Land Polaroid with aftermarket flash?

[shaocaholica]

I'm a bit confused about using a converted Polaroid like the 360/450 with a newer electronic flash. Will I give up all ability to use automatic flash since the flash has no idea what fstop the camera will choose? Or will the camera default to wide open in most scenarios?

Even with manual flash, how will I know what fstop the camera is going to be at to properly pick the output power?

Is it just easier to use a 360 with the polaroid flash if I want auto flash?

 

[ic-racer]

You can plug an 'automatic' flash with its own sensor into the jack on the Polaroid front shutter housing. If you take your finger off the shutter button right away after the shutter opens and the flash fires the shutter will close. That is your X-synch speed

Here is a breakdown on the apertures available to the 250 (yours may be similar):
(there are two adjustments that change the aperture, INDOOR/OUTDOOR and the film speed)
Focal length: 114mm
Format diagonal: 120mm
Optimum aperture for format: f20

Wide Open: F 8.4 (measured. Specs are F 8.8 per the manual)
300 - Indoors: F 12.6
75 - Outdoors: F 19
150 - Outdoors: F 25.3
300- Outdoors: F 39
3000 - Outdoors: F 50

I set my flash for f22 and the camera for either f19 or f25 (based on the above table) , depending on if the pictures are a little light or a little dark.

 

[shaocaholica]

How do you get wide open? The above settings don't list that.

 

[ic-racer]

3000, 150 and 75 "Indoors" all seem about the same (wide open). You can easily adjust the knob and lever to see which opening in the wheel is biggest.

 

[ChristopherCoy]

I have an older Nissin 5000GW Pro flash that looks a lot like the picture above. I plugged it in via the PC cord and shot this photo.

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

And I used my AB400 with a Larson 4x6 softbox and shot this one last week as well, I held the shutter open a little longer for more ambient light which caused the blurr. I still haven't perfected the use of a flash with my 250/420 or 104...

 

[shaocaholica]

Oh ok. The aperture is totally manual! I don't have a camera yet but I saw some pictures of the lens board guts and it looks like one or two of the dials is mechanically linked to an aperture disk which means the camera has no control over aperture, right?

 

[ic-racer]

Oh ok. The aperture is totally manual! I don't have a camera yet but I saw some pictures of the lens board guts and it looks like one or two of the dials is mechanically linked to an aperture disk which means the camera has no control over aperture, right?

Yes that it right. It is what is commonly called "Aperture Preferred" automatic exposure. You set the aperture and the camera determines the shutter speed electronically. Each film speed only gives you two choices of aperture, however.

 

[shaocaholica]

Do the folder polaroids (250, 360, etc) take screw in front filters?