How does flash exposure likely work on an Agfa Optima Sensor Flash film camera?
Asked 4/17/2013
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I’m trying to understand what the Agfa Optima Sensor Flash probably does when its pop-up flash is used. From the manual and other sources, I’ve found that the camera uses electronically controlled exposure, has a leaf shutter, manual zone focus, film-speed settings from 25–500 ASA, and a flash rated around GN 12. The manual gives flash ranges that increase with film speed.
What is the camera likely doing with shutter speed and aperture when flash is active? Does it probably switch to a fixed shutter speed and/or fixed aperture, or could it still vary exposure automatically? Since the published flash range increases with film speed, does that imply the aperture is not simply being changed to compensate? And if exposure is fixed, why wouldn’t a nearby subject be badly overexposed when using faster film?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
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It's impossible to say anything with complete certainty without having a working sample of the camera to test, but here are some likely guesses.
First, there's no reason to assume anything about the shutter speed. The Sensor Flash uses a leaf shutter, so as long as the flash duration is shorter than 1/1000, the flash can sync with the shutter at any speed. That does not mean that the shutter is not set to a slower speed; just that there is no reason to assume that it is. You'd have to test to find out for sure by taking at least two flash pictures, one under relatively low light conditions for the film you're using (and with the subject about two-thirds of the max flash distance away for that film speed), and one under brighter "fill flash" conditions (but not so bright that the scene would overexpose at 1/1000 and f/2.8 without the flash). As often as not, simple cameras are either in "flash mode" or they're not, and when they're in flash mode they do what they can to get the ambient out of the equation. That would mean that the highest shutter speed that allows for the flash duration would be selected rather than the lowest.
As for the flash exposure, I don't see any signs of a flash receptor anywhere on any of the photos of the camera, such as one might find on an "auto thyristor" flash of the period. (There may be one under the flash lens beside the reflector bowl, but if it's there it's not visible in the pictures.) That points to the camera using a "flashmatic" scheme, where the aperture is coupled to the focus ring (in this case, electronically — on many rangefinders the aperture and focus rings would be mechanically locked together in this mode) to automatically set a nearly-correct exposure based on the guide number, film speed and subject distance. The furthest distance is based on the guide number and film speed at f/2.8; the closest distance is likely limited by the near-focus limit of the lens.
This, however, is mostly speculation based on what's available on the links you provided (and the links from those links). You ought to be able to confirm the behaviour with a single roll of film if you know what you're looking for, but I would expect a high(ish) shutter speed (underexposed ambient) and a "flashmatic" aperture selection.
Originally by user2719. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user2719
13y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Most likely, this camera uses a simple automatic flash mode rather than one fixed aperture for all situations.
Because it has a leaf shutter, flash can sync at essentially any shutter speed the camera uses, so there’s no strong reason to assume it always drops to 1/45 sec. It may use a slow speed in dim light, but that would need testing to confirm.
The flash-range table strongly suggests the camera changes aperture according to the film-speed setting. With a fixed-output flash, increasing film speed increases usable range if the aperture is stopped down appropriately. A common design on cameras like this is: when flash is engaged, the shutter is set to a fixed sync-friendly speed and the aperture is set from the selected ASA, not from focus distance.
That also explains why a subject at the minimum distance usually won’t be “totally blown out”: the stated range is an approximate usable range, and close subjects are still expected to fall within the flash system’s tolerance.
For practical use at a party, faster film gives more flash reach and more flexibility, but exact flash behavior on this model is hard to know without testing a working camera.
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