Distance based pure manual flash ?

[photom]

Does anyone use distance based pure manual flash anymore? Develop a

chart with distance, power setting, and fstop. I have been

experimenting and getting more consistent results than the auto

setting. This is when there is not time to walk over and take a

flash meter reading. Just curious what others think about this for

medium format camera with no in camera meter.

[michaelging]

Before Vivitar came out with the thyrister flash all flash exposures were done this way.It is a little difficult to do it quickly.You can still use a Vivitar 283 and they are pretty good on automatic.

[thomas_sullivan]

not that I use flash much, but yeah, I can do it manually. Like the above poster indicates, at one time they were all manual...and they are what I started on. So, it's like riding a bicycle, you never quite forget how to do it. And yes, I do use it mainly with my Mamiya C220 TLR.

 

The secret to auto falsh by the way, is that the "sweet" spot is 2/3s of the way into the range indicated. Right, you don't really have perfect exposure any closer because the sensor doesnt have enough time to shut it self off, and any further away it tends to shut off early. Mind you, not anything that negative film couldn't tolerate, but 2/3s of the way is perfect.

[garry edwards]

Yes, this is how it always used to be done with flashbulbs, and later with the early electronic flash units.

 

The chart is calculated on the inverse square law basis (which isn't quite right because even small flashguns are not true point sources of light but it's a good starting point) and experienced photographers used to be good at judging distance and kept the charts in their heads.

 

For example, 10' = f11, 15' = f7.33, 20' = f5.6

[dan_fromm2]

I use pre-calibrated flash rigs for closeup work. Two of them have flashes with fixed output. The third uses a pair of 283s with VP-1s, gives full control, subject to the need to overpower ambient, of aperture. Is this what you're thinking of?

 

I also do GN calculations when needed.

 

BTW, all this is equivalent to metering incident ...

 

For general out-and-about shooting metering reflected -- in this context, auto-flash, be it TTL or controlled by the flash itself -- sometimes gives the same results as metering incident. But when relying on the flash to turn itself off, one can never be sure that it is responding mainly to light reflected from the subject.

 

Cheers,

[martin_mckenna1]

I have used this method with a Hasselblad and a Nikon SB-800. The SB makes it extremely easy: you enter your f/stop and ISO, and it shows you the correct distance on the display. Too short? Just turn up the power on the flash. Focus the camera and read the distance off the lens, and it's perfect.

[picturesque]

Yes. Still do it with my digital and 580EX sometimes when I know ETTL will be fooled, at weddings. Used to use a Sunpak 120J with a Mamiya C330f at weddings, 50% or so totally manual, flipping the partial power switch (distance & settings memorized), the other half on auto thyristor--as recently as 5 years or so ago.

[lex_jenkins]

Ditto the SB-800. The other night I photographed a social event with some real challenges - lots of white gowns and the house lights were changed periodically. Since I was using the SB-800 on my FM2N TTL flash wasn't an option. I backed up every important auto thyristor shot with manually estimated distance based flash. I'm reasonably sure that at least one photo of the group holding tiny flashlight "candles" will turn out okay, whereas I don't hold out much hope for the auto thyristor shots taken during this portion of the event.

 

Unfortunately few of the otherwise good auto thyristor flash units offer this degree of control. Even some of the older consumer grade rangefinder cameras like the Canonets and Olympus 35 RC offered a simple distance based flash system. Set the flash unit's guide number on the camera and the lens will stop down to the appropriate aperture based on the focus setting. Seems kinda primitive by today's standards but it's effective in situations that would fool even the best TTL flash system.

[bill c.]

This is one of those things that SOMETIMES is a whole lot easier than it looks.

 

Think about it. If you are photographing a wedding reception, for example, and you're doing groups plus the dance, you're going to be working within a certain set of distances, usually seven to 15 feet. Calculate your manual flash for ten feet, then open up a stop or so for further and close down a stop for closer. In fact, some shooters I knew just used a Hassy with a zoom and kept their distance the same for most of the wedding. Instead of keeping track of aperture and flash power and wondering if their flash sensor was getting fooled by the white dress, they just concentrated on keeping the same distance from the subject all the time, and came up with almost perfectly consistent results. I tried it for parts of a couple of weddings, and it really is applicable.

 

Now, it has to be said that this was a lot more viable in the era of film, as print film had enough latitude to deal with nearly a stop either way. Digital is a bit more touchy. But for film it can work great.

 

Happy shooting. -BC-