Very basic SF58 thread

[Learner]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hello,

 

I have an M9 and a SF58 flash. I admit to being pretty thick at following technical instructions / manuals.

 

I have looked at flash threads on this site and gleaned some information, but am still unable to join the dots.

 

I'm looking for some BASIC advice and tips to get started... Do's and don'ts, which mode to use (TTL, Automatic, or Manual), how to set the camera and flash for that mode. I assume that TTL is the best mode for the novice to try... Could be wrong.

 

================

 

Like many others I am put off by the SF58's heft... It is somewhat of a beast.

 

I have read Sean Reid's articles on flash in general and the SF58 in particular. I am intrigued by his suggestion to use the flash off camera and use the Nikon SC-28 coiled cable. Would that I could make the wrist strap that Sean created to dangle the flash.

 

Also, I wonder if Sean supports the camera hand with the flash hand in order to avoid shudder.

[Learner]

Yup, I can the silliness of my final line... How can he support the camera if he's directing the flash?

[madNbad]

The Nikon SC-28 coiled cord works well with any TTL equipped flash. I have both a SF-24D and a Metz 54z4 to use with my M6 TTL and I'll often use the flash off camera. I have an adapter to be able to use my table top tripod as a handle for the flash. The SF-58 is rather large for the M cameras but the adjustable head and lots of power make it a usefull tool.

[Learner]

Thank you for taking the time to reply.

 

I'm trying to picture your adapter. Does it leave your left hand free?

[madNbad]

There is a 1/4-20 socket on the flash end of the SC-28 cord. I just screw it on to the ball of my old Leitz table top tripod and use it without the legs; however, the legs make a great handle and if you want to set the camera down just open them and they hold the flash nicely. There are other adapters out there for attaching a flash shoe to a threaded post. Any answers on the settings for your M9 yet? Sorry but you have the flash in one hand and the camera in the other.

[Gerard]

Rule 1: Do not fear the flash.

 

Rule 2: Experiment, practice, test at every opportunity.

 

Rule 3: Know you are capable of bettering TTL.

[Learner]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hello Gerard,

 

Thank you for taking the time to reply.

 

I shall certainly take points 1 and 2 to heart, but I'm not sure what you mean by "bettering TTL".

 

Do you mean coming to grips with TTL or using Auto or Manual flash mode?

 

John

[swamiji]

Gordy makes a wrist strap with a 1/4 inch screw. Attach that to the Nikon flash cable. Then you can let the flash dangle while focusing, then grab the flash when ready.

[Gerard]

Hello Gerard,

 

Thank you for taking the time to reply.

 

I shall certainly take points 1 and 2 to heart, but I'm not sure what you mean by "bettering TTL".

 

Do you mean coming to grips with TTL or using Auto or Manual flash mode?

 

John

 

Hi John.

 

I mean it's important that you do all you can to become proficient in the use of flash. In doing so you'll realise that, using manual settings, you are able to better the performance of Leica's TTL. While competent, it has flaws. Flaws (such as a 'slow' pre-flash that often causes your subjects to blink at presicely the wrong moment) that you can better with some quick thinking.

 

One of the first things I'd recommend is to set your camera up on a tripod to shoot a dark interior scene (starting with say iso 600, f4 and the relevant focus point dialled in) with the flash set to ttl, and take a shot. Then go 'auto' and see how adjustments you make to iso and f-stop affect foreground/background exposures. Have a play. Refine your learnings in manual. You'll be surprised how fast you can learn and become more competent at judging the required settings than ttl might 'guess' you need.

 

Gez

[Learner]

Thank you swamiji and Gerard,

 

Lots of good ideas.

[lars_bergquist]

I have been along since 1936 and everything else I have been using has on the average

been worse than TTL. Flash photography of immobile dark rooms has not played any

noticeable part in my practice. If you want to get the shot with the least fuss, use TTL.

 

It is of course easy to be intimidated by the huge SF-58, but it is basically doing the

same tricks as the little SF-24D. Push it into the shoe, start the camera, start the flash

gun, set it to TTL/GNC. Easy. And experimentating is cheap nowadays. Do it. But try one

thing at a time. Be systematic. Know WHAT you are trying.

 

The old man from the Age of Flash Powder

[Gerard]

Lars; my point was that John would be wise to start by understanding what changing aperture/iso/exposure does to the exposed image when using flash. I certainly found this enlightening.

 

Without this basic understanding (relying on TTL from the outset) I'm not sure how pleased John would be with his experience with the SF58. And I'm pretty sure he'd be tempted to ask the forum why some of his images suffer over exposed foregrounds, etc, etc.

 

From my limited experience shooting events with flash (I've not been around since 1936, have only recently been consumed by photography, and I'd say that I am right at the start of my journey into flash work), I have seen far better results using auto and manual than I have from TTL. Perhaps I have just been unlucky? Either way, my confidence in flash use ramped up after experimenting and learning what effect adjusting different settings has on the final exposure.

 

From here the learning curve continues...

[mwilliamsphotography]

I have to agree with Gerard.

 

IMO, TTL tends to be over-rated, and is part and parcel of the homogenization and dumbing down of photography ... unless one learns the basics first, and understands the "What & Why" of exposure and lighting.

 

Something like a SF58 speed-light is fine as a fill flash function IF you know how flash works, what the limitations are, and how to control it to do your bidding rather than leaving the thinking to a light measuring method based on automated averages.

 

Like exposure metering, flash metering is based on a middle grey standard. It has to use some standard of measure, and this is it.

 

So, if you are shooting a primarily high-key (white) scene and use automated exposure, and automated TTL flash, the scene will be under-exposed. To correct this we have to over-ride the automated measures ... "compensate" the camera/lens exposure settings, and "compensate" the flash with a plus exposure modification to arrive at the high-key end result rather than a dull grayish feel. That is why those controls are on the tools in the first place.

 

So, if you shoot someone that is back lit by a window, or the sun, or even a bright wall, the flash averages it out and the foreground subject you are shooting will be under-exposed ... likewise if shooting against a dark background, or in a dark room, the flash tries to average it out, often over-exposing the foreground subject (this is the most common omistake with flash, and the reason so many images look over-lit with that flashed look that people attribute to flash use, instead of poor lighting knowledge and skills).

 

Whether using TTL or manual flash, you have to do something to adjust the level of light for many images. Granted, some TTL systems have become quite sophisticated at evaluating a scene and adjusting for it automatically ... especially off-camera TTL . Nikon is one such off-camera TTL system ... the Leica SF58 is not.

 

So, to get the SF58 off camera means you have to learn about how lighting works. IMO, the greatest single thing to advance lighting is the digital LCD feed-back. Use it and learn.

 

-Marc