At 01:50 AM 5/24/2002 -0700, you wrote:
The commonly used configuration, as you can guess from the length of the
M. Grip cord, is with the BG2 on the right when used with a motor drive. I
know several listees have said that's how they use it. I very seldom use
mine, but that's my preferred setup too.
The most important photographic factor is which way you rotate the camera
for vertical shots. The flash should always be above the camera so shadows
behind subjects tend to go down the wall behind them, rather than looming
above them like hungry ghosts.
Once you get that much stuff together, personal preferrence should rule
over any recommendations anyway. Everything on the right works best for me
'cause I don't like stuff on the left getting in the way of my focusing
hand. Try using it both ways without film and see what feel best for you
and which way you take vertical shots with it.
I assume the various tripod screw holes are to get proper left-right
balance on a tripod with various arrangements of the bits and pieces?
Moose
Just to add a couple additional ideas. The configuration with OM-1 is
usually BG2 column on the left because the PC cord won't reach the PC
socket otherwise. I don't like the handle on the left and have good luck
using a PC extension (a little PC style cord with male fitting on one end
and female on the other). I use the BG2 for some outdoor shooting of
flowers and I like the OM-1 so that I can use various shutter speeds. I
keep a winder attached to the BG2 at all times because I like to use the
BG2's button to fire. Curtis asked about using a Winder 2. No
problems. I've never tried it in continuous mode however. I'm sure it
would work, though I don't know if there's a flash that can keep up (which
was I suppose the purpose of Curtis' question).
The BG2 really sets the T20 and especially the T32 free. A good
third-party, TTL- capable flash that can bounce in the shoe (or a second
T32) allows you to double bounce light and really fill the room with
light. Set the T32 to bounce to the back of the room and set the flash in
the shoe to bounce short onto the subject. This really improves the look
of flash shots of people and increases the odds that TTL will work as
hoped. (TTL usually blows out facial tones with straight-on flash unless
the subject is up against a white wall, then it's apt to go the other way.)
The weakness of the BG2 is verticals. Slide the camera up the flash column
towards the flash. This minimizes the sidewise shadows, but you're apt to
be better off just bouncing one flash off the ceiling.
Crank your flash down tight in the BG2. There are tales of woe in the
archives about the flash slipping out of the BG2 shoe! When setting it up
to bounce, the flash head unfortunately can't be adjusted one-handed. Nor
does it sit nicely on a table top to make such adjustments (it leans over
onto the lens! hate that). But you get used to sitting down and holding
it in your lap and adjusting the bounce. No worse than dressing a cat. <g>
The tripod socket is good to have but it's predicated for old-fashioned
tripods as the flat surface around the hole is not much bigger than a US
quarter. A quick release plate works OK for horizontals but is poor for
verticals. One day I'll machine a large flat bottom piece to screw into
the tripod hole with its own tripod hole. Then it will stand properly on a
table top as well. The extra weight ... oh well.
Enjoy the BG2. Quite a rig.
Joel W.
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