Anyone recommend a good swivel-head TTL flash?

[kevin m.]

Can anyone recommend a good swivel-head flash that's TTL-compatible for the Leica M's? I

have an older Metz 32 Z-2 that works well enough and is plenty powerful for the mostly

interior work I use it for, but the interface is a bunch of fiddly, tiny buttons and it's hard to

plus or minus compensate on the fly. The SF-20 interface works great, but the lack of a

swiveling head really limits its use for me.

 

Thanks!

[peter_yankin]

"the interface is a bunch of fiddly, tiny buttons and it's hard to plus or minus compensate on the fly."

 

I don't know of any TTL flashes that don't have an interface with buttons. None that have and dials like a Leica if that's what you're after. If you can give up the TTL a Vivitar 283 has a pretty simple minded interface. For TTL flash with a Leica there's only one game in town, and that's Metz. AFAIK the compensation can be carried out on the module, no? Any of the 40MZ-series have some pretty sophisticated functions but most of them don't work with Leicas, even the R8 and R9, just cameras with sophistication like Nikons and Canons. The 54MZ3 is designed more like a conventional "cobra" style flash, but the interface is buttons too. If the only thing putting you off the SF20 is the lack of swivel, you could take a Nikon TTL shoe cord and shorten the cable to a couple inches, then epoxy the female shoe to a swivel and that to the male shoe.

[peter_yankin]

Hey come to think of it, if you're shooting interiors with the flash as key, why can't you just change the ISO for flash compensation?

[kevin m.]

"I don't know of any TTL flashes that don't have an interface with buttons. None that have

and dials like a Leica if that's what you're after."

 

Buttons aren't the problem. Small fiddly buttons are. So small you have to move them

using a fingernail, in the case of the 3501 module I'm using. The SF 20, in comparison,

has two sufficiently large, dedicated, plus or minus compensation buttons that are easy to

use and don't contribute to errors when shooting on the fly.

 

Using the iso dial to compensate is also fiddly, and leads to errors, in my experience, as I

tend to forget to reset it when I'm busy.

[john_brewton]

Hey Kevin, this is maybe not what you're looking for, but I use an Olympus flash, just not in TTL mode. It works fine. The only reason for Olympus is that I bought it with an E-1, then sold the E-1 and kept the flash.

John

M6 TTL

[kevin m.]

Thanks, John, but I have really come to like the TTL mode, especially on the SF20 where you

can dial the flash up or down in 1/3 stop increments. I still occasionally use my old Sunpak

1600's, too, as they're just the right size on the M body and they have the swivel head...

[billsr]

I have a pair of old Vivitars that are still ging strong since 1983.I recommend them if they are still available. Best regards, Bill

[Uhooru]

Believe it or not, see if you can find the Nikon ttl cord I believe its SCA 117 and then get a flash bracket with a swivel to allow bounce flash for your SF 20..or, some just hold the flash on the cable by hand and point it where they want, you shoot one handed. Its do-able. When you need a little flash, the SF20 in ttl mode is very handy w/M6 ttl or M7.

[andrew1]

Greetings Kevin- my recommendation would be to get an off camera cord which

maintains TTL control so that you can position the SF20 flash where you want it by

hand. Nikon and Contax off camera cords will work, since they use the same pin

configuration as Leica. These cords are only connecting the wires, and have nothing

to do

with the voltage and signal differences which make Nikon and most other brand flash

units

unusable on TTL- but you probably know that.<p>

 

This assumes that the SF20 provides you with enough power, and that you don't mind

holding and postitioning by hand. Bogen and others make some lightweight

postioning arms if you must use something to hold the flash in place, but these get

cumbersome fast. I always use a cord or a radio transmitter and hold the flash off

camera in my left hand when shooting with an M (and with most other hand held

cameras, too). This works very well with normal to wide angles where the focus is

preset, and with a small flash like the SF20, you can even focus and then move the

left hand with the flash into position.<p>

 

Otherwise you are stuck with Metz units and those fiddley modules,

if you must have TTL.

[andrew1]

Ha! Barry beat me to it.

[kevin m.]

Hi Andrew! I'm using a Nikon SC-28 cord and hand-holding the SF-20 now. It works great

and is powerful enough for my uses, but I have to hold it by hand to point it at a ceiling or

wall and I'd like to have the use of my left hand back. ;-) I'm going to try one of those old

50's vintage Leica flash brackets that hold the flash off to the side and rig something up, I

think.

[peter_yankin]

"Buttons aren't the problem. Small fiddly buttons are. So small you have to move them using a fingernail, in the case of the 3501 module I'm using."

 

Got ya. Yeah those little dipswitches on the Metz modules are the epitome of fiddly. Don't quote me on this, because I've never used the 54MZ3 on a TTL Leica, but with the other brands you can set the compensation on the LCD of the flash. You still have to use buttons but I never have a problem just pushing them with my fingertip. There's also a good ole dial on the 54!

[morocco]

metz 54 mz3/4. easy +/- compensation in TTL mode. an on-off switch and a dial control mostly everything. i like it a lot. its just big and expensive.

[fotografz]

I agree Kevin. Fiddly. And my 54 for the R isn't much improvement, even after practicing with

it a lot. Besides, the 54 is waaay to big for the M cameras.

 

Best solution I've devised to date has been to stick with the SF-20 and use Lutz's S-fill. Since

I just use it as a supplement to directional available light it works just fine. In portrait

orientation I just make sure the flash is on the opposite side of the directional available light.

[rolfe_tessem]

Of course, there is another swivel head TTL flash available, and that is the Quantum Qflash

-- the latest model being the 5D. But it is not meant to be used as an on-camera flash

(and certainly not with a Leica M).

 

http://www.qtm.com

 

I've used the earlier model T2 with my R8/R9 but either off-camera on a stand or on a

bracket. The TTL adapter that Quantum lists for the R8 will work with the M6TTL or M7 as

well.

[rolfe_tessem]

Here is a shot with the Quantum T2 with a small softbox mounted on a stand, used with a

M6TTL.<div></div>