hi all

i have recently bought a 18mm lens for my nikon f3, does anyone know which flashlight has a flash coverage of 18mm, which is compatible with my nikon, i know that the sb28 has a flash coverage of 18mm, but what about the third party manufacturers like metz.

thanks Dave

-- dave lee (hoi_s@hotmail.com), April 14, 2002

Answers

Sigma's EF-500 Super has a pull out diffuser that is claimed to be adequate for 17mm lenses.

-- Jim Strutz (j.strutz@gci.net), April 14, 2002.

According to this comprehensive chart, the new Nikon SB80 has the widest coverage angle, 14 mm, but Metz flash heads are limited to 20mm.

-- Bert Na (bergna@yahoo.com), April 15, 2002.

Any flash will easily cover an 18mm field of view if you put a diffuser over it. Something like the StoFen Omnibounce should do the trick.

You still will get light fall-off unless all your subject(s) are at the same distance from the flash. This is much more of an issue with ultra wideangles than with normal or telephoto lenses. With an 18mm, unless you're shooting the inside of a dome from the very center, it's likely that different things in your photo will be at substantially different distances from the flash. If you line up people against a straight wall, the ones at the edges will be significantly farther from you, and therefore darker, than the ones at the center.

-- Richard Cochran (rcochran@lanset.com), April 17, 2002.