Sunpak Auto 24SR Flash
Camera flash doesn't seem all that relevant for digital photographgy with smartphones because digital sensors can shoot at unusually high ISO like 3200 and still produce good pictures. In film photography however, it's a whole different story. The entire roll can only be developed at one speed, which is usually at box speed (normal ISO range is 100-800), and pushing the ISO higher than box speed comes with a cost of increased contrast and potential color shift.
Shooting film indoor at safe shutter speed of 1/50s and ISO 400 will simply yield a severely underexposed or simply no image at all.
All of my film camera except the FunSaver, compacts and XT-20 have no built-in flash, making them unusable when I choose to shoot indoor. I had been searching for a cheap automatic flash with hotshoe mount and PC sync cable to work with the older Solinas. In hindsight, I should have added adjustable flash angle to the criteria. I will get back to this later.
One day I saw the post for this Sunpak Auto 24SR Flash online being sold for HK$80, I immediately contacted the seller because this one checked met all the criteria. At the time I had no idea how a flash unit works. The seller patiently taught me how to use the flash with the Isoly 100 I brought along for testing the flash unit.
The easiest way to use an automatic flash like Sunpak auto 24SR is to switch to one of the A modes, set the ISO on top to match the film, then set the aperture on the camera to match the flash (in this case, f/8). In turn, the flash guarantees to provide a volume of light to properly expose anything within the range of 0.7-4.2m. For a different distance range, one can select the other A mode, or go to M mode where finer contol over aperture and distance is possible.
Using a flash in low-light ensures first, a photo can be properly exposed, and second provide enough light such that photographer can use a faster hand-held shutter speed, thus avoiding blurred photo due to shaky hands.
There are a few minor issues I encountered when using this flash.
This flash includes an adjustable screw ring around its base to it can firmly stay on the accessory shoe of the camera—provided that no other obstructions around the accessory shoe. On the Agfa's this is actually fine. On AGAT 18K though, the hidden hotshoe is actually inset into the camera body. The unremoveable screw ring of the flash is obstructed by the camera body, causing this flash unusable with the AGAT 18K.
This flash shines directly forward from 5-10 cm above the lens, depending on the camera used. Because the flash direction is unadjustable, there could be reflections and red-eye issues such as the strangely bright spots you can see from the black and white photo above.
Other than this, there's nothing else I can complain about the Sunpak Auto 24SR. I even arranged a dedicated bag for it.
