] In the Field Flash Advice [

[PhotoPig]

Hi,

I am a crime scene investigator, and need to shoot a large portion of my shots in the field with the elements, etc. My partner is in transition from film to digital, and has an EOS (forgot which one) with a Metz 32CT4 potatoe-mash style off shoe flash. The department just issued him a 300D, and he wants a flash thats compatible with the before mentioned Metz. However, the Metz is a number of years old and I cant seem to find info on it anywhere (even the Metz site). What are the advantages of these handle off-shoe flashes anyway.....just more durrable? The 580EX seems to pack more of a punch than most of these off shoe mounts (correct me if Im wrong). I am aware that some of these come with power pack attatchments which can be a big plus, but Im not really worried about that. What would you guys recommend? Power is my main concern (for lighting up dark scenes, alleys, car accidents etc). Would the 550 or 580 EX on a bracket suffice?


Oh yeah......if anyone DOES recommend the potatoe-masher type, they have to be E-TTL as well with the 300D....Correct?


Thanks........

 

[Hertz van Rental]

I use a big old Metz 60CT-1 with a power pack. It will light upto 100 feet from the camera at 100ISO and will fire 5 flashes/sec for a motor drive. The 32 was a smaller version of this - if I remember correctly it did not have a separate power pack. I have a remote cell that sits on top of the camera to control the flash so you don't have to worry about TTL metering problems - I believe you could get one for the 32 as well.
This type of flash could be used up to 12 feet from the camera to allow you to control the lighting (they tend to have a tripod bush in the base). Mine has a slave unit too and they have bounce boards and soft boxes. In effect they are studio flashes that pack into a camera bag. This gives you much greater control over lighting on location than the usual head-on flash.
I shall go through all my junk to see if I have the old manuals and stuff - they may provide more info about your 32.