fill flash W/ sunset bkgd & 1/60th sec. sync limitation

[john_rogers3]

how do i fill flash with a sunset bkgd that is 2+ stops brighter than subject (person) with a mamiya 645

that has max flash sync of 1/60th of a sec?? seems like i have to stop down, but is the flash super harsh

at full power or whatever it needs to be at when lens is stopped down radically to properlly expose the

subject enough to balance against bkgd? I dont have this situation with my hassey. i got 645 just to use

fisheye, 35mm and 300 mm lenses, which are good lenses at a great price compared to hassey. mamiya

seems to only make a few leaf shutter lenses, certainly not the fisheye and 300 uld. I'm not sure about the

35mm. any suggestions. thanks in advance. I appreciate this forum. i ask a lot of questions, and get a lot

of valuable info and input. thanks for your patience and help!! John

[russell_britt]

A Yugo is not as fash as a Porshe, but it sure cost less.I use Hassy so I can use any shutter speed with flash so I won`t have to fight my equipment.

[todd frederick]

What about using neutral density filters to reduce the background light to under 1/60th and then bring the flash up to balance for fill. That seems to me to be a logical (and inexpensive) way to resolve the problem. Just keep a set of ND filters with you in 2x and 4x.

 

I had a Hassie system once. Sure are well made. I now use Mamiya C330 for my wedding and portrait work...one whole camera and lens costs less than one Hassie film back, I can see the poeple all the way through the flash, and it works great for everything I need to do!

[michael_heal]

<p>Use a slower film (e.g., ISO 100 film will allow 1/60 at f22 for sunlit backgrounds) or use a neutral-density filter to avoid overexposing the background at 1/60 second. Either way, your flash output must be greater than it would be with a faster shutter speed. You may need to use a more powerful flash unit if the subject-to-flash distance is large.</p>

<p>Greater flash output does not make the light from the flash more harsh. If the light is too harsh, soften it by increasing the size of the light source; for example, by using an umbrella or soft box.</p>

[john_rogers3]

If i use ND, then lets say bkgd is 1/60 at f22 with asa 400 just

for an example. so subject is effected by ND the same amt of stops,

right? so then Im dealing with an f11 situation as far as flash and

subject are concerned. If im using a camera mounted flash only

without any special equipment, ie no time to do that, if I'm at a

distance of 10 ft, at f22, then my flash will be firing at about 1/2

power, is that going to look OK, considering the time, and not being

able to use umbrellas or softbox? using such gear would necessitate

a very powerful norman or quantum flash, wouldnlt it? my 120j would

not put out enough lite in that scenario, I wouild not think. thanks

for the inpu

[michael_heal]

<p>Almost. You should make one additional correction to avoid overexposing your subject:</p>

<p>In your scenario the subject is lit both by your flash (main light) and by ambient light (fill). You must allow for the combined exposure. Since you do not wish to decrease the aperture (because doing so would underexpose the background and, besides, your lens may not stop down past f22) you should drop output of your flash by 1/2 stop. E.g., you should set your flash to give the correct output for f16 1/2 rather than f22. The ambient light (f11) will then be 1 1/2 stops less than your main light (f16 1/2). For fill 1 1/2 stops below the main light, the correct exposure is 1/2 stop less than for the main alone. Thus, the camera should be set for f22, just as you want. See also <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=000xfj&topic_id=35&topic=">this thread</a>; the flash is the fill light, but the same corrections apply.</p>

[jeff_tiemann]

John,

 

I too have had to over come this problem you're describing... While I agree with your first reader's responce, I also think that a good photographer can overcome limitations with his/her equipment. Yes it would be grand to have flash sync at 500th / sec but I bet you have a higher overall shutterspeed than most Hasselblads which in the case of my CONTAX 645 has bailed me out of a number of situations. I am able to sync at 125th which still isn't that great but I utilize a METZ 60CT-4 which in manual mode allows me to fill flash at 1 to 2 stops under the ambient light on my subject (I meter everything manually.) This technique works great when the sun is setting and there is a lot of back light. The one thing you'll want to watch out for is that the color temperature of your flash will be hotter than that of the setting sun so you may want to get some gels to filter your flash a little. Back to the guy with the Hasselblad... I can shoot at 4000th / sec with my Zeiss lens which means I don't have to choke my apperature down to a pinhole to get the shot I want in the middle of the day. Good luck to you and your quest. (By the way, my next camera will be a hasselblad :-) Take care...

 

Jeff Tiemann Tiemann Photographie

[jeff_tiemann]

John,

 

I too have had to over come this problem you're describing... While I agree with your first reader's responce, I also think that a good photographer can overcome limitations with his/her equipment. Yes it would be grand to have flash sync at 500th / sec but I bet you have a higher overall shutterspeed than most Hasselblads which in the case of my CONTAX 645 has bailed me out of a number of situations. I am able to sync at 125th which still isn't that great but I utilize a METZ 60CT-4 which in manual mode allows me to fill flash at 1 to 2 stops under the ambient light on my subject (I meter everything manually.) This technique works great when the sun is setting and there is a lot of back light. The one thing you'll want to watch out for is that the color temperature of your flash will be hotter than that of the setting sun so you may want to get some gels to filter your flash a little. Back to the guy with the Hasselblad... I can shoot at 4000th / sec with my Zeiss lens which means I don't have to choke my apperature down to a pinhole to get the shot I want in the middle of the day. Good luck to you and your quest. (By the way, my next camera will be a hasselblad :-) Take care...

 

Jeff Tiemann Tiemann Photographie