mamiya TLR with flashgun

paleblue

paleblue

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Rick
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I'd like to experiment with some fill-flash using my Mamiya c330. I have a Jessops 280AFP flash gun (with TTL metering) that I got for free, but to be honest I'm new to working with a flash, and feel there will be some issues with working with a modern flash on a 40 year old camera. Does anyone have advice for working with the two? There is no 'sync-lead adapter(?)' on the flash :shrug:

Apologies if this is a dumb question
 
I think you're snookered Rick if your flash doesn't have a sync lead socket.

Ideally you need a semi auto flashgun such as the Vivitar 283. There are loads of these types of flashguns available on the 2nd hand market - all easily identified by the sensor on the front which receives light back from the subject and gives pretty good auto flash if working with the auto aperture settings. You'll need to plug the flash sync lead into the X flash connector on the lens barrel of your C330.

The leaf shuutter in your C330 will sync at all shutter speeds making it very easy to get good fill flash shots.

Here's an article on a 283 used with a TLR camera which you may find helpful. Scroll down the page to the article headed 'Cheap Light'

CLICKY
 
david1701 said:
so how do semi auto flashes work then? I know manual and I know ttl but nowt in between
Click to expand...

It would be my choice every tioe for convenince over using manual.

These guns were the ones just prior to the first TTL guns. They all have a sensor on the front which receives the light returning from the subject and quenches the flash. These guns normally have a few auto aperture settings, which means if you use one of the auto apertures, then the gun will perform fully automatically within a given distance range for that aperture (usually indicated on the back of the flash) They're pretty accurate and give good results without having to bother your pretty head with guide number mental arithmatic.:D
 
CT said:
I think you're snookered Rick if your flash doesn't have a sync lead socket.

Ideally you need a semi auto flashgun such as the Vivitar 283. There are loads of these types of flashguns available on the 2nd hand market - all easily identified by the sensor on the front which receives light back from the subject and gives pretty good auto flash if working with the auto aperture settings. You'll need to plug the flash sync lead into the X flash connector on the lens barrel of your C330.

The leaf shuutter in your C330 will sync at all shutter speeds making it very easy to get good fill flash shots.

Here's an article on a 283 used with a TLR camera which you may find helpful. Scroll down the page to the article headed 'Cheap Light'

CLICKY
Click to expand...

good link and great advice! i'll be on the look out for one

david1701 said:
surely pc (cam)-hotshoe (fem) would work
Click to expand...

cheers i'll do some research on it
 
I've got one very similar to this...

Sunpak Flash

2 auto settings, manual and complete with sync cable. TBH this one looks a bit pricey but you get the idea.
 
I'm with ya, you tell it the aperture it does the distance maths and works out its power - sweet, might work well for ocf also
 
david1701 said:
I'm with ya, you tell it the aperture it does the distance maths and works out its power - sweet, might work well for ocf also
Click to expand...

You got it. It should work fine for ocf as long s you keep the flash to subject distance and camera to subject distance the same. I keep meaning to get one of these old auto guns for use with the RB67 and the blad.
 
It doesn't do any maths, just measures the light. There may be a mask over the photocell for matrix metering.

Advantages of this mode (still described as Auto, as opposed to TTL and now programmed-TTL) are less sensitivity (with dSLRs) to small, highly reflective objects causing the flash output to be over-quenched and, as there's no pre-flash, susceptible subjects are less likely to blink.

Current flashguns from Metz and Pentax retain this Auto mode, alongside TTL (no pre-flash) and programmed-TTL.
 
For fill-flash, set a low ƒ-stop on the flashgun, but a smaller aperture on the lens. Alternatively, set a higher ISO on the flash than the film you're using.

You're conning the flash about the actual lighting conditions it's supplying, but it doesn't talk to the camera about that (the most an old flashgun will do is tell a suitable camera if it thinks the exposure was OK and when it's ready to fire again).

The net result is that you get fill rather than a nuked subject. However, fumbling around with Guide Number calculations and manual settings should give better results.

Working manually, use the guide on the back of the flash and then if you add a Sto-fen diffuser, it'll nicely cut the light output to the right amount for fill-flash. I'm thinking of the old Sunpak flashes like the 444D and Auto 36DX, with variable manual outputs.
 
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