Ideal bounce flash

[mark_lapolt___new_haven__c]

I'm a dedicated film shooter and experienced part timer, like many on

this board. While I love to shoot film, I realize that the future of

this business is digital, arbitrary quality arguments aside. So last

summer I went out and bought a digital camera, so I could get in the

swing of things, develop a workflow, etc.

 

I ended up buying cheap. Or should I say inexpensive. I picked up a

used Olympus E10. Not the best camera for event work, but a great

step into digital. It was inexpensive (<$300 from KEH), shoots RAW,

has a great lens, and even a standard PC socket for syncing to my

studio strobes and other lighting equipment. Itﾒs a good little

camera to start learning digital on. Later on I'll likely pick up an

8MP Canon.

 

Over the Xmas season, I bought the companion TTL flash for the

camera, and while reading the manual I discovered that Olympus seems

to have thought of something that I don't think any other

manufacturer has: A built in two-flash combo. The shoe mount flash

sits high enough that the popup flash can still fully deploy.

Furthermore, there's logic built into the firmware of the camera that

drives the main exposure with the shoe mount flash during bounce

operation, and provides fill with the pop-up. A very similar

arrangement to the high-end Metz units with secondary reflectors, but

in a shoe mount setup. There's a night and day difference between the

bounce flash alone, and the bounce with the fill-in from the popup. I

can post some before/after type shots if there's interest.

 

I still need to do some more experimentation with various

combinations of camera orientations, flash bracket operation, etc,

but my question is, has any other manufacturer figured this out? I

know your high-end Canons and Nikons don't have room in the

pentaprism for a pop up flash, but the prosumer units I've seen can't

fully deploy the pop up flash when there's a shoe mount flash in the

camera.

[fotografz]

FYI, the Shoe Mount Metz has a secondary reflector also.

[mark_lapolt___new_haven__c]

Marc...

 

Yeah...the 54 MZ-4.....I've been toying with the idea of checking that out. It'll do TTL for my Canon and Bronica systems with the right adapter. Plus, when used on a bracket, it has the advantage of keeping the secondary reflector above the lens

[jim_marby]

Mark,

 

I run a full time studio and I've been completly digital for almost 5 years. I started with the Olympus E-10. It did a great job in the studio and on weddings. I moved up to the E-20 and I was very disapointed, it took forever to write a file to disk but the jump from 4 to 5 mp was a help.

 

I now use the Olympus E-1 and I'm very pleased with it except for the fact it doesn't have the built in pop-up flash. The e-10 and 20 had the flash and I used it with the FL-40 dedicated flash unit for some excelent photos.

 

If you stay within the operating limits of the E-10 you'll do fine.

 

Jim Marby

 

pictureperfectstudio.biz

[bruce_rubenstein]

A simple bounce card, which many of the Nikon and Canon flashes have built in, will give the same look.

[michael_madio]

My Metz flash has the secondary reflector and frankly, I don't like it. I prefer a bounce card.

[ben_rubinstein___mancheste]

The metz second flash works well, but is far harsher than a bounce card and the shadow is pretty harshly defined, i.e. not diffuse. A bounce card will work wonders but a LS is really good with no shadow at all if you are careful and a great diffusion for facial tones on digital.