> Hi all,
>
Fill-in flash is the weak spot of the MZ-5n (or ZX-5n as you call it in
the US).
> I've been trying to do fill-in flash for portraits but find the low sync
> speed of the ZX-5n (1/100) really limits me. I do prefer blurring the
The PZ-1p offers 1/250s sync speed.
> background in portraits, so with my Pentax-M 50mm f1.4 that means ideally I
> should be shooting at an aperture of 1.4 - 5.6. However, with daylight
> balanced ISO 100 film (e.g. Superia-Reala) via the Sunny-16 rule, I
> _should_ be shooting at f16 at 1/100 under a bright, cloudless sky to
> obtain proper exposures. To drop the aperture down to my preferred settings
> I usually affix a 3-stop neutral-density filter over the lens, which brings
> me barely into that range (f16 -> f11 -> f8 -> f5.6).
>
> Now, I don't have a dedicated TTL Pentax flash, just a Vivitar 285HV. What
> I've been doing so far -- and it seems to work fine -- is to set the flash
> to manual, calibrate it to ISO 100 speed, determine the distance to my
> subject (usually within the range of 5-7 feet), and dial down the power to
> its minimum output setting, 1/16. At full power (1) the flash is asking me
> to set an aperture of 16, but since I'm blasting away with 4 stops less
> light than maximum (1 -> 1/2 -> 1/4 -> 1/16) this brings me (I think) to
> one-stop less light than the ambient reading, which provides a decent
> balance of fill in the shadows on negative film.
>
> Anyway, is there a much easier way of doing this with the AF330FTZ or
> AF500FTZ? Can you dial into the flash the exposure compensation setting you
> want, like say -1.7? I've looked at the flashes in the store but the
To my knowledge only the PZ-1p provides the posibillity to dial in
exposure compensation independent of ambient light. However you could fake
it with the MZ-5n is as follows: Dial in -1.5 stops exposure
compensation and adjust the light output to +1.5 stops on the internal
scale in M-mode. You would still need your ND for getting f/5.6 in bright
light.
> salesmen I've talked to aren't familiar with Pentax flashes, so they had no
> idea how to set exposure compensation on the flashes. I've read the
With Pentax this is a feature of the camera, not the flash. If the camera
doesn't offer, you don't have.
> "contrast control" chapter in the manuals of both flashes but I have my
> doubts about it working correctly (two flashes for fill-in -- in daylight?
> Huh?).
Contrast control is to balance several TTL flashes against each
other. With this you can get some to give twice as much exposure than
the other. E.g. main exposure by bounce flash under the ceiling, catch
light into the eyes by flash build into camera. It has nothing to do with
daylight fill in.
>
> Additionally, I've read things about being able to use the exposure
> compensation dial on the camera itself when it is set to manual as a means
> of controlling flash output with TTL flashes. Does this actually work?
>
I believe it does on MZ-5n, MZ-5 and MZ-3 (replace MZ with ZX for
US). It definitely does not on MZ-10, at least the sample my wife owns
ignores exposure compensation in M-mode. You have to fiddle with the
ISO-setting this case (luckily Pentax provides this on all MZ/ZX).
> Any information to enlighten my situation would be greatly appreciated. I'm
> mostly wondering if it's reasonable to spend even more money on these
> flashes or if I should just stick to what I have, even if my method crudely
> works under ideal conditions. Incidentally, I do use reflectors whenever
> possible and prefer those over fill-flash, but sometimes the circumstances
> do not allow their use to be implemented. Thanks in advance for any
> suggestions or advice.
>
The autosensor (Thyristor) of your Vivitar might be a more convenient
way to achieve what you want. In you example, (5.6 and 3 stop ND)
setting it to f/11 would result in fill in of -1 stop, f/8 in -2 stops
and f/5.6 in -3 stops. I used to do this a lot with my old Metz. This
way the flash takes care of changing distances. I prefer fill in of -3
stops, just to stop shadow from becoming completely black. (I am not
familiar which automatic stops your Vivitar offers.)
Hope this is helpful, otherwise please ask back. Joachim
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