I have a Leica IIIC with an after market factory PC port with accurate X sync. I do NOT make a habit of using a flash with these cameras, but I ran into a bit of a problem yesterday at a wedding.

I was doing some B/W side-shooting with the IIIC in bright sun, just for the fun of it, and, in some instances, a bit of fill would have made a big difference on shadows.

I do not want to use my Vivitar 283 with it since that flash is bigger than the camera!

Does anyone have any suggestions regarding a small flash that might be appropriate for a Leica IIIC (not huge) that has auto function, moderate guide # (60+/-), and uses a PC cord which could be either put on the accessory shoe or on a small side bracket?

-- Todd Frederick (fredrick@hotcity.com), May 26, 2002

Answers

I got a used Vivtar 252 for that reason (well, for the M cameras, but the same reasons hold true).

You can get em on Ebay for $10 or so, never more than $15, and its a great little flash.

-- Charles (cbarcellona@telocity.com), May 26, 2002.

I located a new/old Yashica Quick-lite Pro-50DX (whatever that means!) that a friend gave me a few years ago. Batteries still work! Only manual control, but has a 72 guide number at 100 ft., is very small and flips from horizontal to vertical.

Another problem: I forgot how slow 1/30 sec sync is outdoors with moving subjects although I used to do that with a Pentax 67! I guess I'd need to "pose the Action." Interesting concept..."Pose the Action."

Thanks for the Vivitar 252 idea. I will check on it.

-- Todd Frederick (fredrick@hotcity.com), May 26, 2002.

I have a little flash I bought at Ritz for about $30 that I use when I'm not serious. There are a lot of off-brand, cheap flashes in this class--I picked the one I did because it would bounce.

-- Michael Darnton (mdarnton@hotmail.com), May 26, 2002.

I use a small automatic flash made by Rollei for my Minox GT-E and 35ML.

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), May 27, 2002.

Have you ever thought about using a small fill reflector? I use a Gold+Silver/White, 22" diameter that folds up to 12". Has a wrist strap, so I can even hold it while shooting. The quality of light is usually much nicer than anything you'll get from flash. In any event, they're cheap enough to check out.

-- Glenn Travis (leicaddict@hotmail.com), May 27, 2002.