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Leica SL Flash recommendations

calilocal20

By calilocal20
in Leica SL System

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calilocal20

calilocal20

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Sorry I understand this topic has been covered to death, but I can't seem to get a concise answer. I have never used flash before, but have events where I am having an increasing need for it. Starting from scratch on the flash side, what is a good flash unit to buy for the SL. Should I bite the bullet and buy the SF64 or are there good enough 3rd party alternatives? Any help and direction would be greatly appreciated. I know there have been updates in the firmware since the last major topic on this, so I wasn't sure if there were improvements made on this end as well. 

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HeinzX

HeinzX

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In my opinion the best one and strongest is the SF64. But it is heavy and bulky - and expensive.

The SF40 is much smaller and roughly half the price. If it was strong enough for your puporses I would rather buy this. Third party flashes I would not buy - either they will not work or not utilize all

possibilities of the camera. Studio flash systems are quite another story.

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LocalHero1953

LocalHero1953

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There are no alternatives to the SF64 if you want its functionality.

So first decide what functionality you want:

- TTL

- HSS

- power

- on- or off-camera use

etc

 

Only then can you consider practical alternatives.

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calilocal20

calilocal20

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I really appreciate your guys help with this. I pretty much needed it just for basic indoor group photos. Families at weddings, parties, etc. If I am correct however it also sounds like I would be best off just getting the SF64 and being done with it so that I don't "outgrow" an already expensive flash system. At the end of the day the camera itself was expensive so not the time to cheap out now I suppose. 

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geetee1972

geetee1972

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The Leica flash units are insanely expensive and given they're probably just rebranded units by NiIssin or Metz they are definitely leveraging a captive audience by charging as much as they do for them.

 

Here's a suggestion that might save you some money in the long run. Buy any Nikon compatible flash unit for a fraction of the price (you can get Chinese made ones for like, $70) and see how you get on shooting with it in manual mode. You won't have the option to work with TTL but, to be honest, if you're indoors it really isn't hard to get right. Set the camera up with whatever settings you think you want, set the flash to half power, point the flash head towards the ceiling, take a shot, have a look at the result (the histogram or even just the image) and adjust the power up or down. It will feel cumbersome and it's not a sustainable long term solution but what it will do is give you an idea as to whether you like the results or not and whether it's worth spending that much money on a Leica branded unit.

 

You may well find that you just don't like the look and won't want to go any further down this route, in which case you will have saved yourself $800!

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calilocal20

calilocal20

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The Leica flash units are insanely expensive and given they're probably just rebranded units by NiIssin or Metz they are definitely leveraging a captive audience by charging as much as they do for them.

 

Here's a suggestion that might save you some money in the long run. Buy any Nikon compatible flash unit for a fraction of the price (you can get Chinese made ones for like, $70) and see how you get on shooting with it in manual mode. You won't have the option to work with TTL but, to be honest, if you're indoors it really isn't hard to get right. Set the camera up with whatever settings you think you want, set the flash to half power, point the flash head towards the ceiling, take a shot, have a look at the result (the histogram or even just the image) and adjust the power up or down. It will feel cumbersome and it's not a sustainable long term solution but what it will do is give you an idea as to whether you like the results or not and whether it's worth spending that much money on a Leica branded unit.

 

You may well find that you just don't like the look and won't want to go any further down this route, in which case you will have saved yourself $800!

 

Thank you so much. I might just try that! I can always try it out and send it back to Amazon if it doesn't give me what I want. 

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calilocal20

calilocal20

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You guys are amazing. Thanks. Anyone have any recommendations for a flash unit as mentioned? Will the Neewer or Youngnuo ones work? Or does it have to be a Nikon branded one? Sorry if this all sounds so basic, but I have never used a flash because I am not super fond of the look of it. I appreciate you answering such a basic question. 

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LocalHero1953

LocalHero1953

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I have a SF64 for on-camera TTL, but for off-camera use with wireless triggers, and occasionally on-camera in auto-thyristor mode, I have a collection of Nikon SB28 flashes bought used on ebay. No point in buying something that does a whole load of stuff you can't use, and these are compact, rugged and powerful.

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tpf1952

tpf1952

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I second the recommendation of the Nikon SB-28 as a good alternative flash for Leica users. It's one Nikon flash that doesn't sacrifice power despite its more compact size. A great choice for the M as well.

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su25

su25

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The Leica flash units are insanely expensive and given they're probably just rebranded units by NiIssin or Metz they are definitely leveraging a captive audience by charging as much as they do for them.

 

Here's a suggestion that might save you some money in the long run. Buy any Nikon compatible flash unit for a fraction of the price (you can get Chinese made ones for like, $70) and see how you get on shooting with it in manual mode. You won't have the option to work with TTL but, to be honest, if you're indoors it really isn't hard to get right. Set the camera up with whatever settings you think you want, set the flash to half power, point the flash head towards the ceiling, take a shot, have a look at the result (the histogram or even just the image) and adjust the power up or down. It will feel cumbersome and it's not a sustainable long term solution but what it will do is give you an idea as to whether you like the results or not and whether it's worth spending that much money on a Leica branded unit.

 

You may well find that you just don't like the look and won't want to go any further down this route, in which case you will have saved yourself $800!

 

This is precisely what I do. And, if the image is underexposed (due to bounce flash surface/direction) by up to 1 stop, I don't bother adjusting flash power as I can recover 1 stop in LR, because I am shooting RAW @ ISO 800 or lower.

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leica1215

leica1215

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Dear all, I have to correct my earlier post,  I am using the SF-20 flash on SL not the 24

 

I found the TTL is not working on SL, and Auto mode can't detect the shutter speed or aperture as the SF-20 should be when on film M6, anyone knows the SF-20 spec? the top speed it can work with ? I am using the M mode with SL on M mode as well for now..

 

my understanding is since the auto mode the flash can't read the SL's shutter speed or aperture then Auto mode is not going to work the SL am I correct?  

 

any tip or tricks please....

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