F3 compatible flash ?

I have an old F3 that I want to use for flash photography. Do not

like the units that sit on top of camera, too awkward. How do I

connect a bracket held flash and still get the TTL. What is a good,

not too expensive, flash unit for this setup? Thanks in advance.

Hi Bill- The bracket mount flash which provides TTL with the F3 is an SB 14 and you will need an SC 12 cord to make it work. KEH usually has a few of these available on their website. Hope that helps.

 

Bob

Not expensive, and not on top of the camera (or almost, in the case of the F3)?

 

First get the correct adaptor for TTL flash with the F3, which I guess is the AS-17. Then,

get the SC-17 cord, and shoot holding the flash in your left hand. You can aim it as you

like, high, low, arm extended, close to you... Provided you have a lens with a smooth

focusing ring, you can focus with your middle finger from underneath the lens, the flah

resting in your palm, between your thumb and first finger. Of course, set the F3 to 1/60th

or slower. Then, aim the flash at will and fire away. Not very fast, but economical.

 

As for the speedlight itself, I guess the AS-17 lets you use a great number of different

models from Nikon in the SB line.

 

Have fun. Great camera, the F3.

 

My $0.02.

A Sunpak 555 with the proper module and cord will give you what you want. They are still in production, and there are usually a fair amount of used ones on the market.

Bill:

 

Why not consider non ttl? I used a SB-16 along with a Sunpak over the years - shooting on "A" with the Sunpak was as good as the Nikon flash - may want to give it a try.

 

Could pick up a bracket & synch cord & a flash for about the same money as a SC-17 of which I've owned.

 

Good Luck

why not try lee's suggestion. get a bracket (camera flip, if you have extra cash, synch cord, vivitar 285HV ($80 new, $45 used). it's pro caliber and will synch at any speed the F3 has.

Is there something I don't get here? How can a sync cord give you anything but manual

flash? Bill wants TTL.

The best option is the AS-17 and SC-17 TTL cord. The other F3

only, non-ISO solutions are dead end now. Then again you might

get a good bargain on the older stuff. If you have other Nikon

cameras that use ISO hot shoes I strongly recommend the AS-17 and

SC-17 TTL cord. For speed lights I recommend the SB-24, 25, 26,

28, 80 or SB-800. The choice depends on what other Nikon cameras

you own.<br>

<br>

If you buy the AS-17 you dont need more than the SB-16B but

its rather big and clunky by comparison to all the others I

mention above. The SB-15 is a nice unit for the F3 with AS-17.

Its small and compact. The SB-17 speedlight is made to fit the

F3 without an adapter and can be flipped to sit over the lens. It

will not be very high. The SB-15 and SB-17 have modest power and

Im not recommending them as a primary speedlight for the F3.<br>

<br>

Regards,<br>

<br>

Dave Hartman.

This is what I use - it may not be the least expensive solution but at least you will have an alternative for comparison: Metz 45-CL4 + SCA344 module. This gives you a bracket held flash that provides manual, thyristor-auto and TTL for an F3, away from the camera 'top'. I don't know for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if these can only be obtained second-hand nowadays.

Many thanks to everyone for your helpful comments. This is my first post, I'm impressed.

 

Bill Gibson

I second mr. Hartman's recommendation for a AS17 with the F3. I bought it with some strong reservations, considering my (not too good) experiences with the Metz 45 CT5 and SCA-adaptor.. But the thing works reliably for macro-photography and normal use.

 

Finally, the F3 has become an all-rounder. And because of its build-quality, it probably is just a bit better than the FM3A (which I would love to own as 'The Last Film Camera').

 

AH

" ... my (not too good) experiences with the Metz 45 CT5 and SCA-adaptor ... "

 

That may not be surprising AH - Metz do not list an adapter for the F3/45CT-5 combination:

 

http://www.metz.de/en/photo_electronics/sca_adapter.143.html

 

http://www.metz.de/downloadFile.php?type=adapterarchiv&lang=en

Hi Bill!

 

I have had an excellent experience for many years with the following combination: Nikon F3, Metz 45 CT-5, Metz C60 dedicated module for the Nikon F3 (alas now discontinued but occasionally surfaces on Ebay.) If you are also doing portraits, try the Metz Reflex Screen 60-23 or the later 60-33 vresion. Best results from any portable flash diffuser by a mile, and I have tried many types of these.

 

Hope this helps!