I had the handle from a graflite and bolted a cold shoe onto an aluminum cap. This gives me a removeable shoe to mount any electronic flash or a fanfold bulb flash. For extra power I attach a Metz via the tripod socket and use a Nikon SB800 in optical slave mode in the shoe. I hold the rig from the leather strap and edge of the left camera body. I would not trust the Metz handle or the Graflite to bear the weight of the body.
Crown Graphic tarted up by Howard Sandler, on Flickr
Thats the Metz unit I was thinking about (think I mentioned the wrong model number) with the little fill light on the front. Bounced it can take remarkable un flash-like nicely illuminated photos.
The SB-800 is pretty good for a digital-age shoe mount flash. It’s a little less, maybe a half stop, than a Vivitar 285. The Metz 45CT-5 is maybe a half stop to one stop more powerful than a Vivitar 285. But I really have not done a proper comparison. None of these are as bright as a Sylvania 25 bulb.
I think the Vivitar 285, which is also quite good, has the variable power feature built into the adjuster for the flash ranges on auto exposure.
I use the 285 in my rig (sideways picture earlier in thread). Only problem I have with that configuration is coverage. Flash is so high that parallax must be considered. Less of an issue when 284 set on “wide” but that sacrifices some light.
Yes, however I will try again to set RF
I have changed the lens mount to Jo Lo lens board which moves the lens back into the front standard, thus getting the RF lever in better position
I do wish Jo had made his very nice filter hood from plastic...
As I use flashbulbs the batteries do add weight, the left handle has no batteries, yet I do have another set of flectors and safety shields
Fortunately this camera had little usage and the rear curtain shutter works great, but I don't constantly test my luck by using very high shutter speeds
Tin Can
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