Astbury's Adventures in Photography

My plan was to take some photographs of the pet (dog) graves in the gardens at Hopetoun House. I wanted to shoot the small headstones from a low position so chose a Fuji X-T1 for the job as this is the only camera I have with a flip out rear screen which makes shooting at odd angles and positions easier. Light levels were likely to be low in the location beneath a canopy of trees and so I was thinking of using a flash to illuminate the subject and also to help with contrast, giving a light drop off for the background. I'd be shooting from close up so the little Fuji EF-X8 shoe mount flash seemed ideal (guide number of 8, metres, ISO 100). However when I came to start I could not get the flash to fire. I ran through a number of menu options and the obvious turn the camera on and off etc but it wouldn't play ball. So I was forced to rethink the shot, ambient light, higher ISO and a wide aperture (luckily I was using a prime lens, the Fuji XF 27mm f2.8). At f3.6 I was getting en...

Along with the Nikon FE ( see earlier post: From Voigtlander to Nikon ) there was also a flashgun, the Nikon Speedlight SB-10 (factoid: Nikon use the term Speedlight but Canon use the term Speedlite ). NIKON SB-10, front NIKON SB-10, rear SB-10 mounted on NIKON FE, front SB-10 mounted on NIKON FE, rear When I opened up the battery compartment I was pleased to find the flashgun had been stored without batteries so no leakage. However when I put new batteries in I sadly found the unit was dead. I'm guessing maybe the electrolytic capacitor had failed sometime in the 36 years since the unit was manufactured. So what would make a good alternative to deliver a similar lighting effect to the original unit? Well the SB-10 worked as a manual unit (and also had a limited auto option). NIKON SB-10 Exposure Calculator disc The Guide Number was a very modest 25. My nearest equivalent is a Yongnuo YN560 which offers manual power setting with a max Guide Number of...