Camera advice... Flash gun for my Canon

A

aquazi

Elite
 Derby + N. London
Need some advice from you great folk!

I have a Canon 60D, which i have had for a couple of years now... and until now i have found the built in flash more then adequate (i prefer not to use it even). However at my sister-in -laws 21st last weekend really let me down (trying to light up a restaurant/ subject more then 5m away was poor!

So i was tempted to get a Canon 430EXII - for the occasions when i need it (maybe once a year!) however i tend to use my 15-85 usm lens - which according to flash specs say its rated from 20mm onw. Having no experience with flash's at all i presume this wont be a problem?

The alternative i was looking at is one of those flash rings... what clip onto the front of the lens - they look cool - but not sure if they are gimmick.

I dont need anything fancy... just something which can slave off the camera - and lights up the subject more then 5m away.

Any advice would be appreciated :D
 
The 430EXII is rated for Full Frame cameras the 60D is an APS-C so the field of view of your 15-85mm needs to be multiplied by 1.6x so in effect it is a 24-136mm full frame equivalent. So don't worry its all good :)

The 430EXII is great I use the 580. But it might be overkill they are massive, saying that I use mine all the time to fill in.. You can get the smaller one which might be more convenient 270EXII not as powerful but more compact.

They are ETTL which means they evaluate through the lens (Auto) leave it on ETTL and everything will come out perfect, but once you get to grips you can do some more interesting things. you can also use it with your 60D wirelessly so you could get some cool slow shutter sync pics of the car ect.

Whats nice is that they are 360 deg heads so you can bounce flash, its not direct like the on camera flash. They are also mounted higher on the camera, if you shoot with a flash directly above the lens like on camera flash the light bounces off the retina straight back into the camera which creates red eye, having the flash higher eliminates that. But as they are (direct) they give rabbit in headlight looks, you get a diffuser with them but they are pretty useless.

But your best friend is a diffuser. Direct flash is awful and bouncing light off walls isn't always possible. I use a Gary Fong Lightsphere, you can get cheap knock offs on ebay for about £20. But it is like having a small studio with you, it is cylindrical and has a top for low ceilings so when the flash goes off it hits the top diffuser and bounces back into the flash and the cylindrical diffuser pushes the light 360 deg bouncing off all surfaces giving a very flattering light, diffused light with very little harsh shadows. It aids with portraits, direct flash removes all shadow on the face so you loose the contour and its not flattering. You can also get gels to put in to match ambient light creating very beautiful effects with minimal effort.

Saved my arse many a time, use them a lot in the day with harsh sunlight. It fills in harsh shadows under the eyes and also means you can can shoot with backlit subjects and get flattering results.

http://www.garyfongestore.com/flash-accessories/lightsphere-universal-basic-kit.html

Left direct flash right with the diffuser.

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Ring flashes are great too, but more specific to marco and portrait photography, normal flashes are much more useful in many other situations.

The thing people seem to think with flash, is that available light is always best, which is true. But a flash is a light modifier, you can use it all the time if you want. I use mine a lot, because it fills light then you don't have to pull shadows out in post. The flash just needs to be turned down, so as not to be as noticeable. Most subjects need to be filled in.

This whole set was shot with two flashes. It was 2pm sun was very high in the sky so you get huge contrast and massive shadows worst time to shoot really but with flash it makes shooting in this light much easier. Sounds stupid shooting with flash when the sun is at its strongest… but its how you create these effects.

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BMW Z4M Coupe CSL Wheels by TomScottPhoto, on Flickr

Also this one, shot in daylight, F22 flash on full power so without flash the pic would be black. Removes all ambient light so you get high key images with great light fall off.

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BMW Z4M Strobist by TomScottPhoto, on Flickr

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BMW Z4M CSL wheel strobist by TomScottPhoto, on Flickr

Hope thats helpful :thumbsup:
 
The 430EXII is great... it was down at £162 at Amazon the other day, with £40 cashback... Gone up to £191 now but still worth it IMO (or maybe worth seeing if it dips again)
 
Wow great post Tom (once again!) exactly the sort of thing i was after.
Never thought of using a flash in daylight! I'd prob leave it on ETTL all the time!

I really owe you a pint for all the camera advice you have passed!

It was the amazon offer i saw which pointed me to the 430exII, but then thought i'd never use it... Until my photo's last weekend. I'll see if i can get it second hand (eBay/ gumtree) for under £100. And then spend the rest in a decent diffuser.

:thumbsup:


Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk
 
aquazi said:
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You'll be lucky to get the MKII for under £100 but you should be able to pick up a MKI for that price. Main difference is the MKII allows you control the flash from certain camera bodies (instead of the rear controls on the flash) and the MKII has a metal hot shoe. The metal hot shoe is more important for pros to be honest. I have a MKI and snapped the hotshoe when it fell from my light stand, but I repaired it for £10.

For the money (2nd hand) the MKI is a great deal.
 
No probs anytime :thumbsup:

I would be slightly wary about buying a second hand strobe, they aren't the most robust and there have been a lot of issues with the 430 and 580 under hard use. If you can find a good one go for it.

Bought mine second hand and have probably shot 20k pics with it :thumbsup:
 
tomscott said:
No probs anytime :thumbsup:

I would be slightly wary about buying a second hand strobe, they aren't the most robust and there have been a lot of issues with the 430 and 580 under hard use. If you can find a good one go for it.

Bought mine second hand and have probably shot 20k pics with it :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Yeah, both mine are 2nd hand, you can often tell from the condition if they've had hard use or not. My last one I got for £90, at that price I decided to risk 2nd hand and it hasn't missed a beat, apart from they don't like constant rapid fire as they get a bit hot, dependent on the batteries. (that is fairly extreme use though)
 
Ye your right, a lot of kit now a days is bought and not used extensively so you can get good deals! Buy a lot of my lenses second hand too. London Camera Exchange is usually pretty good they give warranties with them too.
 
Thanks guys... I think even a 430 mk 1 would have been more then adequate for myself, but aesthetically i didnt like the look of the plastic mount with pins protruding :lol: so just bought the mk 2 for £110 on ebay, boxed with stand, it says hardly used - but they all do!

Also ordered a lambency diffuser on ebay for £8 (which looks like the lightsphere one) so all in with postage under £125 :)

No doubt i'll have no idea how to use it! But will make xmas pictures this year more exciting (and frustrating for the family!)

And finally i have a use for all those old AA rechargeable batteries i got for my nintendo Wii!

Thanks again... Was most helpful!


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When you used your flash to light an entire restaurant you were pretty much doomed to failure in any kind of auto mode. What you need to do is crank the ISO setting up to as high as you can accept, open up the lens and then use the flash for a bit of help for the stuff close to camera.

In that way you're balancing the ambient light against the flash, and effectively reducing the overall contrast between near and distant.

You'll never light a big room effectively with a flashgun, and doing the above will reduce that highly undesirable blackness by a lot.

Love those pics earlier in the thread.
 
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