Which flash?

[cody_moore1]

<p>Which flash do you recommend for use on a Leica M5? The local Leica dealer demoed a Metz 54 MZ3 and it appears to be a great flash unit. What are your thoughts? I really have no experience with using flash units.</p>

[SCL]

<p>The Metz series are great flash units....very versatile and several are quite powerful. I often use a Metz 45CL4 on a variety of my cameras from an M4 to my R8.</p>

[Spearhead]

<p>What are you shooting? What features do you need in the flash? How much power? External batteries? "Which flash" is very vague.</p>

[dhbebb]

<p>The Metz 54 MZ3 offers lots of features<br>

<a href="http://www.heritagecameras.co.uk/metz-54-mz-3-bounce-zoom-twin-flash-sca-3102-m3-for-eos-370-p.asp">http://www.heritagecameras.co.uk/metz-54-mz-3-bounce-zoom-twin-flash-sca-3102-m3-for-eos-370-p.asp</a><br>

and can be fitted with an adapter to work with many different modern cameras with TTL flash control. It has twin tubes for extra versatility and is very powerful - as you probably know, the number in a Metz product code is the guide number for ISO 100 film in meters, so 54 means you could shoot at 54/10 = f5.4 (call it f5.6) at 10 meters, or of course smaller apertures closer up. This flashgun would be great if you need the power and versatility, otherwise something smaller, lighter and cheaper would serve for most purposes.</p>

[Richard Williams]

<p>The Metz 54 MZ3 has a lot of features (TTL, power zoom, etc.) that do nothing on the M5, and because it's an older (discontinued) model, I don't think it's compatible with some of the latest dSLR systems either (e.g. Nikon's iTTL), even with the adapter. I'm sure it's a high quality flash, though.</p>

<p>Metz also makes some much cheaper models without the features you can't use on the M5, like the 36 C-2:<br>

http://www.metzflash.co.uk/pages/metz8.htm<br>

However, it's less powerful and lacks the 2nd tube.</p>

<p>There are any number of other flashguns you could go for - anything with hotshoe synch, auto and manual modes and a bounce head, basically. Low voltage synch is preferable if you ever want to stick it on a modern camera, and a PC socket if you want to use it off-camera. If you also have an SLR or dSLR system, consider the manufacturer's own flashguns, provided they support non-TTL auto and manual modes (not all do).</p>

[aplumpton]

<p>Unfortunately, the last review I saw comparing the light distribution of competing flash units was a decade or more ago and I no longer have that article. There were quite significant differences between units but I think the Metz units (45 or 54, 60 (I think) and a smaller 36 unit) and the Sunpak 36 and 622 did quite well, but none gave a perfectly uniform light output over the standard covered field. I have the 622 and various interchangeable flash heads, but I don't think there is a dedicated module for Leica for it (there are several other interchangeable dedicated modules for this and some other Sunpaks). If you want an automatic (flash exposure sensor equipped) as opposed to dedicated (TTL) flash for some Leicas (the dedicated flash is not possible with the M5) then the Metz is probably a good unit, if it responds to your needs, as suggested in the preceding three informative replies.</p>

<p>I would borrow a library book on photography that treats flash use, to get an idea of the artificial lighting possibilities, how they relate to your needs and the type of flash that will meet them. A smaller versatile unit (bounce head, off camera possibility, auto or manual flash exposure) may be better than the powerful Metz you are considering.</p>

[mukul_dube]

<p>I seldom use flash with film cameras and do not need much power. For some years I have used a small Sunpak 1600A. As that cannot last for ever, I bought a small Cullmann unit some months ago. My experience is described in this thread:<br>

http://www.photo.net/filters-bags-tripods-accessories-forum/00XoWi</p>

[cody_moore1]

<p>Thanks everyone for the input. I usually am shooting aircraft, old ships, or cars at the moment. I would really love to be able to have a flash to try doing some shots of my friend's swing band when they are in clubs as well, which made me look into a flash</p>

[Spearhead]

 

 

<blockquote>

<p>I would really love to be able to have a flash to try doing some shots of my friend's swing band when they are in clubs as well, which made me look into a flash</p>

</blockquote>

 

 

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<p>Well this is the information that is essential to making any sort of useful recommendation. Without this, one might as well look at random products, which is what you got above. Like asking what car? without explaining that you have two kids in car seats and people are recommending Lambos.</p>

<p>What you will need specifically for the club thing is a flash with both bounce and swivel movements. The reason is that in many clubs, you will want to bounce off walls, sometimes the ceiling, depending on the distance and color of the walls and ceiling. But unless you are shooting with slow sync, you are going to want to bounce to preserve some ambience and avoid flat shots.</p>

<p>The next thing you need to consider is that you will want a lot of power if you are bouncing. You need the ability to get enough light on your subject with a 15 or 20 foot bounce. So you want to look for that. You will probably be OK without external power unless you are shooting for four hours non-stop. 2900 maH rechargeables should be fine for one night of club shooting.</p>

<p>Given that TTL is irrelevant with the camera you want, you should look at what is most cost-effective with full bounce and swivel and decent power output. It shouldn't be too difficult to narrow down your choices talking with a good retailer like Adorama or B&H and end up with something that will do exactly what you want.</p>

<p> </p>

[josh_carr]

<p>The tradtional way to get power without spending too much, if you didn't need any dedicated features, was the Vivitar 283. Occasionally NOS ones come up on eBay - I bought one a few months ago for 25 GBP. It is a bit wobbly on top of an M3 due to its size.</p>

[kevin_omura]

<p>I think someone used the term unwieldy to describe mounting an on camera flash I would tend to agree. <br>

The M5 doesn't support any automation that newer flash units would have so spending a lot of money on something with lots of bells and whistles doesn't make a lot of sense to me. <br>

The Vivitar 283/285 were workhorse flashes in their time and would probably work well.<br>

But the thing that sticks in my mind is, do you really need a flash for shooting in clubs if you could get away with a fast lens and film. To me that is the direction I would have gone since on camera flash could pretty much obliterate any subtleties of lighting. I think in a worse case scenario if I were to do some lighting I might go with a portable strobe on a stand and umbrella off in a corner somewhere with someone making sure it didn't sprout legs and wander off.<br>

Not sure why but after reading your reply about aircraft and old ships I thought of this fellow...<br>

http://www.soulcatcherstudio.com/artists/link_bio.html=o+winston+link+photographs&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=ivns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=5ba4TeD0Mo63twebvbTeBA&ved=0CCQQsAQq=o+winston+link+photographs&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=ivns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=5ba4TeD0Mo63twebvbTeBA&ved=0CCQQsAQ</p>