hansmezger Posted January 6, 2014 Share #1 Posted January 6, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) Dear friends, I recently acquired my self sf24d to do some street shooting in the night where people gather for various protests against the government. My first tryout was a totally disaster, the pictures were heavily over-underexposed.. While I was searching forums some members were advising to set the auto slow sync to 125 to make the sf24 work properly. So do I need to set my shutter value to 125 manually as well? Also where shoot is very dark and not well lit. I also would like to use hyperfocal focussing @F8 AND @F11. Can you guys please advice me some settings please.. This was the only close to good exposure that I got from the all event:( Cheers, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 6, 2014 Posted January 6, 2014 Hi hansmezger, Take a look here M240 & SF24D Flash. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Luke_Miller Posted January 6, 2014 Share #2 Posted January 6, 2014 Don't have an M-240, but used the SF-24D regularly with an M8.2 and now M9. Don't know if it applies to the M-240, but when I first stated using the SF-24D in TTL mode on my M8.2 I had a problem with the flash always firing at full power resulting in overexposure. I found that if I did a half press of the shutter and observed the pre-flash I could then press the shutter the rest of the way and get proper exposure. If I just pressed the shutter all the way in one motion I got the overexposure. I find that in general I prefer to use the SF-24D in "A" (auto thyrister) mode. The camera's metering (may not be true for M-240) is overly influenced by a bright background or light source in the frame and would underexpose TTL flash shots. The flash's metering in A mode seems much more resistant to this. I just have to remember to tell the flash the aperture I've set on the lens. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oslermarine Posted January 7, 2014 Share #3 Posted January 7, 2014 Hey guys, I've read online that the 24D doesn't perform well in TTL mode with digital M. Anyone try it with the M240? I mainly want to use it as a fill flash in backlit shots. Thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 7, 2014 Share #4 Posted January 7, 2014 I would not know why it should not perform well. It has always been flawless on the M9 and M8 within the limitations of a relatively light non-tilting flash unit. I have not tried it (yet) on the M but I will do so tonight. The intended use is exactly what this flash is made for. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oslermarine Posted January 7, 2014 Share #5 Posted January 7, 2014 Thanks, yea apparently on the M8 and M9 people were having issues with overexposed images. This occurred in TTL mode. So people were forced to use manual mode. If that's the case I'd rather stick with my old canon 430ex II and use manual. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 7, 2014 Share #6 Posted January 7, 2014 Not a problem I have had, but having said that, using a direct flash in dark surroundings will always overexpose the main subject whatever automatic flash control one uses. The best one can hope for is a "scared rabbit" look. Fill flash is another thing. But, with the wide dynamic range of the M240, the use of fill flash is considerably limited. Mostly the desired effect can easily be produced in postprocessing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Andersen Posted January 10, 2014 Share #7 Posted January 10, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi. When I use the flash with the M I have seen it is necessary to wait between each shot until the camera has measured the light (shutter button pressed halve down). I think it is the time the camera need to calculate and send information to the flash. If not, it will not take the flash into account, and a underexposure will take place, even when the green ready lamp on the flash is lightning and the flash is fired. Have any of you the same experience? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted January 10, 2014 Share #8 Posted January 10, 2014 I've found the 24D works best on A rather than TTL. The whole idea of flash is instantaneous capture and the 24D Preflash is laborious at best. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 10, 2014 Share #9 Posted January 10, 2014 Hi.When I use the flash with the M I have seen it is necessary to wait between each shot until the camera has measured the light (shutter button pressed halve down). I think it is the time the camera need to calculate and send information to the flash. If not, it will not take the flash into account, and a underexposure will take place, even when the green ready lamp on the flash is lightning and the flash is fired. Have any of you the same experience? What mode do you use it in then? In GNC the flash exposure is controlled by the pre-flash, not by the camera EV measuring. The pre-flash presetting is controlled by the ambient light meter. If the Blue Dot gets it wrong, you will see a double pre-flash. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Andersen Posted January 10, 2014 Share #10 Posted January 10, 2014 Thanks Jaapv The flash is in TTL/GNC mode and the camera in "A" mode Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted January 10, 2014 Share #11 Posted January 10, 2014 I wonder if live view and advanced mode exposure needs to be turned off. If live view is on, the pre-flash might occur at the wrong point in the shutter close, reopen, close and reopen again sequence. I found the SF24 much improved by the Leicagoodies SFILL diffusor but since getting the SF58 and a Sto-Fen diffusor, I don’t use the SF24 much any more. I know that the SF58 is not working properly with the M240 at the moment (supposed to have been corrected at the FW update but wasn’t), so maybe Leica did an equally good implementation with the SF24 Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Andersen Posted January 10, 2014 Share #12 Posted January 10, 2014 Hi. You are absolutely right - use the "A" mode. It is also valid with the "M". I have the same experience with over/underexposure when used in TTL/GNC mode. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted January 10, 2014 Share #13 Posted January 10, 2014 Moderators - now two threads running on this. Could you amalgamate them please. Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 10, 2014 Share #14 Posted January 10, 2014 Not quite the same thread, but OK Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TedPaul Posted May 2, 2014 Share #15 Posted May 2, 2014 Enjoy my 240. For fill flash obtained SF58. Found it really too heavy for hand use. Would the 24 work? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
UliWer Posted May 2, 2014 Share #16 Posted May 2, 2014 I propose to wait a few days until it's clear whether the new SF 26 will work on your camera. It was introduced with the new Leica T, and the Leica website only shows it together with the T. Though I see no reason why it should not work with the M bodies - but I may be wrong. If it works it could be much more flexible than the SF 24 D for with the new model you can change the direktion of the flash, so enabling indirect lighting like the SF 58, but much smaller. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fgcm Posted May 2, 2014 Share #17 Posted May 2, 2014 I own both sf24 and sf58. On M8 and M9 I never had an issue with both. On M240, first firmware had some bugs, corrected in a newer release. Now sf58 is perfect, but sf24 still shows some exposures issues in TTL. I mainly use sf24 in tungsten lit interiors with 3/4 CTO gels in manual mode. -1 2/3 stop, F5,6, 1/30 ISO 200, 35 lens to shoot party Without gels, - 2 1/3 stops If the subject is closer, I stop down, the reversal for people far away. I think this is the best way to get natural colors, merged with the background and 100% perfect exposures. Try, you will realize how fast can be shooting in manual mode. Forget about TTL. Know your stuff and you get the best out of it. Franco Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack-tucker Posted December 6, 2015 Share #18 Posted December 6, 2015 Hi all, I don't use flash very much, but sometimes I experiment a bit with the SF24D. I bought it just for the rare case I really can not capture a certain situation without any flash, or really need a bit of fill flash to get a decent picture. What I find really nice is to use a little piece of very thin cotton like material from an old shopping bag (it is kind of between thin cotton and a tea filter). It allows open up aperture when I can not reduce flash power any more and of course makes the light much softer. What I want to figure out next is the use of gels to get right colours. @ Fgcm: What does ¾ CTM stand for? Or what does CTM stand for? Is it a material or a certain colour standard? And what gel would I need to balance flash for the use of a fill flash in warm sunlight? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brill64 Posted December 6, 2015 Share #19 Posted December 6, 2015 CT - Colour Temperature M - Magenta (CTM corrects flourescent), B - Blue (CTB to cool tungsten lightbulbs down), O - Orange (CTO to warm things up), yellow, red & so on but blue & orange are going to be the most useful. magenta will correct regular flourescent tube lighting, which tends to render a greenish/blue light on daylight film. the ct filters can be bought as coloured plastic film, a bit like sweet wrappers but in metre wide rolled sheet form which you can then cut to size. kodak used to make small 50X50 & 100X100 sized filters which you taped to lenses or small flash units to correct ambient light. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted December 6, 2015 Share #20 Posted December 6, 2015 Hi all, I don't use flash very much, but sometimes I experiment a bit with the SF24D. I bought it just for the rare case I really can not capture a certain situation without any flash, or really need a bit of fill flash to get a decent picture. What I find really nice is to use a little piece of very thin cotton like material from an old shopping bag (it is kind of between thin cotton and a tea filter). It allows open up aperture when I can not reduce flash power any more and of course makes the light much softer. What I want to figure out next is the use of gels to get right colours. @ Fgcm: What does ¾ CTM stand for? Or what does CTM stand for? Is it a material or a certain colour standard? And what gel would I need to balance flash for the use of a fill flash in warm sunlight? If you get SFILL from Leicagoodies the package will contain a piece of Tungsten balancing gel. http://www.leicagoodies.com/sfill.html Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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