Markus Maurer wrote:
> Swiss German is my main language, my English will never be as clear and good
> as it should be....
Ahh, but your English is better than my German. Your English is
better than my French, and I sort of speak French a little. My
comment about the awkward sentence was meant to explain that I
was confused by it, not to fault you for failing to write like
a native speaker.
> The ME Super has no TTL flash, I use Auto range or manual settings.
> I would like to use a Pentax 280T flash on the hot shoe for front lightning
> and a second Regula connected to the side connector and fitted on a movable
> flash arm from HAMA.
> The Regula (or Vivitar) would bounce to the ceiling or give (a little)
> additional light from the left side light above the camera with manual
> settings.
Okay, that sounds like it makes sense. Here's what I would watch
out for in auto mode:
* If the Regula has a tilt/swivel head so that the sensor always
faces forward, bear in mind that its sensor is going to react
to the light from _both_ flashes, not just the light from itself.
This may or may not turn out to be a problem, depending on how
much bounce fill you want and how far away that wall or ceiing
is. Experiment. (Worst case, you still get _some_ light coming
from the ceiling, making it not look quite like a harsh single-flash
shot, eh?)
* If the Regula doesn't swivel/tilt, so you use the moveable arm to
point it other directions, consider that its sensor is going to
react to what it sees reflected back to it from the wall/ceiling.
This could be a bigger problem, especially if the wall is fairly
close
It's probably safer to do it all set on manual and thinking through
the math, but it's worth experimenting just in case auto works,
'cause that'd be faster/convenient if it does.
> with the second
> flash I could also fire some
> colored light on table top subjects,
*nod* I tried throwing a red flash on one side of an object and
a green flash on the other, and the effect wasn't as pronounced
as I had hoped, but you might have better luck.
> you see, it's all experimental stuff
> and just ideas and never realized yet.
That's where the fun is.
> Or the main flash alights the foreground and the second flash is bouncing
> for the background in big rooms?
That probably works better with a slave, unless you need to be mobile.
> I was wondering about problems between different flashes/brands when used
> together.
> (Like: a Vivitar will not work well with a Pentax because of timing problems
> or a Metz and a Pentax match better.)
Of those, the AF280T is the only one I actually know.
> Will the main flash, in this case the Pentax and it's sensor "see" the light
> from the second flash and calculate the timing correct
Assuming that both flashes light at the same time and the second
unit doesn't have a really long-duration flash, the main flash
should quench itself when it sees enough light (from both flashes)
coming back from the subject. If one flash fires late (which I
think is unlikely, but I'm not the expert), that could cause
overexpsure. Note that it would have to be _later_ than a slave
on an optical trigger to cause a problem, 'cause I've never had
a problem with an optical slave (and that doesn't even start to
fire until it sees the start of the main flash).
If the second flash stays lit after the main one has quenched itself
(which I think is more likely, especially if the second one is being
bounced and doesn't have its sensor facing forward), that too could
cause overexposure. I'm afraid you'll have to burn some film to be
sure. But I think the odds are in your favour.
> or do I have to
> adjust/minimize it's output and could timing problems (or others) happen
> with a cable connection compared to a wireless slave setup?
A cabled setup ought to be more predictable than an optical slave.
As I noted above, I haven't had any problems using optical slaves,
so it'll probably be okay. Take really detailed notes on your
test roll just in case.
Good luck!
-- Glenn
