Flash for TLR

Michael L. Dunlap

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I didn't have time to read all the entries in this thread, but after I bought my YashicaMat 124 on E-Bay, I went to my local camera shop and they had a little adapter that has worked well for me. It turns the cold shoe into a hot shoe. It slides into shoe and has a syc cord coming out of the side of it that connects to the camera. The top side of it has a hot shoe allowing me to use any flash. It's great, I love it.
 

Christopher Nisperos

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I'm surprised that no one has yet mentioned the Jones bracket (no. J-120). It's great with this camera. http://www.veachco.com/

A million years ago, when I shot weddings, I used to use this bracket with my Rollei TLR. I had a Graflex electronic flash — with a real heavy son-of-a-gun of a battery— whose head had a threaded socket which allowed it to be attached directly to the bracket.

The Jones bracket is designed so that a mounted flash is positioned directly on the vertical axis of the lens, and way above it. This was great for wedding photography because it forces the shadows to "hide" behind the loving couple, instead of the "sidelong" shadow created by using side-mounted flash brackets. This also helps keep the dark-suited groom looking thinner because there's no dark shadow to merge with his suit! To allow waist-level viewing, the bracket is designed so that the flash is positioned a bit forward of the viewing hood, not above it.

The "high above the lens" flash position will also be familiar to portrait photographers who use 'glamour' or 'butterfly' lighting, which is especially flattering for photos of women (if they have bags, just have them tilt their chin up very slightly, à la Marilyn Monroe! Works wonders). I had many re-orders from brides who told me that they'd never seen themselves look so good in flash pictures. Mini-softboxes didn't exist at the time I used the Jones bracket, but they would be a logical addition today.

Next-to-lastly, the weight distribution of the camera/flash combination was more balanced with the Jones bracket than a side-monted unit.

Lastly, the thing is darned cheap, IMHO (No, I don't work for Jones ... but I think I've just convinced myself to get another bracket!)
 

leeturner

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David H. Bebbington said:
Came across this:
http://www.vintagecameras.co.uk/flash.htm
Click to expand...

Great minds think alike. I did a quick search last night and am waiting for an email back from them.
Another question about using a TLR but this time with studio strobes. Is flare a problem as I've found that a 2.8 Rollei can be quite prone to flare using it outside and I can't see the standard hood being very useful with studio lights.
 

David H. Bebbington

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I think the standard lens hood is quite good as these things go. When I had Rolleis that took #1 bayonet accessories, I also had an adapter ring that allowed me to use 46 mm screw-in filters. Don't know if such an adapter is available for your camera (#3 bayonet fitting?). If you fit a big round lens hood, it gets in the way of the viewfinder.
One other possibility is a "Flare Buster", which is a flexible stem with a socket on one end that fits an accessory shoe and a crocodile clip on the other which accepts a round rubber-sheet flag or indeed any other shade you want to make. This is then positioned to shade the lens. I have one, I think I bought it from Teamwork in London but they're quite commonly available.
 

leeturner

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Thanks David. I'm going to try out my TLR's with a studio light this weekend just to see what the results are. I can always make a flag to block off light between camera and flash. I enjoy the TLR for portrait as I can lift my head from the viewfinder and really engage with the sitter. In natural light they don't even realise that the pictures been taken. When looking through an SRL I always get this voyeuristic and slightly detached feeling.

The hardest thing these days is to convince my kids that the photo I've taken isn't immediately available. I'm actually going to have a darkroom session with my 7 year old as my explanations about chemicals, paper etc. sound indredulous to her.
 

leeturner

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David, I managed to get the sync cable with the grand total of 75p postage. Hell I love the internet.
 

David H. Bebbington

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leeturner said:
David, I managed to get the sync cable with the grand total of 75p postage. Hell I love the internet.
Click to expand...
Great! Happy snapping!
 
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joeyk49

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I use my 124G with no less than 3 different flash units. All work wonderfully with the standard pc cord.

I've taken a liking to a cheap hand held camera/flash mount, which gets the flash unit a bit higher than the camera.

The point is that standard pc cords seem to work perfectly...
 

David H. Bebbington

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joeyk49 said:
The point is that standard pc cords seem to work perfectly...
Click to expand...
They will if you haven't got a camera which was designed with an oddball socket that was made that way to force you to buy an expensive Rollei cable!
 

leeturner

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A quick plug for Vintage Cameras. I ordered the cable on Friday afternoon and it arrived first thing Saturday morning. Now all I need is a female to female pc cord as the Rollei cable is very short and has a male plug on the end.
 
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joeyk49

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David H. Bebbington said:
They will if you haven't got a camera which was designed with an oddball socket that was made that way to force you to buy an expensive Rollei cable!
Click to expand...

Ahh, yes David...I've seen that movie! I've had a nasty experience or two with proprietary equipment/formats and I feel your pain...
 

Joefoto

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TLR Flash


Hey Joey, I used to use Sunpak 544 flash with my Rolleis, but have gone back to using a Lumedyne system. Super-versatile flash system, and when in use goves the "look" of an oldfashioned bare-bulb flash unit.

They are always available on eBay, just have to watch sometimes to find the best deal.

A perfect flash, can't recommend them highly enough.

Joe
 
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joeyk49

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And it also appeals to my alterego: CHEAPJoey
 

Michel Hardy-Vallée

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David H. Bebbington said:
Try to find one of these:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-YASHI...581663354QQcategoryZ30037QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
This has the all-important bracket for "normal" cameras - a lot of Graflex flashguns just have fittings to hook onto a Speed Graphic......
Click to expand...

Dave, I've been looking around for the tripod socket bracket to use with the Graflex flash unit, but I can't seem to find any. Not sure if there's a special keyword for it, but they seem to be rare, unlike the Graflex/Heiland flash units.

I've also seen that the big Sunpak flashes like the 544 come with a bracket that squeezes around the flash handle. Would that work too with the Graflex-type flash units?
 

David H. Bebbington

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Caught sight of this this morning:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Heiland-flash...599396220QQcategoryZ64354QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Any use to you?

If this:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SUNPAK-Auto-5...ryZ48549QQssPageNameZWD2VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
is the type of bracket you are talking about, I am sure it could be persuaded to fit. Graflex flashguns seem to have a body diameter of 1 1/4" (I just checked one), maybe somebody could measure a Sunpak.

Regards,

David
 

Michel Hardy-Vallée

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joeyk49

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I troll the used bins and old stock items at local camera stores. They also come up on Ebay from time ot time...
 

Michel Hardy-Vallée

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Joey, what search terms do you use for the brackets?

Earlier in the thread I saw that Joefoto had a Sunpak 544; Joe, can you give a measurement for the diameter of the flash handle? I'm trying to see if those bracket could hold an old Graflex-type flashgun.
 

Michel Hardy-Vallée

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Thanks Joey; the last one is the only one I would consider, given that the Graflex unit do not mount on a screw or on an accessory shoe.
 

Michel Hardy-Vallée

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I knew it, the Heiland got sniped at 4secs before the end. Dang.
 

John Koehrer

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As I recall Stroboframe made a mounting accessory for their brackets with handlemount flash units. Try B&H for stroboframe accessories. Or perhaps get a Stroboframe catalog.
 

Michel Hardy-Vallée

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Well, I just won that set of brackets http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7598651723 so when they arrive I'll have a look at what units I can use with. One seems to have the pins for the Graflex clamps, and the other ones seem to have the diameter for inserting the flash handle in them.

John, excellent tip. Tiffen have a product page for Stroboframe (http://www.tiffen.com/Header_page_Stroboframe.htm), and I found that they have handle mounts for flash: http://www.tiffen.com/Stroboframe_AT_page.htm . So those would indeed be another solution for mounting old flash units.
 

Michel Hardy-Vallée

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Whoo-hoo! I have found the flashgun nobody else has found, and it's a Kalart one!
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7593035627&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT

Takes two C batteries, comes with a bracket, standard PC synch cord (although the tip is not at a right angle, so you might want to check for space around your connector) and does not look enough like a light saber. Cheap!

It arrived today, and I took it for a ride with my Yashica and some #5 bulbs (takes either #5 or P25, you need the large bayonet ones). The bulbs almost burst, maybe our modern batteries are too hot to handle. Tested it also at FP synch on my Spottie, but I don't think #5 burst long enough for that. Anyway, it's the coolest flash unit I've ever had, and I can't wait to make a little Weegee of myself!
 
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