Which is the smallest cutest compatible flash for M8?

[ismail_mustapha2]

I like the Olympus FL-20, which significantly smaller than the Leica SF-20. I

have tried it with the M8 and RD-1s and it works fine in auto (thyristor) mode.

My question, is it safe in the long term (voltage, extra pins, etc)?

[memphis1]

cute flash? check http://www.sanrio.com/ I'm sure they have a cute hello kitty flash

[lutz]

Well, now that it appears to have been safe enough on a short term experiment (I would *never* have risked to do that, without asking anybody knowledgable *beforehand*...), why should it be riskier on the long run? A bomb usually explodes the first time it's triggered, not thru wear an tear, or does it?

[todd frederick]

As Lutz indicated, never just "try" a flash on any electronic camera. Some flashes produce enough voltage that you could literally fry the camera's circuits.

[bill a.]

The Olympus FL-20 looks suspiciously like the flash that came with the Hexar RF kit (HX-18?)... I bet it's the same flash, and you are fine, but I agree with a bit of caution.

 

Lutz: Selling the Hexars _and_ the G's? You're breaking my heart.... :) An M8 in your future?

[bill a.]

I should more correclty say, "almost" same flash. As I am sure someone will point out, The FL-20 (of which I own) supports TTL on the Olympus digital cameras. The Hexar RF flash (which I don't own) is probably not TTL, because the Hexar RF does not support TTL. The shape, mount, control placement, and indicator lights are almost identical, though.

[ilkka]

Is the SF-20 compatible? Everybody seems to talk about the newer 24 now.

[godfrey]

I use the diminutive and out of production Nikon SB-30 flash unit with my Panasonic L1 and

Pentax DSLR bodies. It's very small and light, has good power and other useful features.

Perfectly safe on everything.

 

Godfrey

[ismail_mustapha2]

[...why should it be riskier on the long run? A bomb usually explodes the first time it's triggered, not thru wear an tear, or does it?]

 

I read somewhere that a flash may seem to work perfectly, but the slight over-voltage would pit the shutter contacts and in the long-run would damage your digital camera. Of course with very high voltage, the effect and damage would be immediate. I believe the trigger voltage is below the safe 6 volts for digital camera. But what about the currents in the supplementary pins (for TTL) which could be in cross-lines with Leica's own TTL system?

[ismail_mustapha2]

[is the SF-20 compatible? Everybody seems to talk about the newer 24 now.]...

 

First, you can get mint SF-20 at discounted price. If you don't need TTL, and just auto-mode, it's good enough. Only difference, SF offers only 3 aperture settings: f/2.8, 5.6, and f/8 I think. SF-24 offers also f/4.

[ilkka]

So the SF-20 does not work on M8 in TTL mode? Can somebody confirm that. If it is so, that is not very nice from Leica, making a fairly new flash incompatible with their latest body.

[peter]

I cannot speak for the M8 but on my other Leicas I use the tiny teenie Nikon SB-9. Its not particularly powerful but it sits quite high above the lens and so it reduces red eye. Best of all it's an auto flash (not TTL of course) but its dead accurate in its exposure. Very small, very light and I picked it up for just a few bucks.

[subhash_tiwari]

Have you considered a Contax TLA 200 flash ? Tiny, and cute as a button !