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Re: [OM] TTL: not ready for prime time?

Subject: Re: [OM] TTL: not ready for prime time?
From: Joel Wilcox <jowilcox@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 2002 07:08:52 -0600
Jim,
The problem with TTL usually is that you sometimes have to guess whether the exposure will be off about half a stop either way (usually depending on the background, but sometimes on the subject). With your black puppy I would expect a tendency to overexposure rather than underexposure. However, you rarely need to worry too much about this with print film.

I'm assuming that after testing for normal auto you are using the stop that is appropriate for that auto range or wider for your TTL shots. With ASA160 film and bouncing, I wouldn't stop down any more than f5.6.

If this does suggest anything to you, then I think something is wrong with your T32. However, I would verify this with a shot or two with the flash direct rather than bounced and preferably on slide film. I would also check the accuracy of the normal auto settings too.

The Metz flashes are by reputation creme de la creme. I've not used them, but I have various Vivitars and a Sunpak in addition to T flashes, and they all do TTL/OTF without a problem. There is a lot to choose from.

Joel W.

At 09:41 PM 3/19/2002 -0800, you wrote:
With my ol' OM 2, I was disappointed every single time
with the T32 in TTL.  At first I thought it was
because the silly shoe wasn't up to the job of holding
the T32 vertically, for portraits.  (Duh!)

Now that I have the OM-4 great meter and sturdy built
in shoe, I decided to try the T32 again.  At
Christmas, it worked okay straight ahead in Normal
Auto.

I decide to try TTL again.  I shot a black puppy on a
white blanket.  The black puppy took up 4/5ths of the
frame.  I knew that it would have been a "normal"
scene to a center-weighted meter if I had relied on
the available darkness.

I pointed the T32 straight up and fired a warning shot
in Normal Auto to find out if there was enough light.
(EI 160, 8' ceiling.  I knew there was enough flash
power but I like to be sure.  There's an expression
that goes, "Once bitten, twice shy.")  Normal Auto
blinked.  Enough light.  I set the camera to "Auto",
shutter at 1/30th, as the manual states to be extra
sure.  I turned off the T32, flipped the calculator
panel and turned it back on.

Once I had a ready light (for an extra 15 seconds), I
fired.  In short, I can't think of anything I did
wrong.  (This time!)

Every single frame (24 in all) is grossly
underexposed.  (more than 3 stops)  There is no detail
at all in the black- it's completely clear film base.
If you're thinking that the scene was high key and the
white blanket is probably "correctly exposed" as
neutral grey, it's not.  Even the white bits are pale.

I don't know what TTL was 'thinking' but it wasn't
reading *my* scene.

Is it possible for an OM 4 to yield **perfect** and
repeatable exposures on slide film, yet totally be out
of adjustment for TTL?  Others have related war
stories about TTL but I didn't think it was this bad.

I use Normal Auto for anything but testing, but I
guess I could have used it, even with the tube facing
up, as long as I get the blinking confirmation light,
right?  (I suspected that it would give me a neutral
grey rendering of the white wall, 4 feet behind my
subject, and a washed-out dog.)

Are the Metz flashes better at doing TTL?  Do I need
to give up on bounce flash with my OM-4 / T32 / 100mm
lens combination?

I also tried a short TTL cord with the T32 aimed up
but all of the exposures are uniformly and grossly
underexposed.


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