Need flash gun tips???

Hey, I'm new to this forum.

Recently I've been having a go at film and got a hold of a Pentax Mx, and what can I say, I JUST LOVE THE CAMERA! I love the results especially on Kodak Portra film.

I want to get a flashgun with it, I was thinking a Vivitar 283. On a Dslr it's easy to adjust the right settings get the exposure right when bounce flashing, especially without the need of a light meter but how do I do it for film?

I mainly use 400 iso film, I know I have to set it to 1/60th shutter speed to sync and I assume that the vivitar 283 is always manually on full power but I'm not sure what aperture to set it to. :

The Vivitar has a light sensor on the front. If you rotate the collar around the sensor you'll see M, or yellow, red, blue or purple showing through the little window. On the side of the flash is a dial which you rotate to the film speed you are using. If you're using 400 ASA you'll see on the dial the yellow/40ft marker against f/5.6, orange/30ft marker against f/8, etc. Roughly guess the distance, set the ring around the sensor to the appropriate colour and the aperture to the appropriate value and hey presto. Job done...

The best way of doing it is to measure the exposure using a flash meter but that is a bit slow although great in a studio situation. For multiple off camera flash it is the only way to do it.

Cheers, Kris.

Oh cheers! Sounds nice and simple
Guess I'll have to get my hands on one of these things asap!

They weren't called the "light master" (or something similar to that, I cannot remember exactly now) for nothing! Mine has worked well for years.

K.

I did have a 285 for a while and what a flashgun... really impressive. 283 just lacked one or two of the features but you won't be disappointed.

I have a couple of Vivitar 283 going spare complete with sync cable to attach to wireless trigger.

Battery holders are good.

Send me a message if interested

Would I have to have a larger aperture if I'm bounce flashing?

Depends how far away the ceiling is...

Yes.

Sort of... the sensor assumes that the aperture is set to the value given on the indicator and measures the light appropriately. So if you have the sensor set to orange and the aperture at f/5.6 instead of f/8** you'll get one stop of over exposure. The problem is that if the bounce diffuses the light too much the flash won't be powerful enough and even with a full discharge you might end up with an underexposed image. The trick, therefore, is that if the subject is 30 feet away but you are bouncing the flash, set the sensor to yellow and the aperture to f/5.6. Hopefully, then, there is enough oomph in the flash to light the scene but if there is more than enough, the sensor will cut the light off before it gets over-exposed.

There is a manual adaptor for the Vivitar 283 although I have only seen one for sale once. With that you can use a flash meter and adjust the power appropriately.

K.

** assuming 400 film speed as in the original post.

K.