Nikon flash w/ Leica M6?

[Sofa King]

I'm wondering if I can put a Nikon SB-400 or SB-600 on my M6 and have it work correctly. I know very little about flash photography but find myself photographing in dark places a lot and am becoming interested now (before I was a natural light purist). In addition to an M6 I also own an F100 and a D50. If I could find a flash that would work on all three (or at least the M6 and F100) it would be ideal.

Thanks.

 

[kipkeston]

I've tried the SB-25 on the M6. It works and it's fine I think. The biggest problem is the SB-25 is a huuuge flash and is hard to use on the tiny M6

 

[Photon42]

the SB 400 / 600 only work on Nikons with TTL flash metering, as they don't come with their own light metering cell. Of course you ca use the 600 totally manually, but given your intro I don't think that makes sense.

I've just bought a SB22 from Popflash for US 25, as it's a tad smaller than my SB 27 and still uses AA cells, which I prefer. Some Nikon flashes known to work (as they do have non-TTL metering):

SB 800, SB 80, SB 24/5/6/8, SB 30, SB 27, SB 22(s).

There are tons of others of course. Usually said, if you get a Nikon / Minolta / Canon flash from the 80's, you can be almost sure it works. With older flashes, there may be an issue with the trigger voltage. Check here, if you're interested.

Don't get something like a SB 24 form factor flash without trying first on your M6. It's more the camera hanging off the flash. The SB 30 is maybe the smallest one, albeit not using the nice AA cells.

Given your all your cameras, I'd go either for a cheap second hand SB 27, SB 30 or a SB 22s.
If you really use flash a lot, forget the SB 30. If you need lots of power and want the all-singing-all-dancing, my all means get the SB 800. If you do fancy macro work with the D50, get the SB800 as well.

I personally prefer non-TTL flash especially on Digital, since it does NOT have the very nasty pre-flash and delay. That makes choices cheap.

 

[Sofa King]

Hmm, very good advice. I'd preferably like something with NO delay if that's possible and a swiveling top so I can bounce it around. I don't think size will be an issue for me, but then again I've never used an auxiliary flash.

Mainly what I expect to use it for would be candid photography indoors mostly at night.

EDIT: it doesn't HAVE to be swiveling... I think just the option to tilt it towards the ceiling would be enough.

 

[Dfin]

Sofaking, you might try tracking down some of the Metz flash guns. The smaller ones used AA batteries, and weren`t overly big on M cameras. Some had tilting heads, a couple of computer F/stops and reasonable Guide Numbers.

 

[MCTuomey]

fill flash? i picked up a used leica sf-20 and a nikon sc-17 off-shoe cord. have used it on an M4, M6, and M7, mostly manual mode. pick up a *sfill* diffuser from lutz if you want to use it on camera. metz makes an equivalent to the sf-20 that'll be probly cheaper: 30 BCT, i hink.

i dial the flash way down, sometimes 3 stops. you don't need much, imho, for simple indoor candids. just enough for the lens to bite ...

i have vivitar 285HV units for my dSLR. shooting flash with a rangefinder seems to me very different than flash-lit dSLR work. i don't know, somehow much more delicate. calls for a small, discrete unit, i think.

 

[tbm]

I have the Metz 54 MZ-3 flash and 3502 adapter which I use on my M6 TTL in TTL mode. The great thing about that flash and adapter combo is that if I suddenly want to use my Bessa R3A, all I have to do is take the aforementioned combo off my M6 TTL, attach it to the hotshoe of my R3A, quickly change the flash mode from TTL to Automatic, set identical aperture settings on my lens and the flash, and I'm ready to capture more images. So, I recommend the 54 MZ-3 flash or, if you don't need left to right flash head movements, the Metz 44 MZ-2 flash which I also have and which I also occasionally use out in the field when I want to slightly lighten my camera bag's contents' weight.

 

[vrgard]

I've got a Nikon SB20 that works fine. An alternative that's wonderfully small is the Hexar HF14 flash that matches the Hexar AF camera.

-Randy

 

[alan davus]

Thanks guys, from this I've worked out my SB15 is usable on my M6ttl. Cheers.

 

[MCTuomey]

I've got a Nikon SB20 that works fine. An alternative that's wonderfully small is the Hexar HF14 flash that matches the Hexar AF camera.

-Randy

hey randy i think that's HX-14. great little flash. perfect for RFs, i agree. hard to find sometimes.

 

[srichmond]

I've used the SB-800 on the M6 (non TTL). It's fine. Set it to manual, understand the ISO, and use f.11. All good. Saying that, I don't use flash much with the M6. I generally prefer to push the flim and shoot in natural light. Much better results!

 

[BillBingham2]

SK,

Get a good Olympus T-32. LOTS of power, small in size, takes AA, tilts up and down and has built in sensor. This is your best bet.

If you are into somewhat fixer uppers look for a Vivitar 292 and an external sensor. You will need to rebuild the battery pack but they put out lots of light and are smaller than most flashes today.

B2 (;->

 

[swoop]

It's like $20 on ebay. All manual, nothing fancy, takes a single AA battery, cycles in about 5 seconds with NIMH, fits in a bag easy, balances well on camera. I only use flash on occasion, and it's a nice cheap unit to have in a pinch.