any tricks or suggestions on its use. Seems straight forward. One thing I don't care for is that the exposure compensation is not retained once the unit is turned off.

-- Don M (Maldos@home.com), December 14, 2001

Answers

It's very straightforward, just as it appears. If you want flexibility in flash positioning for bounce or whatever, buy a Nikon SC-17 flash extension cord and you'll get all the dedicated functions. I have heard that the Contax TLA extension cord is also compatible but haven't tested it.

-- Godfrey (ramarren@bayarea.net), December 14, 2001.

One thing that is not obvious is that you do not need to set the aperture on the flash. If you do, the information that is displayed is for information purposes only -- that is, the minimum and maximum distance range for that aperture. You can use any aperture on the camera and the flash will deal with it without any special machinations on the flash.

-- Rolfe Tessem (rolfe@ldp.com), December 14, 2001.

Don , If you would keep us updated with your experances with the new flash, I have an SF-20 on order and would apreciate any help in shorting the learning curve . I am sure that others would gain from your experiences also .

-- Charles C. Stirk Jr. (ccstirkjr@yahoo.com), December 15, 2001.

I have been using the SF-20 Leica flash and the M6 TTL (0.85) for several months, and can say that the SF-20 is just great. Just set the flas to 1/50 sec. (or slower) shutter speed, set the SF-20 on TTL, choose an f/stop on the M6 that is suggested by the flash, and have confidence in the results. So far, every photo has been exposed perfectly. Since the guide number is a bit low, I donb't try to get adequate flash results at too far of a distance from the subject (over 20 feet). However, from 2 feet out to 20 feet, I think that the SF-20 does great. It's small and light-weight.

I was not sure about some of the instructions for the SF-20, so I telephoned Leica's tech support. I was told that this flash on an M6 TTL body will work in either the Manual or TTL modes. I was told to not use the Auto mode (since the Auto mode is reserved for the R bodies). At least that is what I was told.

The SF-20 also works when connected to the Nikon SC-17 sync cord. As far as this flash not having the ability to bounch the flash off the ceiling, etc., since there is no swivel head, I have not been limited in this way. The need for a flash that is accompished in this regard also suggests that an SLR or medium format camera is also needed. I don't think that the M6 should be the workhorse for this kind of photography anyway. But for many of the kinds of photos that an M series camera can excel, the additional of an SF-20 flash in yor camera bag is great. Regards.

-- Steve Brantley (sbrantley@nccommerce.com), December 17, 2001.