Technique: leaf Shutter and strobe

[Drew Bedo]

Got myself a little confused, perhaps over-thinking something.

So I want to do a strudio shot, table-top or portrait , and use strobes with my regular LF gear. Camera will be a Zone VI 4x5 and the lens/shutter will be a 210 Caltar in a Copal shutter.

I have a Minolta Autometer IVf that has worked well for me for years. Haven't done this sort of photograp;hy for yeqas too and I've forgotten just how to deal with the exposure. I can meter the light falling on the subject with the meter connected to the strobes by cable. I set the shutter speed and pop the strobes, then read an f-stop. OK . . the shutter will synch with the strobes at any speed, so what difference does it make? Will the metered subject be well exp;osed at any shutter speed? I do understand that at or the same aperture a higher shutter speed will underexpose the background. Anything else I need to consider?

[Duolab123]

Electronic flash is so fast with a leaf shutter speed doesn't matter.
The big old flash bulbs burned so long that shutter speed had a huge effect. .

[Duolab123]

I use that same meter. Love it works great for flash.

[Bob Salomon]

Shutter speed make a big difference with strobe. Shutter speed is how you balance ambient lighting to the strobe. Want a very dark background? Use a fast shutter speed. Want detail in the background? Use slower shutter speeds.

[BrianShaw]

What Bob wrote is very true, especially when background is deep and distinct from the strobe-lit subject. For tabletop, like you say is your current interest, when both subject and background is primarily lit by the strobe that consideration may be less possible.

[Drew Bedo]

Thanks everyone: As always, the pool of talanty and knowledge here is truly wide and deep.

All that info was there in my head, but I had to be reminded about how to sort it out.

[Bernice Loui]

Minolta flash/ambient meters have a flash sync socket on the bottom front of the light meter.

Flash exposure can be made using NC = No sync cord or C = with sync cord. Set the flash meter to the shutter speed to be used for exposure and proper film speed. Use either the No sync cord or With sync cord setting.

Setting the minolta meter to record the flash exposure can be done by pressing the set button on the side. firing the strobe should trigger the Minolta flash meter resulting in the f-stop for exposure at 18% gray. Sync cord triggering, set the Minolta meter to "cord". Then plug the sync cord into the sync socket on the front of the meter. Set shutter speed to be used, set-check film speed to be used. Pressing the side button should trigger the strobe and record the flash exposure for 18% gray on film.

Leaf shutters like Copal, Seiko, and other modern shutters have fixed X-sync for electronic flash. Older shutters like Ilex have optional flash bulb settings like M or a bulb burn speed dial on the side. If an electronic strobe flash is use with the shutter set for flash bulbs, the strobe light will not be recorded on film. Conversely, if flash bulbs are used with the shutter set for electronic strobe-flash, the strobe light recorded on film will not be accurate or congruent with the flash meter reading.

Setting the shutter speed to be used on shutter and flash meter is important as ambient light is part of the light recorded on film along with light from the strobe-flash unit. Unless the studio image is made in darkness, selecting and setting the proper shutter speed for combined ambient-strobe light is important. In the case of color film, mixed lighting often produces mixed color balance unless the ambient light has identical color temperature to the strobe light.

Do point the light meter dome towards the strobe light as that is the direction of light if a single light source is used. For multi lighting, take several light meter readings from several locations of the image, then consider what the overall exposure might be.

If more light is needed to achieve a required f-stop, multiple flashes from there strobe unit can be used. Set the Minolta flash meter to "Multi", with each additional flash from the strobe unit, it will effectively increase the amount of light recorded on film. The Minolta flash meter will add up the number of individual flashes to produce an effective f-stop number set on lens and for the exposure needed by the film. Again, the Minolta flash meter produces a meter reading for 18% gray on film at the set film speed.


Bernice

[BrianShaw]

Thanks everyone: As always, the pool of talanty and knowledge here is truly wide and deep.

All that info was there in my head, but I had to be reminded about how to sort it out.

Happens to all of us.

I keep reminding myself that, in general, aperture controls strobe exposure and shutter speed controls background exposure.

[Pieter]

Ambient light will only affect the exposure if it is very bright. As an example, take a reading without the strobe(s) or modeling light, then another with the strobes. If there is 4 or more stops difference, ambient won't be an issue unless there are certain reflections such as glass or polished metal. Also, do not point the meter at the strobe(s) as suggested in post #7. Point the dome at the camera from the subject position.

[Jac@stafford.net]

If an electronic strobe flash is use with the shutter set for flash bulbs, the strobe light will not be recorded on film. Conversely, if flash bulbs are used with the shutter set for electronic strobe-flash, the strobe light recorded on film will not be accurate or congruent with the flash meter reading.

Correct, and to add: Concerning the flash meter with flashbulbs. It is my understanding that if one uses cord mode with correct set shutter speed (or longer) in meter, then a correct flashbulb reading will be made. The cord by-passes sensing of the initiation of flash because bulbs have a long, gentle rise-time which w/o cord mode cannot reliably trigger the meter.

Thank you for any correction you may offer, Bernice.

I am suddenly tempted to try cord-mode with my 1.7 second duration bulbs.