woorob Posted October 19, 2013 Share #1 Posted October 19, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi, I have the compact SF 24D flash which I like (especially with the Leicagoodies SFILL soft box). I cannot, however, figure out how to make the flash operate in "fill flash" mode when shooting outdoors, and wonder if doing so is even possible with this flash. I also have the SF 58 which works well as fill flash for the M, but it's a bit bulky. Any insights would be appreciated. Thanks! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 19, 2013 Posted October 19, 2013 Hi woorob, Take a look here Fill flash using SF 24D on the M (240)?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
pico Posted October 19, 2013 Share #2 Posted October 19, 2013 To simplify our response, it would help to know which Leica camera you are using because some have great TTL support and work virtually automatically with the SF 24D. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woorob Posted October 19, 2013 Author Share #3 Posted October 19, 2013 M (240) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted October 19, 2013 Share #4 Posted October 19, 2013 M (240) Pardon my poor reading of the subject and group. I have no excuse. TTL is a good beginning point. Set the flash at TTL and the shutter speed at A. Shoot away. The flash can tell you if you cannot get an adequate exposure, and you can check the outcome in the camera's review. That will give you a good start. If results are not satisfactory you can try A on the flash. The flash sensor on the SF24D will read the flash reflected. Last resort is M, but you paid a lot of money for the units and we can go there last, if necessary. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
esophoria Posted October 20, 2013 Share #5 Posted October 20, 2013 About two years ago, I purchased an M9 and now a proud owner of a M 240. I am trying to use my M 240 in a studio environment. Coming from the Nikon side and using Nikon strobes, the literature supplied by Nikon is simple to read and understand. Trying to figure out how to use a Leica M with a Leica flash unit is immensely complicated and confusing-- try reading the Leica supplied manual. There is no simple way to logically figure out a way. My dealer is also of little help. There are no third party books which have a simplified explanation of how to do TTL vs manual flash shooting. I've used cameras and flashes all of my life and have had extensive experience with competitive products. Leica: Give me source to read or hire someone who makes a living using your gear and let us have a resource. Rant off! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dugby Posted October 20, 2013 Share #6 Posted October 20, 2013 About two years ago, I purchased an M9 and now a proud owner of a M 240. I am trying to use my M 240 in a studio environment. Coming from the Nikon side and using Nikon strobes, the literature supplied by Nikon is simple to read and understand. Trying to figure out how to use a Leica M with a Leica flash unit is immensely complicated and confusing-- try reading the Leica supplied manual. There is no simple way to logically figure out a way. My dealer is also of little help. There are no third party books which have a simplified explanation of how to do TTL vs manual flash shooting. I've used cameras and flashes all of my life and have had extensive experience with competitive products. Leica: Give me source to read or hire someone who makes a living using your gear and let us have a resource. Rant off! It's like those last instructions to Clint Eastwood in the movie Firefox "remember you have to think in Russian" Danke Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ayewing Posted October 20, 2013 Share #7 Posted October 20, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) The manual supplied with the SF24D is indeed a rather confusing document. The instructions in the M240 manual (p190-195) are a little clearer but not helpful for studio use. Pico's suggestions in his post above are very good and easy to follow. Using the SF24D either on camera or off camera with a flash cord can produce good results for an occasional flash user like myself. Perhaps one of our members with studio experience can advise on using the M240 with studio equipment Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dante Posted October 20, 2013 Share #8 Posted October 20, 2013 The unfortunate answer is that you need to get to an exposure with the shutter speed at 1/180 or below and an aparture where the flash is actually effective. The practical reaiity is that fill flash, especially in bright backlight and with a low-power flash, is almost impossible to do on cameras with low synch speeds Note that an M240 if in auto ISO mode, will go to the ISO last used in manual mode (so if you go to manual mode and shoot something at a manually selected ISO 200, that's where the camera will revert when you take a flash shot in auto-ISO. At least nominally. As much as it's going to pain you to hear this, fill flash works wonderfully with the SF-58, which has about 3x the power, making it possible to stop the camera down. It also has high-speed synch in TTL mode, which allows shutter sync up to 1/4000 second. This means that if your main exposure drifts into a shutter speed above 1/180, the camera will not unexpectedly shut off the flash. With these, you can pretty much wander around and shoot with the flash always on. The 58 is big and expensive, but on my M240, it is a miracle compared to the slow SF-24D (pop-pop preflash) on my M8. Dante Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dante Posted October 20, 2013 Share #9 Posted October 20, 2013 Also, in terms of fill-flash in general, I have a small primer on my site: Fill Flash for Amnesiacs It does not yet cover HSS, but I am going to add that on a wordpress version (this original is almost 10 years old!). Dante Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECohen Posted October 20, 2013 Share #10 Posted October 20, 2013 "Perhaps one of our members with studio experience can advise on using the M240 with studio equipment" I hope I'm not speaking out of school. I am a studio photographer but I don't own a 240. I have been watching these threads because I am considering one. Why cant you just put a Pocket Wizard on the hot shoe set the camera on manual and shoot away? If your lighting is controlled isn't Manual the best choice? Also? I'm confused "The unfortunate answer is that you need to get to an exposure with the shutter speed at 1/180" Lets forget studio for a second. Why cant you "drag" the shutter on an M240? If using a flash on camera. Isn't this the ultimate manual camera? Don't you just set the speed,set the F/stop and adjust the flash for the appropriate fill? Even made easy with instant feed back of digital. Thanks for letting me participate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bab Posted October 20, 2013 Share #11 Posted October 20, 2013 You can buy a wireless adapter from cowboy studios for your M that will work with the olympus fl 600 or fl-36 it works great. You might check with quantum and see if they have an adapter that will get you what you want. they boast that it will work with any camera? Get the Leica multifunction grip with the adapter if you can find one, and a Broncolor move pack and your in business! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmahto Posted February 25, 2016 Share #12 Posted February 25, 2016 "Perhaps one of our members with studio experience can advise on using the M240 with studio equipment" I hope I'm not speaking out of school. I am a studio photographer but I don't own a 240. I have been watching these threads because I am considering one. Why cant you just put a Pocket Wizard on the hot shoe set the camera on manual and shoot away? If your lighting is controlled isn't Manual the best choice? Also? I'm confused "The unfortunate answer is that you need to get to an exposure with the shutter speed at 1/180" Lets forget studio for a second. Why cant you "drag" the shutter on an M240? If using a flash on camera. Isn't this the ultimate manual camera? Don't you just set the speed,set the F/stop and adjust the flash for the appropriate fill? Even made easy with instant feed back of digital. Thanks for letting me participate. I found this old thread while searching for sf24D use with m240 since I have this flash. Since sf 58 was suggested in this thread as more useful, I tried to find out what is the difference. It seems sf 58 allows high sync speed (HSS) while sf 24D will force you keep the shutter speed below the sync speed. In bright day light, if you are shooting for shallow DOF with wide aperture then you will have shutter speed in 1/4000 range. It means either you use a flash with HSS or use ND filter to bring down the shutter speed below sync speed if you are using sf 24D. This link explains it beautifully. https://fstoppers.com/originals/demystifying-high-speed-sync-68527 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rand Posted February 25, 2016 Share #13 Posted February 25, 2016 About two years ago, I purchased an M9 and now a proud owner of a M 240. I am trying to use my M 240 in a studio environment. Coming from the Nikon side and using Nikon strobes, the literature supplied by Nikon is simple to read and understand. Trying to figure out how to use a Leica M with a Leica flash unit is immensely complicated and confusing-- try reading the Leica supplied manual. There is no simple way to logically figure out a way. My dealer is also of little help. There are no third party books which have a simplified explanation of how to do TTL vs manual flash shooting. I've used cameras and flashes all of my life and have had extensive experience with competitive products. Leica: Give me source to read or hire someone who makes a living using your gear and let us have a resource. Rant off! Just think of it as another part of "The Leica Experience" Love the lenses - hate the camera. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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