baci Posted October 24, 2016 Share #1 Posted October 24, 2016 Advertisement (gone after registration) Just wondering if anyone has experience of the SF-40 flash on an M9? Plenty of conversation in relation to the SL and M240 but haven't seen much of anything re the user experience for users of the M9. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 24, 2016 Posted October 24, 2016 Hi baci, Take a look here M9 and SF-40. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
diddus Posted October 24, 2016 Share #2 Posted October 24, 2016 Have been using it on the M9 for a few month now after having had the SF20 and SF24D. I don't use it that much, nor do I have any real experience with using flash professionally. But it works well. In A or TTL mode it just works ... 4 Batteries are a huge plus for recycle times and longevity. I like it a lot. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
baci Posted October 24, 2016 Author Share #3 Posted October 24, 2016 Have been using it on the M9 for a few month now after having had the SF20 and SF24D. I don't use it that much, nor do I have any real experience with using flash professionally. But it works well. In A or TTL mode it just works ... 4 Batteries are a huge plus for recycle times and longevity. I like it a lot. "it just works" - what I want to hear! I've been using an Sf-24D and it seriously has me questioning my sanity. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
diddus Posted October 24, 2016 Share #4 Posted October 24, 2016 "it just works" - what I want to hear! I've been using an Sf-24D and it seriously has me questioning my sanity. I had heaps of problems with the SF24D and the SF20 ... ranging from recycling times, to misfires or non synchronization ... all kinds of stuff... not anymore Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DandA Posted October 25, 2016 Share #5 Posted October 25, 2016 (edited) Its both surprising and good to hear the SF-40works in TTL with the M9,ME and MM1 although I am surprised it does. I throughly tested the SF26, a newer Leica flash and in no way did TTL work with these cameras, not even close. I thought it was because Leica made changes to the flash circuitry of the newer cameras like M240 and M9 then was considered a discontinued model. Thats what makes this surprising (that the SF 40 works with the M9 in TTL) Dave (D&A) Edited October 25, 2016 by DandA Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Q Posted October 25, 2016 Share #6 Posted October 25, 2016 (edited) I wonder if the SF40 would work as a non-TTL (Nissin i40 equivalent) flash for Fuji's. Edited October 25, 2016 by Mr.Q Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
diddus Posted October 31, 2016 Share #7 Posted October 31, 2016 Advertisement (gone after registration) I wonder if the SF40 would work as a non-TTL (Nissin i40 equivalent) flash for Fuji's. sure, why wouldn't it ? You can set it to Auto or to Manual. You can just buy a Nissin i40 as well and use that on your Leica ... just without the TTL. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
diddus Posted October 31, 2016 Share #8 Posted October 31, 2016 Its both surprising and good to hear the SF-40works in TTL with the M9,ME and MM1 although I am surprised it does. I throughly tested the SF26, a newer Leica flash and in no way did TTL work with these cameras, not even close. I thought it was because Leica made changes to the flash circuitry of the newer cameras like M240 and M9 then was considered a discontinued model. Thats what makes this surprising (that the SF 40 works with the M9 in TTL) Like I said, I'm no expert and I don't have any experience with TTL on other systems either. I did have problems with the SF 24D not syncing with my M9 despite stating that it's ready .. it drove me nuts. Exposure wise it was alright .. sometimes a bit overexposed, but alright ( I don't mind pushing or pulling a stop in LR) The SF26 was just awful as it had the same problems of the SF24D but exposing terribly in a lot of situations. On the M240 I found it to be completely unusable. Changing flash exposure comp in the settings didn't seem to make any difference. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DandA Posted October 31, 2016 Share #9 Posted October 31, 2016 My experience with the M9 amd SF 24 was fair at best. It wasn't a complete no go or failure but had a lot of variability to its accuracy in TTL more. The SF 26 was unusable on the M9. TTL absolutely did not even remotely work and it was like having a flash aet to manual and the wrong settings on the camera. So I gather from what you are saying is the SF 40 along with the M9 gives reasonably avcurate exposures with the M9 even if younchamge the f stops on the lens, the TYL of the sf 40 coreectly xompensates and gives a reasonably exposed image? I'm not talking about a absolutely perfect exposure, just one that appears to be reasonably accurate in TTL mode? Thanks. Dave (D&A) Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
diddus Posted October 31, 2016 Share #10 Posted October 31, 2016 My experience with the M9 amd SF 24 was fair at best. It wasn't a complete no go or failure but had a lot of variability to its accuracy in TTL more. The SF 26 was unusable on the M9. TTL absolutely did not even remotely work and it was like having a flash aet to manual and the wrong settings on the camera. So I gather from what you are saying is the SF 40 along with the M9 gives reasonably avcurate exposures with the M9 even if younchamge the f stops on the lens, the TYL of the sf 40 coreectly xompensates and gives a reasonably exposed image? I'm not talking about a absolutely perfect exposure, just one that appears to be reasonably accurate in TTL mode? Thanks. Dave (D&A) So you had the same experience with the other two as me basically Yup, I think the SF40 does a good job ... basically it doesn't really matter if I set it to A or TTL .. it seems to work just fine. I have not really played with exp comp but I haven't really used it much besides running around at night, taking snapshots of people... at parties etc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
baci Posted October 31, 2016 Author Share #11 Posted October 31, 2016 Interestingly I've now got the option of buying a used SF-58 or new SF-40. The 58 is huge and that's likely to be a disincentive to use it. The 40 is smaller and more straightforward. Decisions, decisions.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke_Miller Posted October 31, 2016 Share #12 Posted October 31, 2016 I use the SF-58 and would not consider the SF-40. My most consistent flash exposures come when using A Mode (i.e. auto-thyrister mode) in which the flash itself controls the flash exposure using the aperture and ISO settings. The SF-40 lacks this mode. Its A Mode is just a variant of TTL, so basically the SF-40 offers Manual and TTL flash control only. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
diddus Posted October 31, 2016 Share #13 Posted October 31, 2016 I use the SF-58 and would not consider the SF-40. My most consistent flash exposures come when using A Mode (i.e. auto-thyrister mode) in which the flash itself controls the flash exposure using the aperture and ISO settings. The SF-40 lacks this mode. Its A Mode is just a variant of TTL, so basically the SF-40 offers Manual and TTL flash control only. I've only heard good things about the SF-58 ... should be a fine flash for the SL or S .. but the M9 ? It's way too large. The Sf 40 is pushing it ... but anything bigger would be too heavy, too large for me. Not sure about the A mode on the SF-40 .. I do not get a pre-flash but good exposure ... so I'm happy Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Q Posted November 1, 2016 Share #14 Posted November 1, 2016 sure, why wouldn't it ? You can set it to Auto or to Manual. You can just buy a Nissin i40 as well and use that on your Leica ... just without the TTL. Thanks. I have 2 Leica's (M and Q) and a Fuji XT2. If I'm lucky TTL might work with the Fuji too! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke_Miller Posted November 1, 2016 Share #15 Posted November 1, 2016 (edited) Not sure about the A mode on the SF-40 .. I do not get a pre-flash but good exposure ... so I'm happy From the Leica SF-40 users manual A FULLY AUTOMATIC Use this flash mode to achieve very good flash shots very simply. The camera controls the flash exposure. It measures the light reflected from the subject through the lens (TTL). Depending on the camera, the camera fires an almost undetectable measuring preflash from the flash unit prior to the actual exposure. All of the camera's exposure modes, i.e. programmed automatic (P), shutter priority (S/T), aperture priority (A) and manual setting (M) can be set. TTL FULLY AUTOMATIC As with A, however you can influence the fl ash illumination by entering a flash exposure compensation of -2 to +2 aperture values (EV) in half steps Edited November 1, 2016 by Luke_Miller Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DandA Posted November 1, 2016 Share #16 Posted November 1, 2016 Luke,how silly is that. Insyead of having a sensor of the usual A mode and a seperate TTL, there really isn't a A mode from what you posted. It can though be tested easily. Just put SF40 in A mode and cover with ones hand the supposed A mode sensor on the front of the flash. See what happens. If you get a correctly exposed shot, then that A mode is really TTL with no provision for exposure comp. Dave (D&A) Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke_Miller Posted November 2, 2016 Share #17 Posted November 2, 2016 Another clue is that the flash does not have a way for the user to input the lens aperture. Both the ISO setting and the shooting aperture are needed for the flash to calculate the correct flash exposure when in auto-thyrister mode. If the SF-40 had the traditional A Mode I would be all over it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DwF Posted November 2, 2016 Share #18 Posted November 2, 2016 I have an SF-20 that I use manually with my cameras in conjunction with the Nikon SB-17 cable. The flash dials down beautifully and easily for flash fill. Considering that it has the red dot, prices on the used market are pretty reasonable. I used to use this combo with my X1 and recently used this on my X E2. I never have had an issue and the results are very nice. David Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
baci Posted November 3, 2016 Author Share #19 Posted November 3, 2016 OK - I'll ask the dumb question... If I'm only going to use it on camera (or off using triggers), and if it's easy to adjust output owing to physical dials rather than menus and soft-keys, and it has a manual mode for when I want to go crazy, then does it matter if there's no auto-thyrister mode? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke_Miller Posted November 3, 2016 Share #20 Posted November 3, 2016 If I'm only going to use it on camera (or off using triggers), and if it's easy to adjust output owing to physical dials rather than menus and soft-keys, and it has a manual mode for when I want to go crazy, then does it matter if there's no auto-thyrister mode? Not if you are satisfied with the SF-40's Manual and TTL modes. My "work" bodies are Nikons and Nikon TTL and Leica M TTL probably ought not to be used in the same sentence. Not a rap on Leica - it is a camera, while the Nikon is a computer onto which one can mount a lens. Point being that all of the challenges of getting accurate exposures with the Leica center weighted metering are amplified when using it to control flash exposure. The Leica flashes I've used (SF-24D and SF-58) on my Leica digital Ms produce better results in auto-thyrister mode than when in TTL mode. Auto-thyrister mode has the added advantage of no preflash to trigger subject blinking. YMMV 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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