I would mostly use on digital M bodies but I could use occasionally on my MP as well. Would prefer ttl but if there is a really great manual option, I would be open to it.
I really just need something easy to provide fill flash for a quick portrait etc. Anyone have experience with good options?
I have been eyeing the Lux jr flash but interested on anyones opinion beyond that. Thanks!
Nikon and Leica have the same contact pad pattern but no guarantee about TTL. Both the SF-20 and 24d have gotten expensive and don’t offer tilt or swivel. Newer Leica flashes won’t work with the MP because the menu is set from the camera.
The SF40 and 60 are Leica's TTL hotshoe flashes for digital M, SL, CL, S systems. The SF60 also has an optional wireless trigger for off shoe TTL/manual exposure. Both also offer manual flash for the MP film body. Both are made by Nissin but badged and sold by Leica.
You can also get triggers for Godox and Prophoto strobe systems that work with the digital Leica's (except the Panasonic made Digilux) if you want something bigger. I don't think either make a small on camera flash for Leica TTL yet. But they both work very very well off camera in TTL and manual.
The SF24 doesn't offer full integration with the digital M bodies but does with the film M's and R cameras. The trigger protocols are slightly different for film/digital and the SF24 can be inconsistant with digital M bodes. It's also discontinued so difficult to source and repair.
No nikon flash offers TTL with the Leica's and because the shoe pattern is the same, sometimes they cause other issues (flash dependent) like not letting the shutter fire because the camera gets confused. Best avoided. You can however use a Nikon type flash extension cable if you want to get a TTL flash (SF40) off the camera a bit.
There's also the discontinued SF58, which I hated. It's a rebadged Metz unit and nearly impossible to repair.
For on camera fill the tiny SF40 is probably the best bet as it's small and simple to use. Personally I prefer the slightly larger SF60 and I also use the remote pretty regularly, which works extremely well, although it's overpriced compared to the Nissin versions for other brands.
flash wrote:
The SF40 and 60 are Leica's TTL hotshoe flashes for digital M, SL, CL, S systems. The SF60 also has an optional wireless trigger for off shoe TTL/manual exposure. Both also offer manual flash for the MP film body. Both are made by Nissin but badged and sold by Leica.
You can also get triggers for Godox and Prophoto strobe systems that work with the digital Leica's (except the Panasonic made Digilux) if you want something bigger. I don't think either make a small on camera flash for Leica TTL yet. But they both work very very well off camera in TTL and manual.
The SF24 doesn't offer full integration with the digital M bodies but does with the film M's and R cameras. The trigger protocols are slightly different for film/digital and the SF24 can be inconsistant with digital M bodes. It's also discontinued so difficult to source and repair.
No nikon flash offers TTL with the Leica's and because the shoe pattern is the same, sometimes they cause other issues (flash dependent) like not letting the shutter fire because the camera gets confused. Best avoided. You can however use a Nikon type flash extension cable if you want to get a TTL flash (SF40) off the camera a bit.
There's also the discontinued SF58, which I hated. It's a rebadged Metz unit and nearly impossible to repair.
For on camera fill the tiny SF40 is probably the best bet as it's small and simple to use. Personally I prefer the slightly larger SF60 and I also use the remote pretty regularly, which works extremely well, although it's overpriced compared to the Nissin versions for other brands.
Thanks!!! Its surprising to me the list is so short for TTL flashes on M/Q bodies. 500 bucks plus for a flash I only want occasionally seems crazy. Although when I want it, I just want it to work so I will probably just bite the bullet and do it.
RustyRus wrote:
Thanks!!! Its surprising to me the list is so short for TTL flashes on M/Q bodies. 500 bucks plus for a flash I only want occasionally seems crazy. Although when I want it, I just want it to work so I will probably just bite the bullet and do it.
Everything in Leica land is crazy. Just the eyepiece adapter for the M10 - so you can use the previous gen magnifiers - is $110!
I have had excellent results with the Godox system. They make a TTL controller for Leica M cameras. The good news is that this controller can be used with any of the Godox flash or strobe units, not just the Leica ones. This makes for a very powerful system.
Since I use my flashes in manual mode I just use my Godox Sony remote or flashes on my Leica M cameras.
Unfortunately I do not believe that Godox makes a TTL compatible flash unit for Leica M. So no TTL flash directly on the hot shoe. But who wants that kind of light anyway. I think most any of their flashes can be mounted on the Leica M and be shot in manual mode though.
I was taught a simple system for using a manual flash for lighting a fill by Scott Robert Lim. He passes out these little stickers with a chart of settings on them to set the flash power. I guess this is the Zone Focusing system for flash lighting. It is fast and works surprisingly well. Very reliable. It is based on the distance from the light to the subject at specified aperture and ISO settings. The shutter speed is assumed to be the flash sync speed of your camera. It is pretty easy to extrapolate setting based on different distances from light to subject. What matters is distance from the light, not the camera. Of course camera and light will be the same when the flash is mounted in the hot shoe. You quickly learn to adapt the setting to your flash and cameras.I believe Scott Robert Lim has some tutorials on line to teach this system in detail.
I don't have permission to post the chart, but here is a link to it and a good explanation.
RustyRus wrote:
Thanks!!! Its surprising to me the list is so short for TTL flashes on M/Q bodies. 500 bucks plus for a flash I only want occasionally seems crazy. Although when I want it, I just want it to work so I will probably just bite the bullet and do it.
If your only going to use it occasionally and guessing it'll be used mostly for fill, take a look at the Meke MK-320. The only digital camera I own is a Sony A7II that is only used for scanning. I bought a Meke MK-320S when the thought was to actually use it as a camera. Film won and the little Meke was donated. With the M4-2, there is a hot shoe and I'll buy another MK-320. It's small, offers tilt, swivel, has a snap on diffuser dome, TTL for my Sony, also auto and manual flash controls. Plus it's only seventy dollars.
RustyRus wrote:
Thanks!!! Its surprising to me the list is so short for TTL flashes on M/Q bodies. 500 bucks plus for a flash I only want occasionally seems crazy. Although when I want it, I just want it to work so I will probably just bite the bullet and do it.
The beautiful thing about digital photography is you can instantly see your result. So if your flash shot was not perfect, adjust and repeat. And honestly, you could pick up a basic auto flash w/ manual override, practice with it for a few shots, and you'll be fine.
Desmolicious wrote:
The beautiful thing about digital photography is you can instantly see your result. So if your flash shot was not perfect, adjust and repeat. And honestly, you could pick up a basic auto flash w/ manual override, practice with it for a few shots, and you'll be fine.
+1
Alll those years of shooting chromes (notably limited exposure latitude), I just used a basic "auto" flash. I just dialed mine in for about -2/3, up to - 1 1/3 to avoid that "flash" look, depending on whether it was my key light, or it was fill light.
With digital (for preview, as mentioned by Huss), you also have editing capabilities that we didn't have with chromes. Anything reasonably close for "in the moment" stuff will be close enough. Stuff that isn't "in the moment", you can either do the manual calc's or just shoot, chimp, adjust, re-shoot.
Old school didn't have TTL, so old school techniques can be the order of the day, if you go with a flash that doesn't have TTL. Which, if you're shooting the M or Q, your DOF scale on the lens is giving you the subject distance (for on camera flash), so you can do the math from that to set your flash to subject distance. Although, many flash units, you can just set the ISO/f/distance scale and voila. Zone Focus, Zone Flash.
It's either $$$ for the TTL, or some practice to get your "old school" up to speed.
I purchased a Godox retro flash that I am going to have a go with just to see how it performs. I have no concerns about using it in manual I just don't want to spend time screwing with a flash. Its always just for fill. I have other lighting options for my office. It was only 70 bucks so worth a shot. I am hoping the low output setting is low enough just to provide a little pop of fill when I want it.
If that doesn't work, I will grab an SF-40 which I may do anyway just for simplistic needs.
Here is a simple example where I just want a touch of fill flash to brighten the face. I quickly edited the second which is simple enough but sometimes detail isn't as easily recovered in the wrong situation.
I just realized those are actually different pictures but taken within seconds of each other It was more to show when I want a quick fill flash.
LEICA M11Noctilux-M 1:1.2/50 ASPH. lens50mmf/2.41/250s80 ISO0.0 EV
LEICA M11Noctilux-M 1:1.2/50 ASPH. lens50mmf/1.01/200s64 ISO0.0 EV
It was more to show when I want a quick fill flash. 
