thinking about flash

[back alley]

been reading some old threads about flash on the rd1 and the same names keep popping up...contax tla 200, the metz 20c and the nikon sb27.

any others i should be looking at? or is one of these 3 your favourite?

 

[LCT]

Nikon SB-20
Built-in diffuser for 28, 35-70, and 85mm equiv. lenses.
Bounce capability at 45, 60, 75, 90 and -7 degree.
Inexpensive, fine match with the R-D1.
See http://www.dantestella.com/technical/sb20.html

 

[jlw]

I haven't seen any of these in person. Going by specs, the Metz has the advantage of a bounce head, and the Nikon has five manual power levels, so if one of those features is significant for you, it might be the decisive factor.

But... both of them seem bulky enough to be a bit out of character for an R-D 1 outfit. I don't know how much luck you'd have finding one, but the flash unit I like on my R-D 1 is a Canon Speedlite 011A:

This is a shirt-pocket-size unit, with a thin, upright form factor that leaves both the finder-frame selector and the shutter speed dial unobstructed. (It looks as if that might be an issue with some of the units you mention.)

The 011A runs on two AA batteries, and has a very simple thyristor-controlled auto system: on an R-D 1, you set the ISO to 400 and the aperture to f/4, and that's it. Not much for control, but you can tweak apertures and exposure compensation to vary ambient/flash balance. It dates from Canon's A-1/AE-1 era, so may be scarce now -- but if you find a cheap one in a camera-show "junk box," it should be well worth picking up.

 

[back alley]

never have seen the canon before...

the contax is the one that looks size appropriate for the rd1 but it's also the most expensive one.

 

[jlw]

the contax is the one that looks size appropriate for the rd1 but it's also the most expensive one.

And you'd have to use it in full-power manual mode only, wouldn't you? It had TTL automation for the Contax G and SLR cameras, but no sensor-auto mode or variable manual power, IIRC.

 

[back alley]

took another look...you may be right on that!

 

[kalex]

Another option is Nikon SB-30. Its very small, lightweight, balances well on R-D1 and I got pretty good exposures with it. Only thing I don't like is that it takes CR123a batteries. SB-27 is huge compared to the SB-30. But it uses regular batteries

 

[amateriat]

A second vote for the Nikon SB-20. Power and versatility in a not-too-big package.

- Barrett

 

[Catto]

I'm pretty happy with my $12 (used) Olympus S20 flash, though bounce would be lovely of course. Very slim, two AA batteries, two different power settings (though allegedly the meter on the front is doing something) - adds no weight to the bag, though. And did I mention cheap?
R!

 

[kermaier]

I think Sean Reid did an article about his R-D1 flash methodology. (Hand-held, off-camera, etc.) He recommended some Vivitar or Sunpak flash, IIRC, bit they were larger, not being targeted for on-camer use.
Ari

 

[FrankS]

Jeez, first digital, and now flash!

😉

 

[back alley]

hey frank, check the pockets in your sweaters for a small flash!

 

[35mmdelux]

Leica SF20 or SF24.

 

[back alley]

Leica SF20 or SF24.

waaay too much $$$

 

[back alley]

hang on a second, what's this? no, nevermind.

i bet you own a flash or 2...

 

[back alley]

i like the looks of the nikon sb 20 but i want a cheap one, at least cheaper than what i can find on ebay.

 

[ferider]

Smallest size/budget per power: Olympus T32. Try it Joe.

Otherwise, I like my small Metz. Among others because it has 28 and 90 diffusers.

 

[back alley]

the metz 20c?

 

[ferider]

the metz 20c?

The 34 CS-2.

 

[Jim-st]

If price is really key, you might try to track down one of these: I bought it a couple of months back, for full list price: GBP 1.47 (that's 2.53 Canadian)

Didn't really want a flash, but when the guy told me the price I just laughed all the way to the till