RD1S photos with flash and CV 21 barrel focus setup

[dan denmark]

people are often asking on this forum about the RD1 and a flash, etc. this is my setup when i do nightclub shoots, which is about every two to three months in melbourne. i have an RD1S with a Nikon SB-27 flash. and i shoot jpeg/raw.

i use the CV 21 set at f8 and range focus on the barrel to 5 metres max...a good average for the flash on Manual. SS 125. ISO-400. i vary the flash strength depending on closeness, etc. someone always asks to be shot and they are only a few centimetres away!#*%! and you have to be quick to get the smiles and action.

i use a bit of blue electricians tape...or sometimes red and yellow for when i'm feeling particularly wild... to hold the focus and aperture ring in place all night, without worry of bumping it out of place, which has happened. and i don't wear my reading glasses when i am traversing the dancefloor so i can't be bothered checking to see if i am still in range. i'll be 63 in a fortnight and the eyes ain't what they were.

so here is a pic of the camera and a sample quick grab at a dressup party in the city...my version of a P&S camera, RD fashion... and the bubble wrap is to do just what it looks like it should... and no fucus issues! love it.

cheers,

dd

 

[payasam]

Sounds like a good working set-up, though I'd feel limited by being unable to do head shots. The photo is marred by the reflection of the flash off the wall.

If you have a slower shutter speed you'll get more of the ambient light. This is something of which my late friend Al Kaplan reminded me.

 

[dan denmark]

i think one has to expect that a certain kind of job means a certain kind of photograph. in this case, the promoter for whom i shoot is not interested in too intimate a framing but more the ambience of the event, meaning body and group shots. and while i know the idea you mention of ambience of the light, i rarely aim at a wall and more for the crowd but the images i had to select from were probably more compromising by virtue of the partygoers costumes and probably would be considered not work-safe for most RFFrs. sometimes in a shoot we have few choices.

but all things considered, it was more the gesture of sharing a certain camera/flash setup than it was an exploration of the sample photograph. others might be interested in experimenting with the P&S notion of the RD...

-dd

 

[breathstealer]

I shoot like this too (down to the choice of a Nikon flash) but I prefer to use a small bracket so I can stick a finder on top, and find that I get much better results bouncing the flash off of something.

 

[Ezzie]

Funny, Looks very like my indoor flash setup too. CV 21/4 at f5.6 or f8. Zone focus of 2-3m and a Metz 48AF set to 1/4, 1/8, 1/16 or 1/32 depending in available light. Always try to bounce off ceiling or wall if possible. My favorite angle being 120 degrees (up an pointing to the rear) with diffuser. Works a treat. An example:

 

[payasam]

What did you focus on, Ezzie?

 

[Ezzie]

I didn´t. I used zone focus all evening. I visualised two or three people rather close to eachother in the frame when setting focus, meaning I had to be within 5-7ft of the subject(s). And set the camera and flash up accordingly. I then framed most pictures by moving my feet. They all turned out OK, but not necessarily spectacular. 😉