FED 2 and flash?

[guinness]

Curious if I could use a more modern flash unit such as a Vivitar 283 on my FED 2, with a PC cord. There are a few on Ebay for a good price and I could also use it with my Minolta MF SLR, and kill 2 birds at once.

Or would I have to get something different?

[back alley]

love the avatar!

i rarely use flash but i would think the 283 would work on the fed 2.
i'm curious as to what they go for on ebay as i have a 285 i might sell or trade soon .

and welcome to the forum.

joe

[Laika]

I've used a flash on my FEDs a few times, any unit that can connect via the PC socket will work. You just need a bit of electrical tape over the flash pin or something in the shoe to stop the contact being made if you want to mount the flash on camera. BTW: The FED2 sync speed is 1/25th or 1/30th only

[guinness]

Originally posted by Laika
BTW: The FED2 sync speed is 1/25th or 1/30th only

Umm, that's pretty slow, probably not the best suited camera for what I would like use it for (taking pictures of bands playing small clubs/bars). Might be pretty off stocking up on really fast film instead of a flash.

BTW, I found your FED 2 DIY guide very helpful, just need to finish up cleaning/relubing my I-26 and awaiting my I-61 L/D to arrive.

[back alley]

if you want to do band shots then yes go for the fast film.
there are few band shots taken with a flash that i like, i mostly prefer no flash, more mood available darkness shots.

just my preference.

joe

[clarence]

Hello, I tried using flash with my Fed 2f,but the flash wouldn't be activated at the 'Bulb' setting. This is not the case with my Zorkis, which still fire off the flash even at 'Bulb' when the first curtain is released.

Is there something wrong with my Fed 2f? Or is this normal? And how could I modify it to use flash at 'Bulb'?

Thank you.

Clarence

[ZorkiKat]

Originally Posted by clarence

Hello, I tried using flash with my Fed 2f,but the flash wouldn't be activated at the 'Bulb' setting. This is not the case with my Zorkis, which still fire off the flash even at 'Bulb' when the first curtain is released.

Is there something wrong with my Fed 2f? Or is this normal? And how could I modify it to use flash at 'Bulb'?

Thank you.

Clarence

Nothing wrong with your FED-2. The flash circuit in the camera is wired so that it won't fire at B.

If you want to sync flash at B, try the open flash method. Its the technique used before there was built-in synchronisation. Hold flash with one hand, and the camera with the other. Set shutter to B, focus, compose, then fire shutter. With the shutter still open, manually fire the flash. Try to do both simultaneously. Quite easy to do Then release shutter button to close the shutter after the flash fires.

Worried about ghosting? In most interior/dim situations, you'd have to be really moving very quick to cause ghosting. You won't notice much of this anyway. But then again, openflash or flash-on-B is often resorted to when deliberate ghosting effects are desired.

Jay

[ZorkiKat]

Originally Posted by guinness

Umm, that's pretty slow, probably not the best suited camera for what I would like use it for (taking pictures of bands playing small clubs/bars). Might be pretty off stocking up on really fast film instead of a flash.

BTW, I found your FED 2 DIY guide very helpful, just need to finish up cleaning/relubing my I-26 and awaiting my I-61 L/D to arrive.

1/25 or 1/30 should suffice for synchronised flash photography in the instances you mentioned. These speeds are just one stop slower than the common 1/50 or 1/60 synch speeds of other focal plane shutters.

There shouldn't be noticeable ghosting- if any happens this should be tolerable and may even contribute pictorial effects to your photos. The lighting in small clubs or bars aren't really that bright so synch'ing at 1/25 should not be limiting.

Jay

[clarence]

Thanks, Jay.

On my Zorki 5 I use the 'Bulb' setting with flash to get flash sync at about 1/15second (i just press the shutter release and let go immediately); this gives me a nice balance of flash and ambient fill indoors. I'll practice with my Fed 2f to time the flash and shutter activation simultaneously.

Clarence