Fill flash?

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Guys,

I've seen alot of posted pics taken outdoors will either no flash or very clever fill flash.

How do you guys avoid getting the dark sockets if its an exceptionally bright day?

Thanks,

Rav

-- Rav Walia (ravinder_walia@hotmail.com), August 10, 2001

Answers

Lighting angle/subject positioning, reflectors, diffusers, fill- flash. Whichever seems to work in the situation.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), August 10, 2001.

Use a Nikon.

-- Josh Root (rootj@att.net), August 10, 2001.

Another vote for "use a Nikon". Seriously, this is not where Leica M's shine. I just do not take portraits outdoors with the Leica on very bright days.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), August 10, 2001.

Clever fill flash?

What the people say. Use a Nikon. Model N80 or higher, with an SB-28. Cleverest fill flash so far.

Or use an old leaf shutter fixed lens camera from the 1970s with the "flashmatic" system. Works well too.

-- Mani Sitaraman (bindumani@pacific.net.sg), August 10, 2001.


Fill-flash outdoors with a Leica (any Leica, doesn't need to be the TTL)is not very difficult, you don't need a Nikon. For maximum versatility you need a powerful flash with more than just 2-3 selectable auto-apertures (such as a Metz 40-series or Nikon SB24- 28). This allows you to get around the low sync speed which will force you into using smaller apertures than a small flash can deal with except right up close. Simply set the Leica to 1/50, meter the subject to determine the aperture, then with the flash set at an ISO 1.7-2 stops faster than the actual film you're using, set that aperture on the flash's contol panel and shoot. You can work with a simpler flash, but the limited choice of apertures can be a frustration. Another thing to remember is that thanks to the curtain travel, if you turn the Leica vertically with the shutter release/wind lever end on top, flash will still illuminate the top half of the frame at 1/125, so if you position your subject's face to be in that part of the frame you'll get fill-flash at 1/125 which allows a larger aperture (and smaller flash) to be used. Unlike an interior shot where the bottom half of the frame would be cut-off from the flash and black, outdoors the ambient exposure will light the bottom half. Since you're only using enough flash for fill (-2 stops)you won't see a demarcation.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), August 11, 2001.


A small footnote to Jay's workaround at 1/125. You can do that with any M-camera and any auto-flash, except the M6TTL and the SF-20 flash. The circuitry simply won't let the flash fire at shutter speeds above 1/50 second. A pity.

-- Mani Sitaraman (bindumani@pacific.net.sg), August 11, 2001.

Just wanted to second the use of the SB-28 on the leica M works great on my M4-P .

As a rule I use on auto as mentioned above , after doing test comparing the ttl matrex on the F5nikon and Sb-28 , and the SB28 on auto M4-P with a hand held flash meter I was quite suprised that the differance was very slight at best normaly tenth of a stop , and on the odd ocation as much as a whole half a stop . Odd how the auto flash feature on the SB-28 not mentioned more . The Sb-28 is the best thing Nikon ever did for Leica M Photography . Chuck

-- Charles C. Stirk Jr. (ccstirkjr@yahoo.com), August 11, 2001.


You can do it of course, even though its easier with a higher sync camera. Stick to 100 speed film and a very powerful flash and its possible, as long as the subject is still and not too far away. I just don't really care for the look of portraits taken in bright sun, fill flash or not, and only take them if I need to get a shot and have no controll over the time and place.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), August 11, 2001.

What will a Nikon SB-28 do on a Leica M that a Vivitar 283 will not?

Thanks,

Rolfe

-- Rolfe Tessem (rolfe@ldp.com), August 12, 2001.


The Vivitar 283 offers 4 choices of apertures in Auto mode (each color setting yellow-orange-purple-red calls for a specific aperture which depends on the film speed). With the SB24-28 (or a Metz 40MZ) you can set the flash at any aperture. This comes in very handy especially with the M6's slow sync speed.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), August 12, 2001.


I have not done this in a couple of years, but it is worth isolating the SB-28s contacts from the M6 contacts with a cheap, $10, PC cord to hot shoe adapter that slides into the shoe on the top plate of the M6. Why? So that there is no metal to metal contact between the SB- 28s ancillary (data) pins and the M6 shoe, possibly shorting out the delicate data circuitry of the SB-28. Also, it improves contact/reliability.

-- Mani Sitaraman (bindumani@Pacific.net.sg), August 13, 2001.

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