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General Flash Questions for Contax G1/G2

G

Guest

I'm looking to pick up a cheaper module shoe mounted flash. I'm looking at the Sunpak 444D and the YC-1D module and was wondering if anyone could tell me if this allows full TTl functionality for the G2.
Thanks in advance.
Craig
 
G

Guest

> Sunpak 444D and the YC-1D module and was wondering if > anyone could tell me if this allows full TTl functionality for the G2.

I know it's not a G2 but I use this combo on my Contax SLRs and it works great, just as well as my Contax flashes.
 
G

Guest

Jeff,
Thanks for the help...I'm going to assume that there should be no problem with the G2 on the same module and flash. I'll try to report on when I get the flash.
Craig
 
G

Guest

Craig,
Please post what your results with Sunpak 444D and YC-1D. I am also interested if it gives full TTL functionality for the G2. I would like to get direct verification from a G2 user who has tested it out.

Howard
 
G

Guest

Hi Craig,

For what it is worth I have used a Sunpak DX-8R ringflash on a RTSiii for some time now with no problems at all - it gives superb results. As the TLA flash used with the G2 is also fully compatible with my RTSiii I cannot forsee any problems with using the Sunpak 444D on your G2.

Whilst the Sunpak units are not as well made as Contax or Metz products they are good enough.

Regards,

Clive
70137.jpg
 
G

Guest

>Whilst the Sunpak units are not as well made as Contax or Metz products they are good enough.<

Funny, I have a friend in the repair business who feels the Metz are not as well made as Sunpak. Jeff
 
G

Guest

I just got a Metz 54MZ-3 to use with my G1. When I have the flash on, the shutter speed defaults to 1/60 sec. Since the aperture is under my control, what is the rule of thumb for setting aperture for a flash photo? Is it the distance to the subject? Is there a different rule for fill flash?
 
G

Guest

Michael,

if you do not shoot in full darkness, exposure is always a mixture of flash light and ambient light. Flash is controlled by GN-calc or automatically, while ambient ratio is controlled by aperture.

Keep in mind that ONE flash can properly light up only one spatial layer. With staged subjects, you HAVE to include ambient light sources, or more flashguns.

Within it's working range, every TTL-controlled flash will compensate your aperture setting and fire the appropriate amount of light at the foreground (NEAREST and/or LARGEST area, sophisticated Canon and Nikon SLR-Systems ignored).

The more the aperture is closed, the darker the background gets.
This is why I would always recommend full aperture and high speed film for indoor portraits - if you use a flash or not. "Black hole"-backgrounds look bad.

There is nothing special about fill flash: The only difference is that ambient light is the main source.
Therefore you expose for ambient light only, lock in the exposure time manually, THEN turn on the flash and reduce flash output for at least -1 stop.

Till
 
G

Guest

I spoke to a Sunpak rep and he assured me that the Sunpak 444D and YC-1D will work w/the G2 with TTL functionality.

I ordered it from Adorama, it was only place on the web that I could find the YC-1D module that works with Contax cameras.

Howard
 
G

Guest

Hi,

I've got a TLA140 for mine G2. How can I get a nice fill-in flash? (no flash exposure compensation function available on the bodie and no manual setting available on the flash...)

Sander
 
G

Guest

I have a G2 with the TLA 200. I find that since the metering is centerweighted, it is important to keep the main subject dead center in order for the fill to come out nicely. What I perfer to do is to set ambient exposure in manual mode and then use the ex comp dial to bracket my flash.
 
G

Guest

There has long been some controversy as to whether the TLA 140 could be controlled independently by the exposure compensation dial. But I remember reading a post on the Contax G list by someone who had tested it with a flash meter and had determined that it is indeed controllable. One limitation is the minimum output from the flash unit. Apparently, it is set at a fairly high level, meaning that on close-up shots, you may still get more exposure than you want. The solution is to place some tissue or gauze over the bulb to lessen the amount of light hitting the subject. Needless to say, this is not a precise method, but it can work.
 
G

Guest

Quoting Robert G: "The solution is to place some tissue or gauze over the bulb to lessen the amount of light hitting the subject. Needless to say, this is not a precise method, but it can work." End Quote

I was talking to a friend about this some time ago, and I understood him to say that doing the above would work on the old flashes and cameras set manually, but that with the newer TTL technology (circa last 10-20 years?) that the flash would simply compensate for the tissue with a higher output because it is taking a reading through the tissue. So while you might spread the output, you're still going to get the same strength of output. Is this logic correct? Flash is my weak point, so I'd appreciate your comments.

-Lynn
 
G

Guest

I have only the 45 and 90, which I use on my G1. I'm not overly-pleased with the rendition of either one, though I do not deny their superiority in test conditions. There seems to be general agreement that the 45 is about as good as a lens for 35mm can get. I don't really have a good handle on what most people mean when they discuss "bokeh", however the CZ lenses I own - both for G and SLR - deliver so much contrast that they tend to "resolve" out-of-focus areas more than I like, even at wider apertures, making the selective-focus effects I like difficult; background detail is rendered too crisply for my purposes. I've looked at lots and lots of G photo submissions, and what I've noticed is that I have a consistent preference for the rendition achieved by the 28 Biogon, and I'm currently frustrated because my budget won't stretch to it, especially just before tax time. Whether it tests at the highest resolution or not seems immaterial, because it happens frequently that I'm drawn to a thumbnail, click on it, admire the photo, check lens used, and it turns out to be the Biogon.
 
G

Guest

Lynn:
That's the beauty of TTL technology! Yes, the flash will compensate and make sure you have the correct exposure. The gauze or bounce will diffuse the light. Although, I've never done this with my G2, I've done this with my other system and have gotten some great results. The combo that works best for me is Tmax 3200 @ E.I. 800 with a bounce flash used. The reason why I chose The 3200 film is becasue of its versatility. I've taken it to low light situations and shot it at E.I. 12800 and then used flash at E.I. 800.
 
G

Guest

Lynn,

Yes, you are quite right - with TTL the sensor will keep pumping the light until it decides that the correct exposure has been reached. Puting a diffuser on will only darken the image if the flash runs out of steam before the correct exposure has been reached.

If however you used Manual and put a diffuser over the flash the results would always be darker.

I use the tops of Fuji slide film boxes or semi - opaque film tubs either whole or cut up to make my diffusers. They work just as good as shop bought ones and they are free. The latter point is important to a Yorkshireman such as myself.......

Clive
 
G

Guest

>[Clive, I am not sure that "the results will always be darker" (with >Manual and a diffuser) really tells the story. If you said that a >wider aperture would be needed when a flash is used with a diffuser, >I could agree. In addition, the use of Manual merely means that you >have to select the aperture, and that selection is more difficult >when you have a diffuser - because you don't know how many stops the >diffuser is absorbing. I must now admit that I have only 2 weeks' >experience with Contax , but I believe that it is similar to the >Olympus OM system. Chris]
 
G

Guest

Chris,

The point we were making is that when you fit a diffuser to a flash that is controlled by the TTL sensor the sensor increases the output to negate the light loss the diffuser causes. Effectively you would get the same exposure whether or not a diffuser was fitted EXCEPT where the output of the flash was insufficiant to overcome the diffuser's reduction.

If you had a GN14 flash and the output required was GN10 then the flash could not overcome the diffuser's light loss of 1 stop and therefore it would result in less flash reaching the subject - 7 as apposed to a required 10. If however the output required was GN7 or less then the amount of flash reaching the subject would be appropriate.

Where you fit a diffuser when using the camera in manual mode then the flash light reaching the subject for a given aperture would be reduced. Some people use diffusers to give a softer flash effect. In order to do this you need to open up the aperture to compensate for the light lost by the diffuser. Sometimes the diffuser is simply used to reduce output from a flash where there is no manual means of doing it as in the TLA140 ex&le given.
 
G

Guest

> Two questions: 1. I have the TLA 200 flash unit that came with my G2 but I have used it only once inside. When I did, it didn't have the ability to fill a normal living room. Can I use the over exposure compensation on the camera body or will the flash sensor negate it?

2. I only shoot B&W with this camera and occassionally need a fill flash out doors. Is there a better flash for me to use that is compatible with the G2 that will give me more punch outside?

Thanks, Dave
 
G

Guest

Hi,

I have a G! and a Vivitar model 285 flash. Is the flash compatible with the G1? Has anyone had experience with this combination? Comment? Suggestions?

Regards,

Dave
 
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