Flash on 612PCII

[jerome_ibanes]

<p>Which flash is advisable on a Linhof 612PCII with a Schneider f5.6 Super-Angulon 65mm; which has an angle of view of approximately 86 degrees if I'm not mistaken?<br /></p>

[craig_shearman1]

<p>From what I can see looking at pictures of this camera, it only has a cold shoe and the actual flash connection is a standard PC contact on the lens. So the bottom line is you can use any flash you like. Any standard manual flash, whether studio strobe or shoemount, would work fine. Any flash with an auto-aperture setting (where you set the f-stop on the flash and set the f-stop on the lens to match) would be fine. You could use a TTL flash in manual or auto-aperture mode but would not be able to use TTL mode.<br /><br />Since this is a standard PC contact linked to a mechanical switch inside the lens, no need to worry about sync voltage on older flashes. There are no electronics to fry, just a simple switch that closes in order to complete the circuit to fire the flash.</p>

[jerome_ibanes]

<p>My concern was really around the angle of view (86 degrees); which is pretty wide; would most flashes accommodate this?</p>

[paul_droluk]

<p>The AOV (diagonal) for 65mm on 612 format is closer to 88 degrees... in terms of 35mm format, you would need a flash that would cover a 20mm lens.</p>

[russ_britt3]

<p>I owned a old 283 flash that was converted to bare bulb that I used to use with a Hasselblad Super Wide. That worked great, ran it off an external battery pack.<br />Some of the older Metz flash units had a wide lens that you put on the front of the flash, you would lose about 1 f-stop but get wider coverage. There are ways of doing this, some of the Gary Fong attachments would possibly work?</p>

[craig_shearman1]

<p>A StoFen Omnibounce turns just about any shoemount flash into the equivalent of a barebulb in terms of angle of coverage. Costs about $20.<br /><br />You can also tilt a flash up about 45 degrees, rubberband a piece of white cardboard behind it and get pretty wide coverage. Also any off-camera flash in an umbrella or softbox if you want better lighting than what an on-camera flash can deliver.</p>

[jerome_ibanes]

<p>Does a (used) Metz 54 MZ-3 sounds like a good choice?<br /></p>

[jerome_ibanes]

<p>Metz 54 MZ-3 Specs: https://www.metz.de/en/service-support/instruction-manuals/flash-units.html<br /> quick specs: http://www.cnet.com/products/metz-mecablitz-54-mz-3-hot-shoe-clip-on-flash-series/specs/<br /> They advertize a 20mm-105mm coverage.</p>

<p>They have different hot shoes for this flash, Pentax, Nikon, Canon, Minolta; which one would be best suited?</p>

 

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>250 bucks is a lot of money for a flash whose features are far in excess of what's needed. Indeed you can't use most of it's modes with a simple leaf-shutter.</p>

<p>Almost any old flash will do the job. Most of the former top-line flashes from Canon, Nikon or the like will have a BI diffuser that allows a 20mm (35mm equivalent) lens to be covered. Or an aftermarket diffuser, such as the Stofen suggested above, can be fitted. I know for sure than a Nikon SB-25 will do the job, having a little flip-down diffuser. Since these flashes aren't digitally compatible, they can be picked up for comparatively little money these days. You'll have to get a P-C to P-C cable though, or a hotshoe to P-C converter attachment.</p>

<p>"They have different hot shoes for this flash, Pentax, Nikon, Canon, Minolta; which one would be best suited?" - None of them! Your camera doesn't have a hotshoe or any type of flash automation. As previously stated, you need a P-C (Prontor-Compur) 3mm co-axial connector cable.</p>