How much has an external flash changed your photography?

[Gianna'sPapa]

I got a canon 430EX II last month, I tried it out some here and there but really didnt use it until this past week at the autoshow in Detroit. It was really hard for me to get good shots of the car models.

Using the exact same settings and focal length and FE settings in one shot it would be exposed properly but in the next shot look totally underexposed

I'm not an expert, but the differing lighting conditions and metering could be causing a problem. You may have to adjust the flash EV which is different than the Camera EV.

 

[Shutterbug]

I'm not an expert, but the differing lighting conditions and metering could be causing a problem. You may have to adjust the flash EV which is different than the Camera EV.

I shot in manual to capture the ambient light, but I am thinking as bright as some of the lights were in some areas, maybe I should have shot in Av mode and used the flash to fill in the models faces.
Looking at some of the faces of the models, the faces look almost overexposed but the eyes are still very dark like they didnt get enough light.

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

I shot in manual to capture the ambient light, but I am thinking as bright as some of the lights were in some areas, maybe I should have shot in Av mode and used the flash to fill in the models faces.
Looking at some of the faces of the models, the faces look almost overexposed but the eyes are still very dark like they didnt get enough light.

That's probably how I would have shot it using fill flash for the shadows.

 

[NateNLogansDad]

I shot in manual to capture the ambient light, but I am thinking as bright as some of the lights were in some areas, maybe I should have shot in Av mode and used the flash to fill in the models faces.
Looking at some of the faces of the models, the faces look almost overexposed but the eyes are still very dark like they didnt get enough light.

Do you have any examples to post?

(Not that I'd be of any help, but I'm just curious)

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Can someone answer a (probably really stupid) question for me. I keep reading stuff like "165/ft. for ISO 100 at 105mm telephoto lenses" but what happens if you zoom out to 250mm at say 130 feet? Or 150mm at 200 feet?

I feel like I'm on the verge of that AH HA moment but I just can't grasp it.

 

[NateNLogansDad]

When your researching the flashes you will need to compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges. The only way I found that made sense was to compare the guide numbers. That is a number expressed in feet/meters at ISO 100 at a focal length. In simplistic terms, that means, using ISO 100 at 53 meters/174 feet @ 105mm you should be able to obtain a properly exposed image. My 530's guide # is 53 hence 530. The newly released 610's guide # is 61 indicating a longer reach/stronger flash. I hope that helps. Of course my flash has a plastic mount whereas some others have a metal mount. That may make a difference to a pro, but not to me. It works just fine.

As an edit to my post right above this.......will you just not get a properly exposed picture if you go beyond that reach or will it just not work?

If the answer is the former, say you bumped up the ISO on your camera, would that make up for the distance?

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Last question of the night is more directed over to Giana's Papa I think.

If I went with the Sigma, There is about a $10 difference in

EF610 DG ST ($165)
EF530 DG Super ($175)

Which would you go for and why?

I have a Nikon D5000 which doesn't have the flash commander built in.

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

The 610 DG ST is their upgrade of the basic flash (formerly 530 DG ST). It does not have a rear LCD and has less controls/options. For example, if you want to adjust flash EV, it has to be done through your camera flash menu whereas the Super is done on the flash. I'm not sure of the Nikon terminology of flash commander. If that is wireless flash, the ST does not have it whereas the Super (both the 530 and newer 610) have it along with modeling flash and pulse flash amongst other options.

Basically what it comes down to is the Super is their top of the line with the 530 being the last generation. The newest is the 610 (both ST and Super). The only difference that I can see between the 530 and 610 series is the guide number. The 610 is a more powerful flash. I have the 530 and am more than pleased with its range. Those pics that I showed earlier were taken about 10-15 feet from mid-court and the players were under the basket. The shots were taken from a distance greater than half court.

I own both an ST and a Super. I like the options on the Super better, but both work well.

Terry

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

As an edit to my post right above this.......will you just not get a properly exposed picture if you go beyond that reach or will it just not work?

If the answer is the former, say you bumped up the ISO on your camera, would that make up for the distance?

Sorry, I didn't see this one. You can bump up ISO, flash EV. One of those earlier shots was taken at 128mm and came out fine. If you get one a little underexposed, its always easy in PP to bump it up. I always err on the side of underexposed than over. Fortunately, one of my camera's (Pentax K10D) quirks is that it likes to underexpose!

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Right now I'm leaning more toward the 530 super but it's 3am and I'm at work so I'm going to sleep on it for now. I think in the am I'll need to make the call. I really appreciate all the info, and if anybody else would like to chime in on the 11th hr, I'm all ears )

 

[MICKEY88]

I shoot with 2 500 Supers, I would recomend going with the super, whichever model number, for the ability to shoot wireless

 

[NateNLogansDad]

I shoot with 2 500 Supers, I would recomend going with the super, whichever model number, for the ability to shoot wireless

Let's pretend for a second that I'm totally clueless

To shoot wireless, your camera needs to have that ability, correct?

The flash won't fire from seeing just any other flash going off will it? i.e. say you had the Super sitting on a table ready to go and took a picture with a disposable camera. Would the flash from the disposable trigger the Super to go off?

 

[JoeDif]

Let's pretend for a second that I'm totally clueless

To shoot wireless, your camera needs to have that ability, correct?

I'm not very familiar with Nikon flash technology but i think the following is true:

1) your camera needs built in wireless capability or

2) you can use flash triggers but in many cases you lose TTL function and have to use manual flash and of course more $$ for the triggers


The flash won't fire from seeing just any other flash going off will it? i.e. say you had the Super sitting on a table ready to go and took a picture with a disposable camera. Would the flash from the disposable trigger the Super to go off?

If the Super is set to Slave mode then that could happen.

Not sure if this helps any

 

[Revan]

I'm looking at getting a book that was recommended on Scott Kelby's Photofocus podcast. Speedliter's Handbook - by Syl Arena. I shoot Canon - but I believe the book has a lot of good information for anyone interested in flash photography.

 

[MICKEY88]

Let's pretend for a second that I'm totally clueless

To shoot wireless, your camera needs to have that ability, correct?
correct, if your current camera doesn't have it, I'd still get the super flash so if and when you upgrade you have the capability
The flash won't fire from seeing just any other flash going off will it? i.e. say you had the Super sitting on a table ready to go and took a picture with a disposable camera. Would the flash from the disposable trigger the Super to go off?

no it would not, and I don't think the supers have a slave mode,
with mine I simply put one on my camera , switch flash mode to wireless with the camera menu, and the flash switches to wireless, I remove the flash, slide the other one on, and it switches to wireless, I can then take it off and use them both off camera

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

Because it uses the signal of the built-in flash, yes it is possible for another flash to activate it. That is why the flash has channels that are selected and paired to the camera. If you run into this situation, all you would need to do is change to a different channel.

Again, I wish some of the Nikon shooters would jump in here because I'm speaking from a Pentax perspective. I have full TTL capability with this system whether it is on or off the camera. I can also switch to manual if that is needed.

I just found the online owners manual for the 530 series for the Nikon from the UK website:

http://www.sigma-imaging-uk.com/pdfs/EF-530_Sup_Manual_NIK.pdf

Here is the compatiblity chart for the 610 series from the US site.

http://www.sigmaphoto.com/Compatibility_Table_EF-610_DG_ST

I just spoke with Sigma customer service and they stated there is no difference in the operation and parts of the 610 to the 530, other than it is a more powerful flash. They also stated once in a great while there will be an issue of over/under exposure with a camera, but that is easily fixed with a firmware update. They state that whatever capability an OEM flash has, is incorporated into the Sigma flash and it should operate exactly like the OEM.

Sorry and thanks Mickey88 for jumping in. We were writing about the same time!

 

[10dedfish]

What an informative topic this has turned out to be, and I will definetly be looking into the scott kelby podcast!

 

[MICKEY88]

just a little fyi on how I ended up using sigma flashes,
I had a minolta 7D and a minota 5600 flash,
I wanted a second flash simply as a backup, and to experiment with off camera flash , so I bought the sigma 500 dg super,,
I quickly learned that it was every bit as good as the minolta flash, then my 5600 died on me, it was sent for repair, and I was told parts were no longer available, and given a Sony number to call, since they had bought out Minolta and were handling customer service..,
I was told that if I could email them a copy of my receipt they would prorate a refund. I was pleasantly surprised since the unit was out of warranty.
once I received the check I decided to buy a second sigma since I was happy with their performance and the price was such that I only had to spend $20 on top of the refund check from Sony

 

[NateNLogansDad]

So, less than 1 minute ago my order was placed with B&H for the 530 Pro and a diffuser

Adorama had it for $175 and B&H price matched it

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

What an informative topic this has turned out to be, and I will definetly be looking into the scott kelby podcast!

I agree. I'm not the most experienced photographer in the world. When I decided to go the route of an external flash, it introduced me to another world. As one PP stated, its not just about slapping one on and shooting. I tried that and struggled until I did a little research and a lot of practice. Digital helps because of the instant feedback. When we were shooting film, we didn't get the results for a week and by that time we forgot how we shot it! I honestly believe if folks took more time to learn flash photography it wouldn't be as disparaged as it seems to be. It definitely deserves a spot in our tool box as an option. It also has a raised a modest interest in the lighting involved in studio work. I'm not able to move that way yet, but I'm thinking about it.