Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/12/24
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Has there ever been a systematic comparison between using an automatic flash as against a TTL system? I know that a lot of people make a big deal about TTL flash on this group, but I'm not sure why it's a prerequisite for any camera. Leica eschewed the TTL flash for about 12 years with the M6, even it doesn't involve adding much after you've got a TTL ambient sensor on board. Maybe my view of TTL was colored by using a Nikon SLR, but it seems that for some purposes, automatic is more useful, especially with something like a Metz Mecamat sensor. I know that the Mecamat is steerable and has its own gunsight-style aiming aid, parallax-corrected. It would seem that this would be better for determining the coverage area of the flash sensor. Most TTL systems, Leica included, seem to draw from the center of the frame, which would rarely be the place you would find people's faces (which would require +1 compensation - which would seem pretty tough to do with an M6TTL, since there is no comp dial, and changing the aperture would cause the whole system to cancel out your change). I have a lot of fun with a Fuji GA645 doing this, and it is something I am going to factor into the final decision on a Hexar RF. I use automatic flash without incident and have for over 10 years, so unless there is something I am missing with my Nikon TTL...