Re [Leica] Classic M6 or M6 TTL - which do you prefer

[Simon Stevens <simon@camera-craftsman.com>]

>Hi Simon, Steve,

>I'm just back from a trip during which I used a TTL M6 and an SF20.  In
my
>humble opinion, the SF20 is the perfect flash for an M6 TTL.

>Small but with an elevated reflector to avoid red eye.  It works.
>Light. Very.Powerful. Enough.Reasonable on batteries; switches itself
to standby after three minutes.
>Easy enough to use on non TTL bodies.Also a good match for an
R8.Impossibly easy to use - virtually foolproof in TTL >mode.


>Regards

>Rick Dykstra

Hi Rick,

like I said, it has it's place. In fact I'm considering one especially
for travel use. But it isn't "powerful" next to even the basic T2's 150
watt seconds (they make one which will go up to 800 w/s!). Nor can it
shoot bare bulb which in my opinion is the way to go with on-camera
flash. And bounce also isn't possible. I regularly shoot upwards of 400
full-charge exposures on a single battery charge with my T2, which I
suspect the tiny SF20 can't match. Each shot, whether the first or the
400th recycles in less than a second which is also important to me. The
SF20 just isn't built for that kind of use.What it is a cute little
no-fuss highly portable flash for limited purposes.

If I recall correctly (and it was a while ago) I was responding to a
post which said that the SF20 was too small to be really useful for a
lot of things AND that therefore the TTL function of the M6TTL isn't
useful. My point was simply that the SF20 isn't the only compatible
flash for the TTL & if you need something bigger there are equally
"foolproof" TTL-compatible alternatives. I wasn't dismissing the SF20
itself for the uses it is built for, just the implication that the
usefulness of the M6's TTL flash circuitry is tied somehow to the
specifications of Leica's proprietary flash.

Regards.

Simon Stevens