Using flash with Mamiya 7

[thomas_ward3]

<p>Hi guys,<br>

I've recently started to use a Mamiya 7, and now have the chance to get a used but working Nikon SB-26 flash to try out with the rangefinder. But I haven't found too much easy to understand or useful information online about using the Mamiya with flash apart from this from another forum:<br>

<strong>"Use the SB-900 in Auto mode. Set the ISO to match your film speed. </strong><br /><br /><strong>2. Flash as key light: use any aperture and shutter speed you want to. Simply set the flash to a matching aperture value with the camera. Shutter speed is (almost) irrelevant for the flash and Mamiya 7 doesn't have any sync speed restrictions like most other cameras. Focus and aim at your target. Shoot. The flash will meter automatically how much light is needed. </strong><br /><br /><strong>1. Fill flash. Meter the ambient light with your camera or a light meter. Let's say you have f/8 and 1/125s. Set your flash to one or two stops less ( = larger aperture value) than the ambient light. In this case you'd set the flash to f/5.6 or f/4. You actually hoodwink your flash to give out one or two stops *less* light for what is needed and you get a fill flash as a result."</strong></p>

<p>It can't be this easy, right? And what about the zoom head position? What should I set it to, when I use the 80mm lens?</p>

[jose_angel]

I think it is the same. It is not that difficult.

 

You can set the zoom head position manually. With a 80mm lens, I would use the 70mm position to have full coverage. If

you set it to 85mm, the flash beam could be too narrow for the angle of coverage of the lens, resulting in a bit more

vignetting. You may or may not notice a difference dpending on the subject. About the flash output power, the difference

between the 70 and the 85 position is small, less than 5% more for the longer, so I would not care about it.

 

Flash duration use to be quite short, so the flash esposure control is mainly done with the aperture. You cannot limit the light that reaches the sensor with the shutter, so you have to do it with the diaphtagm. Use the shutter to control ambient (background) illumination.

[iangillett]

<p>The focal length markings on the Nikon flash are for 35mm coverage. The Mamiya 7 80mm lens has an Angle of View of 58 degrees which, according to the Mamiya Legacy website, has a 35mm equivalence of 39mm - so you should set the flash to its 35mm setting to get full coverage with the 80mm lens.</p>

[thomas_ward3]

<p>@Ian: Yeah, that's what I presumed. So using the flash I should really just stick to the things written above?</p>

[iangillett]

<p>Thomas - sorry for the tardy response. Yes, use the settings described above. You can also use the flash as "synchro sun" by deliberately underexposing the background but using the correct exposure for the flash, e.g. if the 'normal' exposure is 1/125s at f8 you could set the flash to f8 but have the shutter speed at 1/250s which would darken the background but keep the subject lighting correct. Maybe a whole stop would be too much and you might be better off with 2/3 or 1/3 of a stop but it was easier to type the figures!</p>

[jose_angel]

<p>Ian thanks for the correction. I missed the format equivalence.</p>