Idea: SB-600, 15mm, and Leica.

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MarkoKovacevic

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I have a Nikon SB-600, but only a 28mm on my nikon. the SB has a 17mm adapter so I'm thinking to attach it to my leica, with the 15mm.

I'd like to use it for clubbing photos, so I'm thinking to use a DSLR to find out the exposure for 1meter - setting the flash on manual - and just set the lens at 1m and shoot like that.

Will this work?
 
It should. I use an SB-800 with my MP, set it to M, dial in the aperture & speed & FL then bounce it. Works like a charm.
 
Well for slide film I wouldn't use it. YOu probably won't want to test exposure before every shot, and if you're testing exposure only once it is likely to be rather inconsistent in indoor shooting because of the varied distances - 2m vs. 1m is a difference of one stop. The SB600 doesn't have a non-TTL automatic mode. With negative film where two steps here and there don't matter it might be OK. A flash with an automatic mode would be better.

You could also get a wideangle for the Nikon - I recently got a Tamron SP 17/f3.5 that I'm quite happy with :)

As a final addition, if you want to do bounce flash you don't need the 17mm adapter.
 
So if I stick to negative film, and around 1m, I should be good? I'm considering buying a Metz 45 series eventually.

A wide for the Nikon sounds good, if I could afford it. How do superwide SLR lenses differ from RF lenses in terms of light fall off, sharpness, and distortion?

Bouncing is also another good option; one that I will use with the Metz 45, as it doesn't have a superwide adapter built in.
 
MarkoKovacevic said:
So if I stick to negative film, and around 1m, I should be good? I'm considering buying a Metz 45 series eventually.
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You'll still get a lot of underexposed shots as your subjects are more than 1m away. You have to try around a little bit. You can do that with the DSLR, just put the flash and the camera in manual mode.

A wide for the Nikon sounds good, if I could afford it. How do superwide SLR lenses differ from RF lenses in terms of light fall off, sharpness, and distortion?
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Less than they did in the 1960s. In general I'd expect a good RF wide still to be better than a SLR lens, but SLR wides are pretty decent nowadays. Regarding the Tamron 17/f3.5: it's a decent lens, not the best in the world, but I got it (in the Canon FD version) for under 100 EUR, plus an Adaptall mount for the Nikon. There is simply no RF ultrawide for that kind of money, much less one that is better:



It holds up quite well, even when shot directly into the sun, corner fall-off is OK for a 17mm lens, and distortion is pretty well controlled, too. It's no Hologon, but then it costs 100 times less (and is two stops faster ;)).

In fast club shots with a flash I wouldn't worry too much about light falloff, sharpness and distortion anyway. If you want to use that flash, getting correct exposure is a lot more important, and framing is easier, too.
 
Good advice re: the Tamron 17mm for use with the Nikon SLR. And with club shots, you won't need the critical sharpness of a Leica lens. Good lighting will be more important.
 
nikku said:
Good advice re: the Tamron 17mm for use with the Nikon SLR. And with club shots, you won't need the critical sharpness of a Leica lens. Good lighting will be more important.
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Hmm, I do wish I could afford one, I once used a 17-40L and loved it.

And I wish I had a Leica lens, I have the inexpensive, but still great Voigtlander 15mm.
 
MarkoKovacevic said:
Hmm, I do wish I could afford one, I once used a 17-40L and loved it.
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They're not that expensive. Here they regularly go for 100-150 EUR. It's an Adaptall lens, so you can buy any version (including those for Canon FD, Minolta etc. where lens prices are lower generally) and put it on your Nikon with the appropriate Adaptall ring.

With flash, anything will be better than on-camera flash. Bounce flash has the advantage that you can use automatic flash, and that you have a free hand. Hand-held flash has the advantage that your camera is less bulky and you can choose easily where to point the flash, but you need TTL for exposure.
 
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