Flash too powerful

[JAYPHOTO11]

So, I need to capture ambient light of the background. I have 430ex iii canon speedlite flash, which is terrible for battery life and overheating BUT it has no problem with high ISO (1600) to be able to capture the background and provide a nice low light to the subject. Then I tried Godox V1 and returned it. And now Neewer Z2 also with the same an overpowered issue. It cannot, even with many diffusers attached, simply output a lower flash power. At it lowest settings in manual and with -3 stops compensation in ETTL it is too still powerful. The best I can get is 200 ISO with shutter at 1/125 to not completely blast the subject with light. Is it common these other flashes cannot handle low light output.

Is there something I should look for that determines this feature when buying a flash? Thank you please as I cannot find this info ANYWHERE.

 

[JAYPHOTO11]

I'm starting to think it's just the flash range. Godox and Neewer can't output very low like canon but they work fine for any other lighting situations so might keep it for weddings but for low light clubs where ambient is needed can't use it

You're probably correct. Even at its lowest power setting, the Neewer Z2 puts out more flash power than the scene requires.

I've never shot clubs but I bounce flash all the time so a big powerful flash suits me just fine. I noticed you're shooting very close to the subject (EXIF says 0.71 m) and shooting direct flash too. That's the style for club shooting.

I just received a Flashpoint Zoom Li-on III R2 (= Godox V860 III) which is also rated at 76 W⋅s. It's mid-day here but I tried to duplicate your shots as closely as I could in a darkened room:

Not quite as blown-out as your samples, but it's getting close. If I had a 24mm f/1.4 set to f/2.2, it would come pretty close to your samples.

So I tried ISO100 instead of ISO1000 and got that little kiss of flash you're looking for:

I suppose using ISO100, 200, etc would make the background darker than you want. Maybe what you're looking for is a less powerful flash with a large turndown ratio (1:128).

Yeah exactly, I just received the Godox V860 iii I wanted to test it also to see. Same issue. Looks like I'm stuck with trying to find an older Canon speedlite maybe 600ex ii. I believe what they are able to do is output lower than the lowest manual setting when in ETTL to give the correct exposure in very low light. The other do not. Too bad because that series of canon flashes are terrible with battery. Everyone else has solved it with better battery situation.

 

[skyglider]

So, I need to capture ambient light of the background. I have 430ex iii canon speedlite flash, which is terrible for battery life and overheating BUT it has no problem with high ISO (1600) to be able to capture the background and provide a nice low light to the subject. Then I tried Godox V1 and returned it. And now Neewer Z2 also with the same an overpowered issue. It cannot, even with many diffusers attached, simply output a lower flash power. At it lowest settings in manual and with -3 stops compensation in ETTL it is too still powerful. The best I can get is 200 ISO with shutter at 1/125 to not completely blast the subject with light. Is it common these other flashes cannot handle low light output.

Is there something I should look for that determines this feature when buying a flash? Thank you please as I cannot find this info ANYWHERE.

Maybe try this. Get various thickness of white cloth. Drape the cloth over the flash unit. The cloth will soften the flash and also reduce the intensity of the light output. Use the thickness of cloth that does what you want.

Maybe worth a try and enable you to use the 3rd party flash units for low ambient light flash photos?

 

[JAYPHOTO11]

So, I need to capture ambient light of the background. I have 430ex iii canon speedlite flash, which is terrible for battery life and overheating BUT it has no problem with high ISO (1600) to be able to capture the background and provide a nice low light to the subject. Then I tried Godox V1 and returned it. And now Neewer Z2 also with the same an overpowered issue. It cannot, even with many diffusers attached, simply output a lower flash power. At it lowest settings in manual and with -3 stops compensation in ETTL it is too still powerful. The best I can get is 200 ISO with shutter at 1/125 to not completely blast the subject with light. Is it common these other flashes cannot handle low light output.

Is there something I should look for that determines this feature when buying a flash? Thank you please as I cannot find this info ANYWHERE.

Maybe try this. Get various thickness of white cloth. Drape the cloth over the flash unit. The cloth will soften the flash and also reduce the intensity of the light output. Use the thickness of cloth that does what you want.

Maybe worth a try and enable you to use the 3rd party flash units for low ambient light flash photos?

Here's the extent of what I tried regarding diffusing the light, bought the extended modifier pack and layered 3 diffusers, the round head and two other layers between and was still too bright lol. Then I bought a neutral density gel and added that. It worked but big problem is it messes up the settings for when you need to shoot wider like a large group. Not enough light in that case since it's dampened. So conclusion can't win. Back to the terrible 430ex iii for now. Canon made some better flashes with battery for r series but killed anything for the older dslr's.

 

[JAYPHOTO11]

I believe if you hover on computer it shows it

There's nothing wrong with any of the flashes your using. You're correct to assume that the differences in power between them is the reason for inconsistent lighting. Photos to bright reduce ISO by 1 stop or more or close your aperture to F/5.6 or F8.

I need the ambient light. Reducing ISO kills it.

 

[skyglider]

Maybe try this. Get various thickness of white cloth. Drape the cloth over the flash unit. The cloth will soften the flash and also reduce the intensity of the light output. Use the thickness of cloth that does what you want.

Maybe worth a try and enable you to use the 3rd party flash units for low ambient light flash photos?

Here's the extent of what I tried regarding diffusing the light, bought the extended modifier pack and layered 3 diffusers, the round head and two other layers between and was still too bright lol. Then I bought a neutral density gel and added that. It worked but big problem is it messes up the settings for when you need to shoot wider like a large group. Not enough light in that case since it's dampened. So conclusion can't win. Back to the terrible 430ex iii for now. Canon made some better flashes with battery for r series but killed anything for the older dslr's.

I was thinking that if draping a white cloth over the flash unit worked for close up low ambient light, you could sew a rectangular cover for the flash. Pop the cover on when needed and remove the cover for decent ambient light shots when not needed.

Unfortunate that the 3rd party flash units don't have the ability to decrease flash output like the 430ex iii has. Your posts will probably help others who need fill flash in low ambient light conditions.

 

[DStan]

You can get an ND gel filter and adapt it to fit on the flash. My flashes either come with gel filters or one can get a kit, e.g., Neewer CRM2 and cut the nd filter gel to fit in a magnetic holder. My old SB800s came with gel filters, in this case cut some of the ND Gel to fit the flash, same as the supplied filters. Usually the Gel filters are used to affect the white/color balance of the flash.

Did you try bouncing the flash off a wall or card to diminish the light?

Update: I read your post about trying an ND filter but don't understand the problem you are having with the "wider group."

--
Stan ;o()
In the spirit of Occam’s Razor one should embrace the less complicated formulation or simply put, less is more.
http://standavidson.com/post/Birds