Using my 430EX II on my XTi in different situations.

[prodigy2k7]

Oh man I have heard so many different things concerning flash and im starting to confuse myself. I dont really know where to start so Ill just rant on about a few things and hopefully someone can clear things up for me.

I normally use aperture priority for everything else and for flash this doesn't seem like the best idea. In low light the camera wants to use a slow shutter to properly expose the ambient light, while I want a fast shutter *AND* shallow depth of field using a large aperture. I tried to use Tv in this situation using 1/200 and it produced the lowest possible aperture (for this slow lens) of f/4 (blinking) but still produced decent results because the flash properly exposed the subject. I was also trying to use the lowest possible ISO. Any better ways of doing this?

I don't want to spark up any debates here, but some people use the flash in manual. If you adjust the flash output, how do you properly expose in situations with variable ambient lighting on the subject itself possible producing over exposed subject.

Is it normal to not be able to properly expose the full scene and only the subject (so you always get a blinky aperture/shutter speed in your viewfinder)?

I am shooting ON-CAMERA bouncing the flash off ceiling or walls etc...

Also, i read somewhere not to use high-speed sync in low-light? Can someone elaborate?

One last question, if I am outside and trying to reduce harsh shadows by using the flash as fill-light, how would I go about doing that?

 

[Corbin Lane]

Flashes are tricky. You'll really need to use Manual mode because you'll have to set the shutter speed AND the aperture because Shutter Speed will capture constant light but aperture controls instantaneous light which happens to be the flash. You'll also have to control the power on the flash. It's a lot to take in and it took me a lot of trial and error but let me know if I can help or you need me to explain something better.

 

[Village Idiot]

Flashes are tricky. You'll really need to use Manual mode because you'll have to set the shutter speed AND the aperture because Shutter Speed will capture constant light but aperture controls instantaneous light which happens to be the flash. You'll also have to control the power on the flash. It's a lot to take in and it took me a lot of trial and error but let me know if I can help or you need me to explain something better.

OP has an E-TTL flash, there's really no need to manually adjust the power on the flash if they're bouncing it off the walls and ceiling.

OP - Use manual mode on the camera, and adjust the SS and aperture to expose the scene via ambient as you wish (under exposed, exposed normally) and then shoot. The flash will expose that you meter for properly. You can use FEC if the flash is exposing the scene one way or another to correct that.

Remember, it'll be the same as if you're metering black or white. If you meter a black object and shoot with the flash, it'll tend to over expose the scene trying to compensate for the black. If you're shooting pure white, it'll tend to under expose everything else while trying to compensate.

 

[Corbin Lane]

Flashes are tricky. You'll really need to use Manual mode because you'll have to set the shutter speed AND the aperture because Shutter Speed will capture constant light but aperture controls instantaneous light which happens to be the flash. You'll also have to control the power on the flash. It's a lot to take in and it took me a lot of trial and error but let me know if I can help or you need me to explain something better.

OP has an E-TTL flash, there's really no need to manually adjust the power on the flash if they're bouncing it off the walls and ceiling.

OP - Use manual mode on the camera, and adjust the SS and aperture to expose the scene via ambient as you wish (under exposed, exposed normally) and then shoot. The flash will expose that you meter for properly. You can use FEC if the flash is exposing the scene one way or another to correct that.

Remember, it'll be the same as if you're metering black or white. If you meter a black object and shoot with the flash, it'll tend to over expose the scene trying to compensate for the black. If you're shooting pure white, it'll tend to under expose everything else while trying to compensate.

I completely forgot about that. I was thinking if the flash was off camera .

 

[Big Mike]

I agree. Put the camera into manual mode but feel free to leave the flash in E-TTL mode.

Set the aperture for the DOF you want...keeping in mind that a smaller aperture requires more flash power.

Set the shutter speed for the motion blur that you want (or don't want)....keeping in mind that the amount of ambient light/exposure will also play a factor in that.
Also, set the shutter speed for the amount of ambient light you want. A longer shutter speed will give you more ambient exposure, without affecting the flash exposure.

Raising the ISO will give you more ambient exposure and require the flash not to work as hard.

To adjust the flash exposure, use FEC.

 

[prodigy2k7]

ah this all sounds great, thanks![FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]

[/SIZE][/FONT]