Bessa III or GF670 Flash?

[Robland]

I see the hot show has a single contact, I assume this is only firing the flash. I also assume there is no OTF or TTL flash compensation. If I use flash for a 1/2 stop fill, is there a best flash to recommend, Metz? And what would be the easiest method to accomplish this? (using the exposure compensation of -1/2 and flash set to 1/2?)

 

[nksyoon]

There are many good older Nikon flashes that go for very little because they don't work with Nikon's latest TTL system, eg SB26 or SB28. Smaller ones like the SB20 or 30 are good too. But any good auto flash would work.

Use the Auto mode and set the aperture on the camera -1 stop compared to the actual aperture you're using.

 

[nksyoon]

Sorry, auto mode on the flash - you set the ISO, then the aperture for the appropriate distance as indicated on the flash's exposure scale - the flash sensor controls the length/intensity of the flash.

On the camera you could work in AE or manual and adjust either the camera or flash to get the exposure you want.

 

[guyjr]

I just got my Voigtlander Bessa III last week, and had a chance last night to try it out with a Canon 580EX-II. I'm really not a big fan of flash photography, but I haven't been getting the results I want even with Ilford Delta Pro 3200 indoors, so I decided to see what I could do with the flash and the Bessa.

It turns out that this particular flash has a built-in thyristor type meter, and can be set to adjust the flash intensity based on that meter. So I set the custom function up, attached it to the camera, and shot a couple rolls through - the Delta 3200, and then a roll of Ilford 100. Both rolls appear to have been exposed almost perfectly. On the flash you set the ISO speed and Aperture that the camera is set to - but can't set higher than ISO 1600 - so I just compensated by dialing down the aperture to 2.5 (I had the camera set to 3.5). For the ISO 100 shots, I tried it at f/3.5 and also f/11.

I'm quite happy that I found another use for the 580EX-II - it seems to be a great combo with the Bessa III!

 

[Jamie123]

Hate to revive this old thread but I don't want to start a new one.

Has anyone been using a small flash with their Bessa III? I've been looking at some cheap small Metz flashes on ebay but I wonder whether or not the lens will cast a shadow if the flash sits too low?

 

[pstevenin]

I use the little Nikon SB-30 (-1 stop compensation) with no problem at all, on the bessa, M8 , and so on.

No shadow issue on the Bessa III , the flash is high enough for the 0.9m minimum distance.

 

[sevo]

The Metz 34CS-2 is safe on a Fujica GSW690 - hence it will be even safer on the less wide GF670, and the same will go for similar small but high flashes.

I doubt that ultra low profile flashes (like the Contax TLA200) will make it past the rather long lens barrel, but these are dedicated to one particular camera system for a reason.

Sevo

 

[Eddie90723]

How does one use the canon 580 on the Bessa? does it come with a single contact adapter or will it still fire with the canon contacts on the shoe?

 

[Jamie123]

How does one use the canon 580 on the Bessa? does it come with a single contact adapter or will it still fire with the canon contacts on the shoe?

It fires my Canon 430IIex with no problems. However, the hotshoe is a bit longer than the shoemount so it extends from the body a bit.

 

[sevo]

Not being a Canonoid, I don't know. But it is a fairly recent "digital" flash, and system exclusive flashes are fairly common among these. Besides, it seems to lack an "A" mode - if it works at all, it will only do so in fully manual mode.

Personally, I'd go for an older flash with A mode(s). Just about any should work fine, so far, I have not encountered a film system dedicated flash with A setting that was not cross-brand compatible in basic A mode. In the film age, the only way flashes were sometimes restricted to one camera or brand was through lack of non-TTL modes (or the Minolta iISO shoe, which however is adaptable, provided that you are ready to pay more for a used copy of the now extinct adapter than for any used Monolta flash).

 

[Jamie123]

Not being a Canonoid, I don't know. But it is a fairly recent "digital" flash, and system exclusive flashes are fairly common among these. Besides, it seems to lack an "A" mode - if it works at all, it will only do so in fully manual mode.

Personally, I'd go for an older flash with A mode(s). Just about any should work fine, so far, I have not encountered a film system dedicated flash with A setting that was not cross-brand compatible in basic A mode. In the film age, the only way flashes were sometimes restricted to one camera or brand was through lack of non-TTL modes (or the Minolta iISO shoe, which however is adaptable, provided that you are ready to pay more for a used copy of the now extinct adapter than for any used Monolta flash).

The system exclusiveness only concerns E-TTL. I think most if not all modern flashes will fire if you put them on a working hotshoe mount. My 430IIEX only does Manual but if I'm not mistaken the 580 has an Auto function.

But yes, even though it's possible to use the Canon flash, I'd also prefer to (and probably will) just get an old auto flash. They're dirt cheap and work perfectly most of the times. I have a Metz 45CT-4 which is a great flash, although a bit large. One of these days I'll have to get a smaller one.

 

[matvogel]

Can somebody say something about flash synchronization time? The Voigtländer site just says "elecronic shutter" Is it actually a central shutter or is it a leaf shutter behind the whole lens? can I use all shutter times for flashing?

Thanks
Matthias

 

[rxmd]

Can somebody say something about flash synchronization time? The Voigtländer site just says "elecronic shutter" Is it actually a central shutter or is it a leaf shutter behind the whole lens? can I use all shutter times for flashing?

It's a leaf shutter. Incidentally a central shutter and a leaf shutter are the same thing.

It's not a focal plane shutter if that's what you mean. Those are the ones where you have to take care of sync speeds. With leaf shutters you don't - when it's open, it's open, otherwise you couldn't be taking pictures with it.

 

[matvogel]

It's a leaf shutter. Incidentally a central shutter and a leaf shutter are the same thing.

It's not a focal plane shutter if that's what you mean. Those are the ones where you have to take care of sync speeds. With leaf shutters you don't - when it's open, it's open, otherwise you couldn't be taking pictures with it.

Yes, I was mixing the two terms leaf shutter and focal plane shutter. I wanted to know whether it is a central shutter with support for all synch times.

 

[Eddie90723]

I rarely use flash on my pictures. I love long exposures with natural light but I got reeled into taking pics at my friends wedding. Anxiety is my best friend at the moment. Even though I said I have never done anything remotely close to wedding pictures they said it was fine. They want informal pictures. Hopefully the 430ii on the BIII and on the Texas Leica will work. I went to see both the 430 and 580 at the local electronics (best buy) but was nevous because of the nonstandard hot shoe contacts. Now If only the SD15 existed...

 

[Jamie123]

I rarely use flash on my pictures. I love long exposures with natural light but I got reeled into taking pics at my friends wedding. Anxiety is my best friend at the moment. Even though I said I have never done anything remotely close to wedding pictures they said it was fine. They want informal pictures. Hopefully the 430ii on the BIII and on the Texas Leica will work. I went to see both the 430 and 580 at the local electronics (best buy) but was nevous because of the nonstandard hot shoe contacts. Now If only the SD15 existed...

The 430II might be a bit of a hassle to use with these cameras as you'll have to use it in manual mode which means you need to use a flash meter. You'll need a flash with auto mode (which means the flash has it's own light sensor and you just have to dial in the film speed and aperture). I think the Canon 580II does have an auto mode but unless you have a Canon DSLR this would really be overkill. There are lots of good old Auto flashes available on eBay for close to nothing. You could get a bunch of them and put one on each camera.
I have a Metz 45CT4 which is a 'potato masher' type of flash. It's quite powerful and also easy to use but it's really big and bulky. You attach it to the camera via a bracket and trigger it with the pc-sync port. Price was less than $50 on eBay. You can get smaller auto flashes for much less, though.