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Re: [OM] Why Oly is in a hole / screens & 280 flash

Subject: Re: [OM] Why Oly is in a hole / screens & 280 flash
From: "Shawn Wright" <swright@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1998 12:22:57 -0800
On 22 Jul 98 at 12:43, Tomoko Yamamoto wrote:

> >> The camera *can* control the Super FP flash duration. The duration,
> >> which seems to be related to the flash burst frequency, can vary when
> >> controled from an OM-4Ti or OM-3Ti between 1/25 and 1/50 of a second;
> >> when controled by an OM-707 it can be between 1/30 and 1/70 (this is
> >> related to the faster shutter of the OM-707). So "cutting off" the FP
> >> flash wouldn't have the unwanted effect that part of the film doesn't
> >> get any flash, but changing the frequency (flash burst) would result in
> >> uneven exposure. After re-reading the FP-FAQ at
> >>
> >But at these speeds, it is simply quenching the flash as it does with any T
> >series flash, so FP mode isn't an advantage (it just wastes batteries...).
> It is not clear what "these speeds" Shawn is referring to, but IMO the most 
> important thing about the Super FP mode on
> the F280 is synchnizing at high shutter speeds.  It is daylight fill that 
> this Super FP flash on the F280 is designed

The speeds I referred to are the 1/25 to 1/50th, as stated by the original 
author. My point was that at these speeds, why bother with the F280? It offers 
*no* benefit over a T series flash when used in the TTL shutter speed range 
below 1/60. As you correctly state, the F280 is designed for daylight fill, 
which usually means above 1/60 second for wide aperture portraits, etc. While 
the fully automated results in such cases may be excellent, there seems to be 
little provision for *easily* adjusting flash fill ratios, with either TTL or 
FP flash. 

> for.  Since I have both the OM-4T and the F280, I am in the process of 
> testing my own method of using the F280.   I have
> already tried a few shots in the manual mode on the OM-4T by setting the 
> shutter speed so as to expose for the very
> bright area of the frame which has a foreground in the shadow.  The Oly 
> brochures for the OM-3Ti and the OM-4Ti in
> Japanese have several illustrations of how the Super FP mode would be useful. 
>  Most of these are very bright backlit
> situations.  Only one involves the shutter speed of 1/60 sec which shows the 
> motion of one hand on a guitar with  Super
> FP flashes. It gives a photo of the same setup showing the frozen motion of 
> the hand with normal flash.
> 
> The most dramatic example is one of a man who throws a crescent wrench up in 
> the air.  With normal flash, his hand is
> blurred but no wrench in visible in the picture.  With normal flash in order 
> to get synchnization in daylight, you need
> to stop down.  This picture has a lot of background clearly.  On the other 
> hand, with super FP flash, you open up the
> aperture to get high shutter speeds.  With the super FP mode and auto mode on 
> the 4T at 1/2000 sec, you can see clearly
> the wrench in the air.  The hand motion and the wrench are frozen.  The 
> background is blurred because the aperture is
> wide open.
> 
> This seems to be also a good illustration of how high shutter speeds are 
> needed.
Yes, these are excellent examples. I'll be interested in your test results. If 
they work out, does this mean one could take a spot reading on the background 
with a 4T, then set the manual shutter speed for 2 stops under, then use the 
F280 to properly expose the the foreground? This is the sort of thing I would 
like to have, but I thought someone said that the F280 goes to full power when 
used with the 4-T in manual mode? (much like the T-20 does if left in TTL 
mode).

Confused... 

========================
Shawn Wright
Computer Systems Manager
Shawnigan Lake School
250-743-6240
swright@xxxxxxxxx

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