550 EX Flash

Thanks for everyone's replies!

I think im going to go for the 420EX. I dont usually do weddings as I am more into wild life and thus a flash is pritty useless at 400mm.

Someone posted here that even if I do decided to get into the flash more seriously that the 420 can operate as a slave and would not be wasted money.

I have a pretty good grip on almost all of the cameras functions, how to use them, and how to get creative. But TTL and Thyristor flash terminology is still greek to me. Maybe one day I will study it but for now, I want simple and reliable.

Thanks again.

Murphy

Hi Bill,

Bill Branham said:

When shooting a wedding cake with the 420EX, I always get a gray
(18% gray I presume) cake. I tried adding more exposure by
adjusting 1 stop..... 2 stops.... nothing changes the image. In
the Program mode, why can increase the exposure??

Click to expand...

First, I'm not exactly sure how the camera functions, and what control options are available, when the camera is in "P" mode, as I basically have never shot in it. I prefer Av, Tv or full Manual, so I'm in complete control, not the camera.

Second, you need to make sure you're changing the "Flash EV" which is different from the usual ambient light EV compensation. You have to hit the button on the top of the LCD, and rotate the control dial in front, to change Flash EV.

It's important to understand that you control the ambient light contribution to exposure through Shutter Speed, Aperture, and EV Compensation, while the Flash contribution is controlled through its own and separate Flash EV.

If this doesn't resolve your problem, let me know.

Don
http://www.dlcphotography.net

Hi Nill,

Nill Toulme said:

Just a clarification here that I've been wondering about ... you
only have to hit FEL, not hold it down? You hit it once and it
holds until shutter release or you hit it again? Or only while you
have the shutter halfway down? Same for AE lock without flash?
I'm a little confused about the sequence of button pushes.

Click to expand...

That's correct - just the FEL button (assuming CF2 is still set to 0, and that Autofocus hasn't been assigned to the * button). You should see a pre-flash, and a reading is taken. The setting will remain as long as the shutter button is kept half-pressed, and until 2 seconds after you remove your finger completely from the shutter (and you see the info in the viewfinder disappear).

So you can hit FEL, and it locks in the flash exposure. You can take any number of shots using this, without having to re-set FEL, as long as inbetween shots you keep your finger half-depressing the shutter. If you release the shutter completely, the FEL reading will expire at the same time you see the info in the viewfinder disappear.

And yes, this same behavior applies when AE Lock (without flash) is used.

Also, just to be complete, if the flash power isn't sufficient at the settings and distance you're shooting, the lightning bolt symbol will flash when you hit the FEL button. This is helpful because it's telling you your image will be underexposed. You'd need to open up the aperture, increase ISO, change the flash angle, subject distance, etc. to compensate.

If questions remain, please post.

Hope this helps.

Don
http://www.dlcphotography.net

Hi Tony,

Tony Cortizas Jr said:

For those of us unfamiliar with these Canon systems, but
shopping...what is "FEL"?

Click to expand...

As per the title, it stands for Flash Exposure Lock. It's a helpful way of precisely setting the exposure for the flash, and use that same setting for a series of pictures.

As explained in the other post I made, Canon's ETTL system is very sensitive to whatever is under the focus point when the flash exposure is determined. If you use FEL, with the Flash EV adjusted to match the tonality of what's under the focus point when the reading is taken, you can get very consistent, accurate exposure. Problems occur when FEL is not used, and people aren't aware of what's under the focus point when the picture is taken.

Hope this helps.

Don
http://www.dlcphotography.net

murphy said:

I think im going to go for the 420EX. I dont usually do weddings
as I am more into wild life and thus a flash is pritty useless at
400mm.

Click to expand...

Just FYI, there's an inexpensive accessory called the "Better Beamer" which uses a Fresnel prism to focus and project the output from a flash, enabling you to use it effectively with telephoto lenses, at distances much greater than you might expect. It is very useful in bird and other wildlife photography.

You can find info on this at:

http://www.birdsasart.com/accs.html#BEAMER

Regards,

Don
http://www.dlcphotography.net

Last saturday was my first wedding program with my canon d60 and 420ex flash. I was litle worried about white wedding dress. I used flash direkt to church ceiling and I atomize the flashlight with white board.

It works nicely, but I had to be pretty close the wedding pair.About 5 meters.And couple focusing problem with autofocus.

I love take photos without flash, but sometimes it is not possible, with my 2,8 28-70 sigma lens. I hope you can use wider.
I wish you good luck.

ps. I took in eight hour nearly 300 pictures. And in first look there is lot of good pictures.

I have batterygrid whit 2 batteries And I that was enough about 100 flash and 200 without flash.

Murphy said:

Im going to a wedding this next weekend. (Cousins in Kentucky)

Anyhow. Im going to be shooting it with a D60 and 28-70 2.8L.

I was wondering, if I purchase the 550Ex flash unit, how much of an
improvement am I going to get in my pictures?

Also, How much distance away from the camera is the flash good for?

And how many flashes will I get out of a set of batteries?

thanks
Murphy

Click to expand...

Very helpful indeed, as is, apparently, everything you write. One more clarification... do I have to have the shutter button down halfway when I first hit FEL/AEL, or can I just press and release FEL/AEL, then address the shutter button at my leisure?

Thanks,

Nill

DonCohen said:

That's correct - just the FEL button (assuming CF2 is still set to
0, and that Autofocus hasn't been assigned to the * button). You
should see a pre-flash, and a reading is taken. The setting will
remain as long as the shutter button is kept half-pressed, and
until 2 seconds after you remove your finger completely from the
shutter (and you see the info in the viewfinder disappear).

So you can hit FEL, and it locks in the flash exposure. You can
take any number of shots using this, without having to re-set FEL,
as long as inbetween shots you keep your finger half-depressing the
shutter. If you release the shutter completely, the FEL reading
will expire at the same time you see the info in the viewfinder
disappear.

Click to expand...

Interesting... does the ETTL preflash work with that thing? Do you use FEL with it? How far out is it effective with a 400mm and, say, a 420EX (which I happen to have).

Nill

DonCohen said:

Just FYI, there's an inexpensive accessory called the "Better
Beamer" which uses a Fresnel prism to focus and project the output
from a flash, enabling you to use it effectively with telephoto
lenses, at distances much greater than you might expect. It is
very useful in bird and other wildlife photography.

Click to expand...

Nill,

Nill Toulme said:

Very helpful indeed, as is, apparently, everything you write. One
more clarification... do I have to have the shutter button down
halfway when I first hit FEL/AEL, or can I just press and release
FEL/AEL, then address the shutter button at my leisure?

Click to expand...

Glad to help when I can ;-)

If you just hit FEL/AEL, it will stay active for about 16 seconds (you can see the info display in the viewfinder), and will then expire. So you don't have to have already depressed or half-depressed the shutter; the FEL/AEL will activate it, and as long as you depress or half-depress the shutter button within those 16 or so seconds, it will stay active.

Best regards

Don
http://www.dlcphotography.net

Hill,

Nill Toulme said:

Interesting... does the ETTL preflash work with that thing? Do you
use FEL with it? How far out is it effective with a 400mm and,
say, a 420EX (which I happen to have).

Click to expand...

In this setting, you are usually using flash as fill-in, and typically have Flash EV set from -1 to -1.66, so FEL isn't really an issue. The main exposure is coming from ambient light, and the flash is just filling in some shadows, adding a "catch-light" to the eye, etc.

Should work fine with the 420EX, although it won't reach as far as the 550EX. But might as well use what you have, and see what you can do with it.

Regards,

Don
http://www.dlcphotography.net

Hi Nill.

I can't speak for the metering side of it, but afaik it is supposed to give you 3 stops worth of extra flash power.

Sorry I can't be of more use,

Best regards

KevinO

Nill Toulme said:

Nill

DonCohen said:

Just FYI, there's an inexpensive accessory called the "Better
Beamer" which uses a Fresnel prism to focus and project the output
from a flash, enabling you to use it effectively with telephoto
lenses, at distances much greater than you might expect. It is
very useful in bird and other wildlife photography.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...