Beginner's lighting. What do you want to know?

[Village Idiot]

http://www.ritzcamera.com/product/5...3;cidigital-cameras-and-accessories;ciflashes i was looking at that for a beginer and possibly a slave

Keep in mind the GN on that flash is 60'. The XTI's pop up is 43' and something like a cheap Sunpak 383 is 120'. The sunpaks are $80 new though and a lot more than that quantaray.

 

[im_trying11]

is it hard to use a manual flash because right now im really short on cash

 

[Big Mike]

is it hard to use a manual flash because right now im really short on cash

It's easy if you understand it. If not, it can be confusing. I'd recommend sticking with the pop up (or no flash at all) until you can afford something better...at least something that can tilt & swivel like the Sunpak mentioned above.

 

[King Mango]

If were to just be a hobbyist photog, (I harbor no dreams of ever going what I would consider to be pro) but I wanted a good flash for shooting people at family gatherings, or friends etc... What would be a good choice? I at some point plan on buying a DSLR, but I don't suppose there are any laws saying I can't buy a flash first if I see a good sale in the meantime right?

 

[im_trying11]

ok thanks for your input

 

[Village Idiot]

If were to just be a hobbyist photog, (I harbor no dreams of ever going what I would consider to be pro) but I wanted a good flash for shooting people at family gatherings, or friends etc... What would be a good choice? I at some point plan on buying a DSLR, but I don't suppose there are any laws saying I can't buy a flash first if I see a good sale in the meantime right?

It depends on what DSLR you're going to buy. A good Canon flash that's capable of being used on "auto mode" and manual mode is the 430ex. It's $230 on B&H right now. It's a complete waste of money if you plan on buying a Nikon, Sony, Olympus or Pentax camera.

 

[Dao]

Village Idiot, Big Mike ...

I just want to say .... You Guys ROCKS!!
:hail::hail:

 

[King Mango]

As much as I hate to support Sony after this whole rootkit fiasco last year, I have been eyeballing an a350.
My aunt has a D40x so I have to buy a diferent brand just for the fun of arguing over who has the better camera. J/K of course. I could very well go Nikon I haven't really thought that much about what to get other than just paying attention to what's out now and what's to come.
But that's several months off and I'm just rambling. I didn't know that flashes were such a proprietary feature! Thanks for the tip VI.

 

[medic001918]

Village Idiot, Big Mike ...

I just want to say .... You Guys ROCKS!!
:hail::hail:

+1,000,000. These guy's are doing a great service here to the beginners of photography. Especially in light of all the "anti-beginner" threads and posts that I've been reading recently. Thanks again guy's. We can't thank you enough for taking the time and being willing to share your immense knowledge with us. You've both probably forgotten more about photography than I'll ever personally know. But I do appreciate you taking the time to share with us and help us progress.

Any plans or would you be willing to do a similar thread for different style of photography? Or different photography topics in general?

Shane

 

[Village Idiot]

+1,000,000. These guy's are doing a great service here to the beginners of photography. Especially in light of all the "anti-beginner" threads and posts that I've been reading recently. Thanks again guy's. We can't thank you enough for taking the time and being willing to share your immense knowledge with us. You've both probably forgotten more about photography than I'll ever personally know. But I do appreciate you taking the time to share with us and help us progress.

Any plans or would you be willing to do a similar thread for different style of photography? Or different photography topics in general?

Shane

Manual mode! If you start it, they will post.

 

[Sarah23]

When I have my flash on E-TTL...how is that different then on M?

I know on M, It has the option to change the strength as fractions like this (1/1, 1/2, 1/4) but when I have it on E-TTL, it has it as thirds (-3, -2 2/3, -2 1/3, -2.....0....+1/3, +2/3, +1...)

Is that still the strength? Why is it different then on manual?

 

[Big Mike]

When I have my flash on E-TTL...how is that different then on M?

In manual, the flash fires with a preset power level. At full power, it's 1/1. At 1/2, it's half of full power. At 1/8 it's three stops below full power...and so on. The flash does not communicate with the camera for metering...only when to fire.

When in E-TTL mode, you have 'Through The Lens' metering. Canon's method of flash metering is to fire a pre-flash just before the shutter opens. The camera then reads the reflected light coming into the lens. It uses that information to decide how much power the flash should use. Then when the shutter opens, it fires the flash again, this time it's for real.
This all happens very fast....you probably wouldn't even notice it.

When in E-TTL....you can adjust the FEC (flash exposure compensation)...and you can adjust it in 1\3 increments. What this does, is change the flash's power away from it's base reading. So if you set it to +1, it would add one full stop of light to it's reading before firing the flash the 2nd time. For one shot, it might be firing full power, the next time it might be a lot less...but it will still add one stop over what it meters...which is, of course, dependant on what it's reflecting off of.

E-TTL is great for something like a wedding, where the lighting and situation will change from shot to shot. With studio work, manual flash is just fine because the lighting & subject aren't changing for every shot.

Take note that the camera & flash must be in communication for E-TTL to work. So the flash must be on the camera or attached via the Canon off shoe cord. You can use E-TTL wirelessly, but you need both a master unit and a slave unit. A Master can be a 580/550EX flash or the ST-E2. A slave could be a 580/550EX or a 430/420EX. You could even add more slaves to the mix and fire several flashes...while still utilizing E-TTL metering. That being said, most photographers prefer to use manual flash control when there are multiples involved (or even with just one, off-camera unit)...the reason being is that manual flash is predictable while E-TTL is dependant on the reflectivity of the scene and Canon's metering algorithms. (in can sometimes give unpredictable results).

 

[Lyncca]

Village Idiot, Big Mike ...

I just want to say .... You Guys ROCKS!!
:hail::hail:

Yup, yall are my new heroes!

 

[Sarah23]

Ok, so when I am using the flash on camera and bouncing it or something like that, I should keep it on M and use it that way. No need to have it on E-TTL unless I have it set up with a trigger of some sort and the light/conditions are changing?

Also...when using E-TTL...you have to use something like a trigger, right? (like a pocket wizard or Cactus trigger?)

 

[Big Mike]

Ok, so when I am using the flash on camera and bouncing it or something like that, I should keep it on M and use it that way. No need to have it on E-TTL unless I have it set up with a trigger of some sort and the light/conditions are changing?

Also...when using E-TTL...you have to use something like a trigger, right? (like a pocket wizard or Cactus trigger?)

You have that backwards. When using the flash on-camera and especially when bouncing...that is a great time to use E-TTL because the camera meters the flash/light even if it's bouncing all around. It meters the light that gets back into the lens, which is what we want to know.

When you have the flash off-camera...you have a few options. You can use the Canon wireless system and keep E-TTL (or use manual)...but if you use a radio system like the Cactus triggers or Pocket Wizards...then you don't have the option of E-TTL so you must use manual. People often prefer the radio system because it's better (more reliable) than IR, which is what the Canon system uses. So, you could say that it's a trade off....you give up E-TTL metering but gain the reliable triggering of a radio system. (there is a new product called Radio Popper, which will allow E-TTL with the benefits of radio signals...but you still need to have a Canon master and slave system.