Originally posted by jason88 . This is rating at 320 on portra 400.
Originally posted by jason88 I prefer subjects to be closer, as the further away often means not as clear images, when shooting people on 35mm.
OK...I have my Viv 283 in hand and also a number of accessories in the box on the shelf.
I won't argue with your shooting logic, but will summarize with a few points:
- EI of 360 is a little fast for moderate distance with a moderate to high-powered flash. It was so in the '70s and 80s and remains so today.
- Shooting close with flash usually requires that the flash be off-camera or some distance away or of low power; this for practical reasons and to spare your subject the discomfort of having their eyebrows seared.*
- A requirement of moderate aperture settings does not make this any easier.
I did some experimenting with my Viv 283 and going outside the values on the table in the manual resulted in over or underexposure. For your preferred f/5.6 and EI 320, auto(yellow) mode is the best match, but will not get you closer than 1.6m. Using f/8 in auto(red) mode will get you as close as 1.2m while it will take f/16 in auto(blue) to get you below 1m. Adjusting power manually with the VP-1 module produces similar limitations.
I suggest narrower aperture or a longer lens (to get adequate working distance) for auto flash at EI 320. As you might expect, modern manual speed lights present a similar conundrum unless equipped with ND filters or similar modifiers. FWIW, similar limitations crop up even for TTL and P-TTL automation.
Clarification: Give auto(red) mode a try at f/8 for closer work (down to 1.2m) or auto(yellow) at f/5.6 for 1.6m and further. Have fun!
Steve
* Yes, an exaggeration, though perhaps not by much. I did a remote discharge of the 283 are few weeks ago with some papers near the flash head and they started to smolder.