Bouncing flash?

[Russ]

Frank is corrct. The ceiling will absorb light. Open up at least one or two additional stops.

Russ

 

[Jeroen]

Frank is corrct. The ceiling will absorb light. Open up at least one or two additional stops.

Russ

Either that, or a slower sync speed or decrease the ISO-number on your flash.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

My 283 is from 1974: I bought it for an Elvis Presley concert...

When I started using it with a Nikon F and F2 I learned what the Sync cap was for; to prevent you from shocking yourself when using the flash on an AS-1. Put your finder on the open Sync outlet and ZAP! Cameras like the Konica FT1 and others that went to dedicated flashes often had problems with the older flashes. Many electronic cameras shielded against the surge, but not all.

I do not know when Vivitar changed the circuitry to pass a control voltage through the camera, I will try to check mine for clues. One give-away is when you short the PC cord you can see a fairly big spark...

 

[Rob]

Send an Email to Vivitar, them may be able to tell you when
they made the change either by date or serial number. My
283 made about 5 years ago is a low voltage type.

 

[FrankS]

A slower sync speed is not going to work unless it is so slow as to include ambiant light (not from the flash) as a significant part of the exposure. At those speeds you're going to run into blur and ghosting problems.

(Using a slow shutter speed with flash is called "dragging the shutter" and can yeild some interesting effects.)

 

[pshinkaw]

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but there is an entire website on the subject of electronic flash trigger voltages.

http://www.botzilla.com/photo/strobeVolts.html

scroll down for the Vivitar section.

-Paul

 

[EsaS]

Agree with Frank. I did some tests at home with a Metz 32 and a Gossen Lunapro F meter and it seems that flash-ceiling-subject distance formula underexposed at least one stop (just measured, not developed film). My test room was rather small with white walls, so I suppose that in a bigger room you have to open even more than one stop. As the Metz has its measuring cell directed to subject, I do not usually use it in manual mode.
Esa

 

[doubs43]

A slower sync speed is not going to work unless it is so slow as to include ambiant light (not from the flash) as a significant part of the exposure. At those speeds you're going to run into blur and ghosting problems.

(Using a slow shutter speed with flash is called "dragging the shutter" and can yeild some interesting effects.)

Absolutely. Unless motion or blur is desired, a speed fast enough to exclude ambient light is needed. This is an area where leaf shutters have an advantage over focal plane shutters, especially when using fill flash in daylight.

Of my Vivitar 283 flashes - two of them inherited - one was made in Japan and is in the 3,115,xxx serial number range. I suspect it's an "old" model with high voltage. The other two are Korean-made and one is 0083,xxx while the newest one is well over 4,000,000. I think the last one is low voltage as I use it with my digital cameras all the time.

Walker

 

[doubs43]

Agree with Frank. I did some tests at home with a Metz 32 and a Gossen Lunapro F meter and it seems that flash-ceiling-subject distance formula underexposed at least one stop (just measured, not developed film). My test room was rather small with white walls, so I suppose that in a bigger room you have to open even more than one stop. As the Metz has its measuring cell directed to subject, I do not usually use it in manual mode. Esa

I routinely take interior pictures of homes using a Sony F-828 digital camera set for ISO 200 and Vivitar 283 flash in the bounce mode. For large rooms such as a living room, or great room with high ceilings, I have the sensor on the flash set for f/8 but the camera in manual mode is set for 1/100th of a second and between f/4.5 and f/3.2. If at all possible, I bounce the flash from the ceiling or a wall if I shoot the frame vertically. In a really big room I use direct flash. In smaller rooms I use a smaller f-stop. During daylight hours I find that 1/100th generally does a reasonable job of balancing outside scenes through a window with my interior shots.

It's almost always necessary to work with the pictures before they're put up on our website but what results is almost always superior to any other local real estate website.

Walker

 

[Jeroen]

Absolutely. Unless motion or blur is desired, a speed fast enough to exclude ambient light is needed. This is an area where leaf shutters have an advantage over focal plane shutters, especially when using fill flash in daylight.

Oh well - it's just the way I use my flash. Just thought I'd share...

 

[st3ph3nm]

Never mind, Jeroen. The ME-Super only syncs at 1/125th anyway...

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Jeroen]

But the card bouncer thingy is a nice idea, isn't it? Metz has its own solid plastic cards as well, but they're just too expensive.

 

[st3ph3nm]

Oh, and thanks, Joe, for the nice offer of the bouncer, but I think it'd be cheaper for all concerned for me to just buy one, rather than have you ship one all the way here! 🙂

Cheers,
Steve

(As it happens, one of the guys at work has some nice gear floating around and said he'd see if he had a flash he could lend me. Might make it easier)

 

[doubs43]

Oh well - it's just the way I use my flash. Just thought I'd share...

Jeroen, I hope my post didn't come across as critical of your methods. I certainly didn't intend it to be. It was to give some additional information that may be useful. If you're happy with your results than all else is irrelevent, isn't it? 🙂

As for the bounce card, I use a white index card cut to fit my Vivitar 283 and tape it to the head of the flash. I bend it to achieve the desired results. It stays on the flash and I replace the cards as they become too flimsy or just plain worn out. Inexpensive, simple and it works.

Walker

 

[FrankS]

Jeroen, same here. I wasn't meaning to be critical of your method of decreasing sync speed, I was just pointing out that with moving subjects, unexpected results may occur. With static subjects or when blur and ghosting is desired, using a slow sync speed is a cool thing to do.

 

[nwcanonman]

I once had my flash bounced off a hardwood floor.
Didn't improve it's performance a bit~ ; - )

 

[Russ]

I once had my flash bounced off a hardwood floor.
Didn't improve it's performance a bit~ ; - )

Yeah, I know. Dave fixed it, remember? Now if we can just find a head doctor to fix your noodle....

Russ