Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/04/10
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Leica now has a serious flash for serious shooters of its serious new system the digital M. Something it never had for the non digital M Before Dr Andreas Kaufmann; Who I'm sure we can thank for it And the fact they've got the phone number for Metz down the street. Its about time. I don't believe Leica even had one for the R system but I'm having a hard time believing myself. Me when I invest in a camera system I always get the flash. A top level camera system without a flash is like a pair of pants without a belt. I always get the belt. The SF 58 flash allows you to bounce off a ceiling; And a high ceiling at that. And then recycle in a nice short amount of time and do it again. Check the monitor in the back and make sure it looks ok; And then fine tune the flash angle and setting till it does. Instead of a half a second wide open you now have something which is f8 and faster than a thousandth of a second effective shutter speed as the flash is your shutter its the flash duration which acts as a shutter speed. Digital photography could be a boom to creative flash work as it is to macro. No waiting for test rolls to get back. Instant gratification with no polaroids. 1984 is here. So is 2001. Tomorrow it will be the year 2525. All over again. A Metz flash made in Germany is going to cost quite bit more than a nikon or canon flash. We know that because we live on planet earth. And we know how to tie our shoe laces. As a Leica camera cost more than those cameras in the east.... So does it's flash. And socks to match! A 700 dollar flash for a 4 thousand dollar camera sounds like a balanced deal to me. We got off easy. I love my SB800 I got with my Leica D200 it will blast the eyebrows of anybody at 12 feet away. And that's f8 probably. One side of your face will be sun burnt. A shadow will be fixed on the wall. These pix were most of then taken with the aid of a Vivitar 285 flash on a short coiled cord held a foot or two above the lens the camera on a tripod. Phil Flash they called it. For a while there I didn't leave home without it. Shot with Hassy's and 220 plus x in Beutlers. See the catch light in the guys glasses? http://rabinergroup.com/ScooterPages/BobPosternew.html But blue mode wanted f8 and I was shooting at 11. Hence Phil. I call it "the Hollywood effect". Annie Liebowitz does it all the time. It's all about how you balance your flash with your ambient light. Loads of fun. Very creative. I often just go one under with the flash like in the example I just mentioned. 99.99 % of pros shot with plastic shoes all this time till this newest flash from Nikon came along. Doug's right of course they should not use metal; I say make them from break away Styrofoam. Girls wear plastic shoes on the subway. They call them "thongs" but that's another story. Nikon now makes a mini flash that you can actually bounce off the ceiling and it still works. I do it all the time. And I have it with me most everywhere I go. It's small and light. The SB800 feels like its filled with Uranium when you're walking twenty blocks. That's what Leica needs; I think Canon just got one last week. The big heavy SF 58 flash would balance much better I'm sure on an M8 with a motordrive on it but then the motordrive would wonder what its supposed to be doing there. "acting like a counterweight of course!!" you'd tell it. "Burr burr" it would say back. That fact that it was a counterweight was one a dives main Raison d'?tre all along anyway on an SLR. "Raisinets!" We say here. Ever try shooting with a 80-200 zoom with no motordrive to act as a counterweight? You aim at their crotch of you want a head shot. I think Dillinger said that Along with "it's where the money is" Willie Dillinger said that and "Pass the soap & the shoe polish." Maybe that was Woody Allen. People say the M system is not about flash but I say what about when its dark? Dark happens! I've shot tens of thousands of flash pictures of peoples mugs for promo, event, fashion, photojournalism some photographers avoid it I say "more power to em." I need batteries! And make mine lithium they're lighter! Look at the work of Weegee or Warhol. Flash flash flash Every darned picture. Even Coney Island at high noon Flash! Mark William Rabiner > From: Chris Williams <leicachris at worldnet.att.net> > Reply-To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org> > Date: Wed, 8 Apr 2009 12:37:34 -0500 > To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org> > Subject: [Leica] Leica's new SF 58 flash - price gouging > > Holy &!#! Really Leica? $625 for that flash? At least Nikon gives me a > metal > shoe mount for $425! > > I don't know how they expect to sell that flash, I know it's more for the > S2 > than M users but still.... > > Chris > NOLA > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information