No flash socket on M8 /M9 - is it a problem?

[adan]

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I shoot flash in the studio with my M9 all the time. I don't use a Viso, I just use my 75 'cron at closest focus with the regular viewfinder. If I really needed even tighter shots, I'd look into the 90-Macro-Elmar + goggles (but I haven't, so far). The M9 images allow a lot of scope from some cropping if needed (but the sample shot is cropped only for shape, not tightness).

 

I guess if one absolutely had to shoot bellows/macro with an M9, there is also always the hot-light option. My studio is in a power-challenged location so self-contained battery-power flashes are my best option, though.

 

I agree that the deletion of a regular PC plug in the M8/9 was unfortunate. Looking at the famous Mark Norton M8 dissection http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m8-forum/21331-anatomy-leica-m8.html - post #3 - it seems like there is internal space right below the hot shoe, and that hanging a flap off the existing soft circuit board (that holds the flash circuitry) with series connections to a PC outlet in the traditional Leica M location would have been possible (perhaps not in the more crowded M9).

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[wparsonsgisnet]

Is that a (gasp) Manhattan? No single-malt?

[Jamie Roberts]

hmmm. That reminds me. It's just about 5 PM

[redbaron]

I'm glad I'm not the only one that saw the elephant sitting in the corner. None of your nominated subjects should need a macro lens at all, Frank. I just checked my 50 and it matches my 22 inch computer screen size at about 75 cm, so there's room to move. I often shoot plates of food with some background with a 50 and wouldn't even think to use an SLR, let alone a visoflex or macro lenses.

 

BTW, I wouldn't get too bothered about trying to photograph a computer screen. Photoshop will deliver far better results.

[Guest BigSplash]

I'm glad I'm not the only one that saw the elephant sitting in the corner. None of your nominated subjects should need a macro lens at all, Frank. I just checked my 50 and it matches my 22 inch computer screen size at about 75 cm, so there's room to move. I often shoot plates of food with some background with a 50 and wouldn't even think to use an SLR, let alone a visoflex or macro lenses.

 

BTW, I wouldn't get too bothered about trying to photograph a computer screen. Photoshop will deliver far better results.

 

Well I beg to differ. The marine computer is a shoe box sized unit where I need close ups of the connection panel where the VGA, serial and USB ports etc are. That is about 10cm x 4 cm. I need a close up of the processor 2x2 cm. I need all of that well lit with an overall diffuse light and a third light slightly off centre to create some shadows and provide depth. That means Visoflex with studio lights or buy a DSLR and a new kit doesn't it? I have already taken snap shots with a Digilux 2.

 

My daughters sculptures are about 30cm tall and similar to Giacometti types.....gosh I hope others see that! I need images of the total sculpture of two dancers for example and then close ups to show the detail....again it Viso and studio lights.

 

Photographing my grand daughter is studio lights without Viso and this can be done with an adapter in the hot shoe. However if a S2 has a flash synch connection I agree with others ...why does the Leica M not have this. It cannot be difficult to fit surely. I even wonder if Leica can and should offer this within their upgrade program. We are talking I guess of removing the top plate drilling a hole fitting a socket and soldering a wire to the hot shoe.........£300 or £100 if done as part of a service?

[hoppyman]

Frank I do occasionally use my Visoflex with my M9 and enjoy doing so. It has some unique advantages over a film M for that and of course is better than the M8 for framing too. Nevertheless it was not likely to have been a design consideration for either, rather they tried to maintain the M film proportions as far as possible. I think that even the most enthusiastic Visoflex users recognise that it is a minor use of the digital Ms.

 

I use the Macro Elmar 90 (without close up adapter) and the APO Summicron 75 for closer applications with great success. If necessary there is plenty of room to crop if a higher magnification is necessary, especially for your application of insurance records. An inexpensive used 135 is well worth consideration too.

 

Spiral Ginger photo - Geoff Hopkinson photos at pbase.com

Heliconia in some nice Bo-keh photo - Geoff Hopkinson photos at pbase.com

 

If you are using a multiple light setup for a studio type application then it might be reasonable to invest in a wireless trigger setup rather than use a synch cord. That does preclude the usual Viso prism of course.

Finally personally I find the protruding PC sockets to be inelegant on my M3 as well as slightly uncomfortable in use. I'm pleased that the M8/9 don't have them there.

 

One other aside is that the gentleman's name at Leica Camera is Stefan Daniel not Stefan Daniels. I'm sure that he would appreciate being spoken about correctly.

[andybarton]

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.........£300 or £100 if done as part of a service?

 

How long have you been a Leica customer Frank? LOL!

 

For the amount of money that Leica would charge you to fit a flash socket, you could (probably) go out and buy a Canon or Nikon dSLR, with a macro lens (from Sigma or Tamron), which would, arguably, be much better suited to the job. Indeed, you could buy a Canon 450D (or whatever this week's equivalent is) for what, £500?, plus a 60 Macro-Elmarit and adapter for £400 and have something that would be really useful for the work that you want to do. There's a UK dealer who has the Elmarit for sale this morning for £350. Then, you'd have a specialist macro set up, with Leica glass. You may have seen what I have been doing with that lens recently. I seriously don't think that you need any better quality than that can offer.

 

Then, you could either sell that if you no longer have a need for it, or keep it for the next time you do. In all honesty, I still think that this would be a much better solution for you and one that you should not dismiss out of hand, simply because the camera doesn't have a red dot. Life's too short to make it difficult for yourself.

 

However, if you are persistent in needing a flash socket, there must be competent electronic engineers out there who could fit one for you if Leica can't / won't.

[Jamie Roberts]

{snipped}

Photographing my grand daughter is studio lights without Viso and this can be done with an adapter in the hot shoe. However if a S2 has a flash synch connection I agree with others ...why does the Leica M not have this. It cannot be difficult to fit surely. I even wonder if Leica can and should offer this within their upgrade program. We are talking I guess of removing the top plate drilling a hole fitting a socket and soldering a wire to the hot shoe.........£300 or £100 if done as part of a service?

 

Frank, Bill posted the solution on the previous page. Just get the slim hot shoe adapter and be done with it. It's only $100, not pounds or euros...

[wparsonsgisnet]

...It's only $100...

 

Every time I buy a new piece of Leica equipment, I say just exactly those words.

 

But .. recently I am troubled. I yelled a lot the last year or so about Fast Wide Primes, and started puting (only) $ away for the 21 'lux when it was announced (and I said my thank-you's to the Gnomes of Solms). Of course, that money ended up going toward the M9 (with a little extra).

 

For a moribund company, these guys have a lot of life! Makes you wonder.

 

Then, the bastards announced a new 35 'lux-a -- or it leaked. Is this like the Apple iPhone 4G gambit, where their engineer left the phone intentionally (?) on the retail counter so Gizmodo could get hold of it and do all their advertising for free?

 

So, new 35 'lux-a. Now I'm debating whether to get the 21, 24, or 35 'lux. Of course, it's *only* dollars, but I haven't got an Aunt Rose anymore.

 

Man, what a problem ... they damn well better NOT bring out an M10.

[Philippe D.]

"No flash socket on M8 /M9 - is it a problem?"

It's obviously a problem to you

Andy, this is a "problem", or better a lack, for many of us.

I was complaining about this already as the M8 came out.

Not going better with the M8.2, even with M9.

Just hope it will be a part of the M10.

[Jamie Roberts]

Every time I buy a new piece of Leica equipment, I say just exactly those words.

 

{snipped}

 

I hear you Bill But in this case, it really is less than $100 and Frank's problem is solved.

 

As for a new 35 Lux, don't you have the old one? Or are you Lux-less from 21 to 35? And let's not forget the 28 'cron... it's still fabulous, too.

[wparsonsgisnet]

I hear you Bill But in this case, it really is less than $100 and Frank's problem is solved.

 

As for a new 35 Lux, don't you have the old one? Or are you Lux-less from 21 to 35? And let's not forget the 28 'cron... it's still fabulous, too.

 

Jamie, you are w*a*y too alert.

 

First, I am trying to order this hot-shoe adapter myself. I've got viso stuff and want this in the kit.

 

Second, yup, I do have the 25 'lux-a. It is the stoopid too-small buffer that has me thinking of using my backup M8 during a photo shoot and I can't put the 50 'lux on for this purpose. So, I'm thinking of a second 'lux in the 21 - 35 range.

 

I have the 24 2.8, and it's way too slow for dance photog unless it's for studio shots with *lots* of lights. (I have tried.)

 

I certainly do want to try the new 35 if I can. Do you suppose it will really exist?

[ndjambrose]

Totally agreed. I have no use for TTL, but having a wide finder or even another flash in the hotshoe means I cannot trigger remote lights (on location, not in the studio) from my digital Ms.

 

Thankfully PocketWizards newest transmitters have a pass-through hot-shoe and other outputs in addition to radio (on the Flex), though that's not really satisfactory for a finder.

 

It's truly a weird omission, and I hope Leica fixes in the next M camera.

 

Ditto on all counts. The lack of sync socket was one reason I retired my M8 - and equally, one reason I've not bought into the M9. I remember trying to guess the framing on a 21mm lens while I had a (non-TTL) flash mounted, and trying to grip the finder between my finger tips next to the shutter release so I could peer through it ...

 

Thankfully the MP/M7 are still useful to me.

[LuxBob]

Use a flash strobe detector.

[Jamie Roberts]

{snipped}

Second, yup, I do have the 25 'lux-a. It is the stoopid too-small buffer that has me thinking of using my backup M8 during a photo shoot and I can't put the 50 'lux on for this purpose. So, I'm thinking of a second 'lux in the 21 - 35 range.

 

I have the 24 2.8, and it's way too slow for dance photog unless it's for studio shots with *lots* of lights. (I have tried.)

 

I certainly do want to try the new 35 if I can. Do you suppose it will really exist?

 

Hey Bill--

 

Yes, I see your point... getting a 24 Lux would also let you use it on the M9 too And it's cheaper than another M9 w/ lens.

 

As for a new 35 Lux ASPH, after shooting the current 35 Lux ASPH on the M9 nearly all day at a wedding on Sunday, the new one would have to be some really revolutionary thing to even raise my interest. I guess if I needed another 35, though, it would be interesting Personally I'd by a pre-ASPH cron 35 just to round out the "look"..

[Jamie Roberts]

Ditto on all counts. The lack of sync socket was one reason I retired my M8 - and equally, one reason I've not bought into the M9. I remember trying to guess the framing on a 21mm lens while I had a (non-TTL) flash mounted, and trying to grip the finder between my finger tips next to the shutter release so I could peer through it ...

 

Thankfully the MP/M7 are still useful to me.

 

Yeah, the pocket wizard thing (the small one) did it for me... but it is annoying!

[wparsonsgisnet]

I am in the process of ordering one of the low-profile adapters from Michael Bass.

 

I still have to do some measurements with the Viso III on both the M8 and M9 to make sure the thing will fit.

 

I'll report on my results.

[Guest BigSplash]

I am in the process of ordering one of the low-profile adapters from Michael Bass.

 

I still have to do some measurements with the Viso III on both the M8 and M9 to make sure the thing will fit.

 

I'll report on my results.

 

Bill I have the same idea. Measuring with a ruler (not a micrometer) I see that there is roughly 5mm clearance from the bottom of the Viso 90 degree finder and the top of the hot shoe slides of an M8. There is another 3.5 to 4mm approx from the top of the slide to the contacts of the M8 hot shoe. It would appear that therefore judging from Michael Bass drawing there is enough room.

 

He offers two types of PLUGS at the other end (mini plug and sub mini plug) I think that the mini plug is the one that fits standard flash sockets of a M4,M5, M6 etc and other camera makes. My studio lights have such a PLUG also. So that poses the question how does one get a PLUG to connect to a PLUG unless he can also provide a lead with a flying lead SOCKET that mimicks what was fitted on a M6. ?

 

I am interested if you get some visibility....I have emailed Michael Bass also.

 

FYI I have also contacted Malcolm Taylor (UK) to see if he can fit a synch socket to an M8 but he has never done this and is concerned that there is not enough place internally for wires etc. so I have given that idea up. Such work would probably be expensive and I am not sure it would do anything for my Leica guarantee either!

[wparsonsgisnet]

Big, I plan to get the standard mini-plug, because I want to connect to the new Pocket Wizard TT5 (don't have one yet, tho).

 

I've traded several emails with Michael Bass and he seems both friendly and helpful.

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[Guest BigSplash]

Big, I plan to get the standard mini-plug, because I want to connect to the new Pocket Wizard TT5 (don't have one yet, tho).

 

I've traded several emails with Michael Bass and he seems both friendly and helpful.

 

Bill can you enlighten me about the Pocket Wizard TT5 ...what is it and why use it? Sorry I have not Googled this item yet but you seem to know what you are about so if you can explain ...much appreciated!

 

My planned set up is to use existing studio lights and connect one ....the other two actually have built in sensors for slave mode.

 

Frank