optical communication. A HVL-F60RM mounted on a compatible camera (9) functioning as transmitter can be paired with off-camera units functioning as receivers. Multiple flashes are supported with the user able to use up to 15 flash units, assigned in to up to 5 groups(10) or wireless flash control and the use of a pairing system effectively prevents interference from other electronic devices.

Pricing and Availability

The new HVL-F60RM will be available in North America in April, 2018 priced at approximately $600 US or $730 CA.

The new FA-EBA1 will be available in North America in April, 2018 priced at approximately $250 US or $330 CA.

The new FA-RG1 will be available in North America in April, 2018 priced at approximately $25 US or $30 CA.

A variety of exclusive stories and exciting new content shot with Sony’s extensive lineup of α products can be found at www.alphauniverse.com, Sony’s community site built to educate, inspire and showcase all fans and customers of the Sony α brand. Content is also available at the global Sony Photo Gallery. Detailed information pages within Sony.com for the new products can be found at:

HVL-F60RM (US)
HVL-F60RM (CA) 

FA-EBA1 (US)
FA-EBA1 (CA)

FA-RG1 (US)
FA-RG1 (CA)

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1, 200mm at ISO100 in meters
2, 14mm with wide panel
3, 35mm full-frame equivalent
4, Sony test conditions
5, With Ni-MH batteries, Sony test conditions
6, Not guaranteed to be 100% dust and moisture proof
7, Not to completely protect against water ingress. When the camera is held in the portrait orientation or at a tilt for photographing, in particular, it may fail to protect water ingress
8, With this unit attached, the camera may fail to record audio during video shooting, depending on the model. For the camera models to which this precaution applies, visit http://www.sony.net/acc/rg1/.
9, Refer to the Sony support page for camera compatibility information. http://www.sony.net/flash/f60rm/
10, In the Group flash mode. Up to 3 groups in the TTL or Manual flash mode