If film is your chosen medium and flash photography is something you’re yet to try, we have something that may be of interest to you. Sure, you could be shooting with your camera’s built-in flash. But it’s worth watching what it’s like to shoot film with an impressive-looking handle mount flash. George Muncey of UK-based film photography website Negative Feedback gives us a demonstration of shooting his favorite flash, the Metz 45-CL4 Flash.
Pairing it with a Mamiya 7 resulted in a really cool-looking setup which he used to show how medium format portraits and outdoor shots would turn out with this beast of a flash. This handle mount flash has an attachment at the base for mounting the unit to your camera. Unlike a hotshoe flash, it comes with a cord for attaching to the camera’s flash sync socket.
Watch George show off this impressive flash and his cool setup in the video below:
Looking at George at work and seeing his results, it’s easy to see why working with an advanced flash unit such as the Metz 45-CL4 Flash would be a treat, even for film photographers. It has two light sources that you can use and control with modes to light your subjects evenly. The key light serves as the main light source and a fill flash that works as a secondary light source when the key light is used in bounce mode. There’s also a dial for setting the flash according to different modes, including auto and Through-the-Lens (TTL) metering, so you get properly exposed photos each time. George demonstrates all of these elements rather nicely.
Working with a powerful flash indoors can help you land great results, even if you’re just improvising with something like a soft box look the way George did. As for shooting outdoors, this flash will also be your best friend in tricky lighting conditions where your subjects will be best lit with a versatile flash or light source.
There’s already a digital version of the Metz 45-CL4 Flash, but if you want to know more about the older version that George uses, you might also want to check out this informative introduction video.
Screenshot image taken from the video by Negative Feedback