Speedlight question(s)

[petto]

Just got a 580-EX II for my 7D and so far love it. Have not had a chance to use it outdoors but will soon. Indoors having been bouncing off the ceiling with some pretty good results. I have a couple of questions for the pro's of the external flash world.

1. What is a good bounce product for outdoor fill light use? (have been looking at these: Demb Flash Products - Flip-it! the variable-angle flash reflector )
2. When I look at my meter (when composing pic with external flash attached and on) it indicates far end and past of underexposure but when I take the pic it comes out fine, maybe even a tich on the + exposure. Doesn't the camera know the output of the flash and take that into consideration when metering a scene? I have just been shooting in manual and putting the shutter and aperture where I want as the subject was moving about and like I said the pics are coming out fine (exposure wise) but each time I compose the meter still indicates underexposed.

Thanks in advance for the tips.

 

[Tiberius47]

Just got a 580-EX II for my 7D and so far love it. Have not had a chance to use it outdoors but will soon. Indoors having been bouncing off the ceiling with some pretty good results. I have a couple of questions for the pro's of the external flash world.

1. What is a good bounce product for outdoor fill light use? (have been looking at these: Demb Flash Products - Flip-it! the variable-angle flash reflector )

If you are looking to get something to make your light softer, then you need to get something that makes your light source bigger. Umbrellas and softboxes do this. Those attachments will make the light softer as well, but you could probably make your own with a bit of white plastic rubber-banded to the top of your flash too.

[*]When I look at my meter (when composing pic with external flash attached and on) it indicates far end and past of underexposure but when I take the pic it comes out fine, maybe even a tich on the + exposure. Doesn't the camera know the output of the flash and take that into consideration when metering a scene? I have just been shooting in manual and putting the shutter and aperture where I want as the subject was moving about and like I said the pics are coming out fine (exposure wise) but each time I compose the meter still indicates underexposed.
[/LIST]
Thanks in advance for the tips.

The reason is that the meter isn't taking into account the light that is coming from the flash. The camera's meter works on ambient light only. The camera doesn't set the exposure for the flash until you take the photo, at which point it fires a test burst from the flash to determine the required flash exposure.