Mamiya 6 Flash Technique?

[Lane Pelissier]

Hello,

I've used a few of Nikon's foolproof TTL systems. However I'm pretty much a novice when it comes to flash.

The problem is figuring out how to use a Nikon SB25 flash with my Mamiya 6 and Leica M6. Specifically for fill flash and bounce fill. Some say to set the flash to the A mode then input the ISO and aperture from the camera. Camera is in AE or AEL. Others say you should do the same setup but to stop down the lens a stop or two to get the proper exposure. Am I reading the info wrong? How do you guys do it? Also will the flash's sensor work in A mode even with the head turned or tilted for bounce? Film and processing isn't getting any cheaper so I can't afford to experiment too much. Hope this all makes sense! :bang:

Thanks
Lane

 

[Colin Corneau]

I don't use different brands' TTL/electronic flashes with differing camera bodies...too big a chance wires will get fried, IMO.
My first advice is to just get a cheap flash (283, Sunpak, etc) and set it on Auto.

Barring that, setting it on Auto or Manual is your best bet.

 

[charjohncarter]

You will have to use auto or manual settings with the Mamiya and Leica, but fill is fairly easy. Here is a good starter piece:

http://www.shutterbug.com/content/using-fill-flash-outdoor-portraits-informal-word-style-key

And this is a more general discussion of flash:

http://photography.tutsplus.com/articles/an-introduction-to-outdoor-flash-photography--photo-4272

 

[jloden]

Personally I carry a small flash meter (Sekonic L-308) in my camera bag's side pocket for use with my film cameras. Not as convenient as TTL naturally, but on the other hand it works with manual flash and both digital & film.

Mamiya 645 rather than the 6 in this case, but the below shot was done via a quick flash meter reading. Basic bounce flash with a couple flash units just sitting on the floor banging into a standard acoustical tile ceiling.

Exact process was:

1) set film ISO on the meter
2) take initial reading
3) adjust the flash power level(s) + camera f-stop to achieve desired DoF & adequate exposure.
4) check my reading one more time, to confirm I didn't screw up the math 😉


Sagarika & Adam by jloden, on Flickr

 

[johnnyrod]

I've also just started trying to get the hang of fill flash outdoors, and have done a bit of reading around - it wasn't easy to be honest. I took a few shots today and will have to see how they turn out. Basically what I read was to use an automatic flash unit and manual camera mode. Set the flash ISO to match your film speed and read off the f stop, set camera to this. Set shutter speed according to the metering of the scene, assuming you can stay under your max sync speed. Then set the flash to 2x or 4x the ISO e.g. I am using 200 (giving f5.6 on this flash unit) so set it to 400 or 800 to give a ratio of 3:1 or 5:1 ambient to flash illumination, then snap away. Some flashes are able to alter the power without the ISO setting workaround.

There are various details in there I'm not yet able to explain how to fiddle with. For example, had I set my flash today for the lower power output, it wanted f4 which would need a faster shutter than the 1/500 max of my camera (leaf shutter on 35mm rangefinder). Also I tried a few shots at f11 and 1/125, which will give less weight to the flash power as the shutter speed doesn't affect how much flash light reaches the film. FWIW I tried all combinations of the two exposure settings with ambient light and the flash set to ISO200 and 800 so see how it all pans out.

Finally with an auto flash it shouldn't matter if it's bounce or direct, the sensor shuts off the output when the right amount of light has been cast, it'll just take more of it if you're using bounce as more is lost along the way.

Would very much appreciate some words from the more experienced guys here though, this is really my first stab and I'm just reiterating above what I've read rather than what I really know.