Bounce Card for SF-24D

[Luke_Miller]

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I much prefer the Leica SF-24D on my M9, but hate the look of direct flash. So normally I use my SF-58 and bounce the flash. While the SF-58 is a very capable flash, I don't care for the way it affects the handling of my M9.

 

With the addition of some white card-stock I have been able to ceiling bounce my SF-24D.

 

Here are before and after shots using the bounce card.

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Edited February 17, 2013 by Luke_Miller

[NikonJeff]

The results look good! Thanks for sharing your idea...

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[Luke_Miller]

This is just a proof of concept. The next version will replace the card with a mirror for higher efficiency.

[kcnarf]

Smart! The only problem, to my mind a large one, is that this set-up does not permit oblique bouncing of flash from side walls so as to provide directional lighting rather than simple flat lighting, which tends to be visually much less interesting.

 

Apparently, the only SF-24D solution for directional lighting is to take it off camera and hold it in one's left hand while clenching the camera with only one's right hand. That operation, however, wearies one's right wrist and fingers, which soon begin to ooze a profuse amount of sweat upon an increasingly slippery camera. Some way of counteracting that sweat would gratefully welcomed.

[Luke_Miller]

Smart! The only problem, to my mind a large one, is that this set-up does not permit oblique bouncing of flash from side walls so as to provide directional lighting rather than simple flat lighting, which tends to be visually much less interesting.

 

Apparently, the only SF-24D solution for directional lighting is to take it off camera and hold it in one's left hand while clenching the camera with only one's right hand. That operation, however, wearies one's right wrist and fingers, which soon begin to ooze a profuse amount of sweat upon an increasingly slippery camera. Some way of counteracting that sweat would gratefully welcomed.

 

I've tried the freehand approach and it just does not work for my shooting. I am primarily an event shooter and my subjects are always somewhat in motion. By the time I pick up the flash my subject is often no longer in focus. So I need to keep my left hand on the focus ring.

 

The SF-58 mounted on-camera gives the full range of bounce possibilities but really adversely affects the handling of my M9. The Leica grip helps a lot, but the SF-24D is still much more manageable. I am looking to mounting the SF-24D on a mini-ballhead to provide full tilt and swivel. The challenge is how to do that without creating a configuration that rivals my DSLR in size.

[kcnarf]

Hey, Luke, how about some way of securely strapping the SF-24d to the back of one's left hand so that the strap came across the middle of the palm. That would leave the fingers free to focus, after which you would simply aim the back of your left hand toward the section of wall, or other suitable surface, from which you wished to bounce the flash.

[Luke_Miller]

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Interesting idea. It should be a bit quicker than grabbing the flash as it dangles from my wrist strap. At the moment I am working on a method to camera mount my SF-24D in a way that permits tilt and swivel. I'll post a photo if it pans out. This approach should also work with the SF-58 and possibly improve my M9's handling with this bigger and heavier flash.

[wlaidlaw]

I found that Leicagoodies SFILL diffusor tamed the very harsh SF-24D nicely. Funnily enough, back in the days of my Digilux 2, I found the 24D just fine but with either M8 or 9 too harsh. Sadly the GNC exposure of the SF-58D is quite limited on the M8/9. It works well in small and medium sized rooms but outdoors or in very big rooms, the results are rather unpredictable. Sometimes it exposes properly, sometimes it does not. For those circumstances I now use Auto rather than GNC/TTL. The 24D often seems to work better out of doors than the much larger and more expensive 58.

 

Wilson

[RachelR-UK]

I keep the "wide" diffuser panel on my SF-24D which makes the lighting less harsh but it's not ideal.