----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Stregevsky"
Subject: nondedicated, non-TTL flash: How difficult?
How much harder is a nondedicated, non-TTL flash to use than a dedicated TTL
flash? I'm looking at the flash instructions for my Ricoh XR-2s (Sears KS
Auto), and it looks like a lot of work. I can't use aperture priority
exposure; rather, I must select a shutter speed, divide the distance into
the guide number, and use the quotient as my aperture--only if my flash is
on "full" (I assume).
Your math is correct.
If I change my subject distance, I must change the aperture.
Sounds like a lot of work!
Which attribute would go further to simplify the routine: a flash that's
dedicated but not TTL? Or TTL vs. merely dedicated?
or.....
Use the flash on "AUTO", the guide scale will give you a couple of apertures to choose from.
Yes, you have to shoot the camera on manual, what you are doing is using the flash to control the foreground, and the shutter speed to control the background.
It helps to have a high sync speed.
This is why Camera makers went to vertical shutters, and why most of the medium format makers stayed with leaf shutters.
Does anyone here still use a nondedicated flash? If so, why?
I do. Pentax TTL flash control is unreliable. My 20 year old Metz has better light control than my istD.
William Robb
