Using a flash with a non-TTL M6

[geddert]

Hello, until now in all my years of serious shooting (about 6) i have never really used a flash on my cameras because i like the look and feel of available light photography. I am truly clueless when it comes to flash settings and the use of a flash on any camera. What i am wondering is what is involved with using a flash on a non-TTL M6 camera - is it all a matter of guessing and hoping you are right? How accurate can one "guess" the amount of flash needed? Does a TTL M6 camera do a better job of using the flash (the M6 is completely mechanical, so how would it compensate for the flash used - or does it pre-fire and then you manually put in what it tells you to).

 

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Thanks for enlightening me.

[jackflesher]

Matthew:

 

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My advice is to get a good book on flash photography before you even

attemt it with ANY manual camera. AND, if you are going to be doing a

lot of flash photography, their are better systems than the M6(TTL)

to do it with...

 

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That being said, you can use any flash with "AUTO" capabilities

fairly easily on your M6. The main difference is that the flash

sensor in an auto-flash unit is built in to the flash unit itself and

you set your lens aperture to an equal setting on your flash, while

TTL flash systems use an in-camera flash sensor that avoids the

necessity of matching flash and camera settings. Most flash units

that have TTL capability will also have AUTO capability, so you could

use a Leica SF20 flash in AUTO mode on your M6, and in TTL mode on

your M6TTL...

[albert_smith]

Matthew,

 

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You could fill up a whole page on this subject and not cover

everything. I would recommend looking for a book on flash

photography, which would cover most of the areas of use. I would

look in the library, because some of the best books are long out of

print. Today, a lot of people buy a TTL flash and shoot away without

ever learning about things like guide numbers.

 

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Basically you could buy a simple flash like a Vivitar 283 and shoot

flash on any non-TTL camera. The flash has several "auto" settings

that correspond to an f-stop. You simply set the camera to the sync

speed, set the auto setting to a color, based on how far you need the

flash to go, or the depth of field you need (both related to the f-

stop), set that particular aperture on the lens and shoot. You would

also need to determine whether the flash is THE light source or just

Fill light in contrasty ambient lighting. This brings up the biggest

limitation for the Leica M camera and the use of flash for outdoor

fill flash... the anemic sync speed of 1/50th of a second.

 

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If the proper exposure outdoors is f/16 @1/125th of a second, then to

get the shutterspeed to the proper sync speed would require a tiny

bit past f/22. If you divide that aperture into the guide number of

the Vivitar flash (GN 120ft), then you get a flash range distance of

about 5 and a half feet... not to mention that you have no control

over the depth of field. Most Leica lenses don't even go to f/22, so

the use of these cameras for outdoor fill flash is limited. The

proceeding numbers are for ISO 100 film, so if you find yourself with

a faster film, then it is even more of a problem to get the

shutterspeed to 1/50th of a second.

 

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I myself save the use of flash for my SLRs which sync at 1/250th or

my medium format gear which syncs at 1/500th. I have never had a

flash on my Leica M's, and have never missed it. Know your gear's

strengths and weaknesses... play to the strengths and try to avoid

the weaknesses.

[godfrey]

There's nothing particularly funky about working with a manual

camera and flash illumination. Modern SLRs include a lot of very

nice conveniences that make it much easier to learn how to do

things, but there's nothing that can't be done by the application of

well known techniques for exposure measurement and

calculation.

 

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An M6TTL allows a little more flexibility through the use of

through the lens flash metering. When coupled with the SF20

flash unit (or other dedicated flash units), automated metering

for fill-flash and aperture flexibility are achieved. But you can do

everything with a 'classic' M6, or M4-x or whatever.

 

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In the simple case, let's posit that you buy an SF20 flash unit for

use with a classic M6. You don't have TTL metering, but you have

the flash metering built into the flash. A calculator gives you the

correct aperture to use, based on film speed and shooting

range. You have the range of shutter speeds up to 1/50 sec as

your time domain to meet with flash sync needs. Fit the flash, set

the shutter speed, set the aperture, focus and shoot. Simplistic,

but certainly not guesswork.

 

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I would suggest buying a book on flash photography to learn the

whole game. Flash utilization can be very helpful for many

different lighting circumstances. Understanding the hows and

whys makes appreciating the modern automated conveniences

of other cameras easier.

[nesrani]

If you're using an auto flash, it's really very simple: set the flash

to the lens aperture (potentially minus half to a full stop), point

the camera at your subject and squish down the shutter release. A

swivel head flash like the Metz 54 will enable you to bounce the

flash off the walls for a more ambient light look. Shoot slide for a

few rolls and compare the results with what you recall doing at the

time. It's pretty straightforward. After a bit of experimentation

you'll have an idea of how much to underexpose the flash and ambient

exposures to get the look you want, then you can just keep that in

your head.

 

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I wouldn't recommend using a non-auto flash as you'll end up running

calculations in your head all the time. Automation is good! Although

you don't get much of it with the M6.

 

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Even indoors the results can be quite convincing sometimes:

 

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<center>

<img src="http://www.robertappleby.com/stuff/00DH0656.JPG">

</center>

 

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In this case the flash was bounced off the wall to the right and the

flash exposure was set to minus one stop (I think).

[godfrey]

Lovely picture, Rob! Thanks for showing it.

[richie chishty]

Very nice photo Robert! Was this taken in Bombay?............

[joe_buechler]

I don't care for auto-thyristor flash very much, it gets fooled too

often. I find it just as convenient to use manual flash. There's no

"guesswork" involved, and even if your flash doesn't have an exposure

calculator on it, doing the calculation in your head is simple. Ffter

a few rolls of film its almost as effortless as pre-setting the focus

or estimating the exposure, something that fits very well with the

Leica philosophy.

 

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Manual flash exposures are accurate and consistent, which is why I

prefer it to auto flash.

 

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Joe

[david_gochfeld]

So can anyone recommend a good book on flash photography, for those of

us who want to learn how to take the guesswork out of manual flash

work?

 

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Thanks.

[nesrani]

Dharavi, Bombay this year.

 

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Can you do bounce with manual flash? I suppose if you use a

flashmeter you can, and if you have a flash which allows you to set

fractional flash power output (most auto flash units do) you can also

balance with ambient light, but it seems like a bit of a hoohah.

 

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Auto flash is very accurate with bounced flash because you get such

even illumination; it's trickier with direct flash, but that's

usually pretty ugly anyway.

[nesrani]

An example of ugly direct flash. Harsh shadows, sharp fall off in

illumination etc. Useless:

 

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<center>

<img src="http://www.robertappleby.com/stuff/00DH0667.JPG">

</center>

 

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This is the kind of result you can expect from manual flash because

you can't bounce in manual mode. I don't know whether using an

electronic flashmeter is part of the "Leica philosophy" ;-), in which

case you'd be ok.

[geddert]

Thank you everybody for your recommendations. I guess i'll just have

to go out and read a book. I haven't been to a public library in a

while, it should be fun to check it out. If that fails there is

always online book stores that stock everything.

 

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Thanks again,

 

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Matthew

 

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P.S. Rob, great photo! This is exactly the type of use i had been

contemplating, and it is a marvelous example

[rolfe_tessem]

In one of the above responses, there is a comment to the effect of

"you can't use bounce with a manual flash". Gee, I guess that everyone

who was using bounce flash for years before automatic flashes hit the

market were just getting good results by accident :-).

 

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It is perfectly possible to use a manual flash for bounce, but it does

take some experience to know how many stops are going to be subtracted

from direct flash. It depends on how efficient the surface you're

bouncing off of is as a reflector. Two stops from an average height

ceiling painted white or close to white is about right for most medium

distances.

 

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So, if the direct flash calculation would have been f11 at 10 feet,

set the aperture to f5.6, point the flash at the ceiling, drag the

shutter to get as much ambient exposure as you dare.

 

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It's not that difficult :-).

 

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As to the original question, the TTL addition to the M6 TTL is of

questionable utility due to the 1/45 second sync limitation. I'd

recommend either an SF20 used in auto mode or a Vivitar 283 which

makes the camera more top-heavy but also offers much greater utility.

[nesrani]

Fair enough, Rolfe, but using some degree of automation does take the

guesswork out of it. After you've done all the little calculations

for bounced manual flash, your subject will be over the horizon.

 

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I know a portrait photographer here in Modena who uses a tape measure

to make sure his subject's head is the correct distance from the

camera. He gets consistent results, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't

get equally good results faster and more flexibly using a bit of

modern equipment.

[rolfe_tessem]

Rob, I have no problem with automation. The problem is that the

ubiquitious presence of TTL flash in modern SLR's has given us a

generation of photographers who have no idea what is going on behind

the scenes.

 

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For example, your friend who is using a tape measure to gauge flash

exposure. This is simply overkill.

 

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For years I used one of the Honeywell potato masher flashes with a

Nikon F. Used with 400 ISO negative film, if the ceiling was average

height it was f5.6. If it was higher or darker than average it was f4.

If it was a low ceiling, it was f8.

 

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Once you get to know the parameters, it really isn't that critical.

 

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Yes, if you're shooting reversal film then precision is more

important. But if the exposure is really that critical then you should

just meter the damn thing :-).

[nesrani]

Yeah, I think the tape measure thing is mainly to impress his

clients! He's an old bloke and he likes to put on a bit of a show.

 

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Anyway, I agree with you, and also nowadays in the hybrid

film/digital world we inhabit there's a lot more latitude really.