Flash for M8

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saturnales

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Anyone experimented flash with the M8? I do own old Nikon and a Canon 580EX. They are a little big for rf usage. What should I get to expect good result? I would like to get a moveable head and I guess the Leica's flash don't have one. A Metz? Witch one?

JFN
 
Hi
No ideal flash for the M8 as yet. The SF24 is adequate but its TTL mode is not that great. It causes a significant shutter lag and also its pre flash is very bright and can make subjects squint when the real flash goes off. I have this gun and tend to use it on the auto exposure non TTL mode. It works nicely for fill flash, but as a main source of light it would struggle. The good thing about it though is that its very light and handles well on the camera. Anything better is going to be bigger! I dont think Metz have a specific TTL modular flash for the M8 yet so I suspect the 54MZ series would be fairly good but it is definately going to unballance the camera.If you can find an SF20 for a reasonable price it would do just as well as the TTL mode is a bit of a right off in my opinion. My own thoughts are that the Leica guns are fine for occasional use. If I really wanted serious flash I would probably go for studio heads they are getting fiarly portable.
 
Richard Marks said:
If you can find an SF20 for a reasonable price it would do just as well
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The advantage of the 24 over the 20 is even in A mode there are 2 more intermediate apertures to choose from for each ISO. I bought a used SF24D for around $180 from KEH back before the M8 came along, speculating that it would be compatible. TTL flash seems to not work as good on digital as film cameras no matter what make. I have a 420EX for my 20D and its ok but not as good as on a lowly Rebel Ti film body. My favorite flash on the M8 is the same one I use on my M6, a little Olympus S20 which is the same flash as the Minilux flash except with just a single contact. I beveled off the front corner of the foot so it fits better in the M shoe. It gives 2 apertures in A mode, takes 2 AA's. For that and the SF24 fixed-head flashes I put a piece of tissue behind the clip-on wide-angle diffuser and find that it works as well as bounce if not better, for avoiding the harsh flash-in-the-face look, without giving an under-nose shadow like bounce sometimes does. When I do want bounce, I use a little folding bracket and the Nikon off-camera cord.
 
Ben Z said:
The advantage of the 24 over the 20 is even in A mode there are 2 more intermediate apertures to choose from for each ISO. .
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OK Ben! I agree the SF24 is better in terms of f stops. ?Also a bit more power. I think what I really was trying to say was that the TTL function on the SF24 was not really a reason for chosing it over a SF20 if the price was right as A mode is the best way to go for either unit.

Also agree that bounce flash is not always that flattering for portraits.

Best wishes


Richard
 
saturnales said:
Anyone experimented flash with the M8? I do own old Nikon and a Canon 580EX. They are a little big for rf usage. What should I get to expect good result? I would like to get a moveable head and I guess the Leica's flash don't have one. A Metz? Witch one?

JFN
Click to expand...

I have a 24D and concur with all the above, it is light and has some rudimentary TTL fucntions, and is good for indoor portraits/pictures. I also bought off of ebay an older Metz 40MZ3i, which is powerful (GN 150), has a bounce head, and has a wink/modeling light to fill in nose/eye shadows that the bounce function produces (like the Metz 54MZ). I has communication with the camera for lens focal length and ISO, and its "A" function is great. It is not as tall nor big as the Metz 54MZ, but I like to use the M8 handgrip as the flash adds "forward weight" to the M8 making me want to tip it forward with flash attached (and the handgrip takes care of this). I also have the Demb flash bracket and a Nikon SC-17 flash cord for flash bracket flash, however that kind of defeats the purpose of the M8- small, unobtrusive camera.
 
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