I recently purchased an Osram BCS44 Flash in a vintage-ish shoppe for a song.
Has anyone any experience or opinions about this unit?
Also, Michael wrote in a forum referencing a Hasselblad outfit, "I used one for weddings for years but you are right it is quite heavy hand held, especially with a Metz 60CT added."
What is it about the Metz 60CT which is so special teamed with Hassy's? I have heard this now from several well-seasoned photographers.
What is it about the Metz 60CT which is so special teamed with Hassy's? I have heard this now from several well-seasoned photographers
When I bought mine it was probably the best or one of the best portable flashes on the market, and the battery had a good life etc.
Later Hasselblad with the 503 made it so it could be used "automatically" (TTL) with a special attachment on the flash. No more guessinig on the exposure. However I didn't have a 503, just a 500cm.
Now probably there are a lot of then like Quantum, Lumedyne etc that are TTL.
Karen, it depends on what you want to do. I believe that Hasselblad or MEtz has an add on electronic eye that you can put on a 500cm to have TTL.
Like I said most companies now probably have the same thing.
My only experience is with Metz 60CT. which I used for weddings(yuch). I didn't have TTL and it worked just fine, although not as idiot proof.
I'm now looking into a Lumydyne system for a portable outdoor stobe which has far more power than the Metz. But the Metz was fine for an on camera flash.
My goal is to use it as a mainlight and balance the available light to it. Not to use it on camera.
I don't think any adapter can be added to the 500 (plain) Hasselblads for TTL - note - that is (T)hrough (T)he (L)ens flash capabilities. If there was, it would have to be installed inside the camera, behind the lens.
I have the Hasselblad "ProFlash" which is a Metz CT4 with a built-in SCA adapter. SCA Adapters for the Hasselblad built-in flash sensor are available for a wide variety of Metz and other Flashes - SunPak, etc.
TTL flash is good, but the "ordinary" thyristor-controlled "automatic" flash units are, really, not that far behind.
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Carpe erratum!!
Ed Sukach, FFP.
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When not in studio, I try to avoid on-camera flash, as I always seem to get underexposed candids. It's just not my forte. But I should like to "get it".
I also have a Nikon SB-28 and a Sunpak Auto 544 Thyristor Flash.... when those things are in use , I use a Stroboframe.
Why are your candids underexposed. What exactly are you using.
Like I say, I'm kind of out of the loop. I would think that the Nikon SB-28 may not have enough power or enough battery life and I don't know about the Sun.
The reason I used the Metz was because it had a lot of power and a lot of flashes per battery. I also carried two extra "dry fit" batteries.
But underexposed is not good, so I would investigate what people are using for candids these days and why. There must be wedding sites on the net that have good photographers using the site.
The other thing I might do is look for wedding photographers personal websites, on the web and email them and ask what they use and why. Stay away from wannabees and amateurs because they may just confuse the issue. Try for pros that work every weekend, are using medium format, and even Hasselblads, and ask them about their strobes. Tell them what you do, and ask them about alternatives because they may have owned them at one time and discarded them.
Ed, you're right. The proflash with the sca adaptor is the thing I was refering to and it's not TTL.
Huh? The Proflash #4504 (Hasselblad Cat. # 55034 - I just looked -) *IS* "Through the Lens".
I love the way this thing is set up. Although measuring light through the lens, one can control "fill-in-flash" ratios *extremely* simply - there is a separate, independent ISO film speed setting for the flash itself. I've photographed models "against the sunset", metering for the usual reflective reading and setting the Proflash to meter for the TTL reading on the model in the center of the frame. Lo and behold! - BOTH model AND sunset properly exposed!
Which reminds me - I've got to do more of this work in the near future...
Usually, in a candid-doing, non-setup shooting... at weddings/events, I run around capturing the moment with my Nikon N90S with SB-28 with Photoflex balloony reflectory thingy on Stroboframe. I suspect my problem's the Photoflex soften-up-the-harsh-bloody-light thing. But all that stuff is TTL and the sensor is NOT obstructed... so, I don't understand the why.
I'm generally set at f/5.6 at 1/30th.
The thing is, most of my PPS colleagues are full-time wedding/portrait shooters. I'm the odd fineart girl. The above recipe is their advice, and I suppose I'll just go over with my bits and have my hand held for an hour while I popp off a couple rolls of (recorded in my sketchbook of photo information) test shots.
I'll look up the Proflash, Ed. Are you saying it functions TTL on a 500CM? Perhaps I should just get an additional Hassy body to accomodate my TTL needs: 503somethingerother.
Thanks for your lovely attention. You've all been more than helpful to me.
, I use a Stroboframe.
Linear Mode
