Flash sunspots

[mknabster]

I am doing my sister's Confirmation this upcoming April, and i was planning on using my G6, along w/ the wide angle lense and the 430 EX. My question is, when the 430 EX goes off, could that create a sort of sunspot effect on the wide angle lense, since the lense is curved? Because i really wouldn't want that in the pictures i take.

[jlacoy82]

You mean lens flare? Unless you somehow mounted the flash in front of the lens, is that even possible to produce lens flare with an external, camera mounted flash?

[mknabster]

Yea that's what i mean, lens flare. I was just wondering since it's a bounce flash, and, especially if i use a bounce head on it, like a Sto-fen, if the light could cause a flare up on the lense.

[dbump]

My understanding of lens flare is that it's caused by a strong, point-source of light entering the lens at a shallow angle from the side (or top). Anything that diffuses your flash, like bouncing, will produce randomly distributed light that won't cause flare.

[Terrywoodenpic]

In more years than I care to remember I have never known this to hapen, except when the flash caught a mirror that was in the picture.
You will be perfectly safe.
Use as stofen or similar diffuser, it will soften things down.
I doubt you will need the wide angle.
why not take her to the church and have a practice. The priest won't mind I am sure.
At least you can get things sorted out as far as settings go, in advance.

Terry

[mknabster]

Yea that's a good idea Terry, thanks!

[rpolitsr]

I was just wondering since it's a bounce flash, and, especially if i use a bounce head on it, like a Sto-fen, if the light could cause a flare up on the lense.

Anything that diffuses your flash, like bouncing, will produce randomly distributed light that won't cause flare.

Bosman reported and documented lens flare while using omnibounce.
He solved the problem installing a collapsible rubber lens hood.

More details in the thread Omnibounce and lens flare?

[dbump]

Good memory, Rpolitsr--that threads nearly a year old! Interesting--so the omni-bounce extends the flash far enough foward that it can emit light that directly hits the lens at a shallow angle. Should be easy enough to tell if the 430-ex, without the omni bounce, will do the same. Though the wide-angle lens mknabster was planning to use may help, by moving the front of the lens further from the flash.
I find a collapsible rubber hood is extremely useful anyway, and they're reasonably cheap, so it's a great idea. Not sure if you can mount one on your particular wide-angle (many don't have external threads).

[jeffrey r]

Good memory, Rpolitsr--that threads nearly a year old! Interesting--so the omni-bounce extends the flash far enough foward that it can emit light that directly hits the lens at a shallow angle. Should be easy enough to tell if the 430-ex, without the omni bounce, will do the same. Though the wide-angle lens mknabster was planning to use may help, by moving the front of the lens further from the flash.
I find a collapsible rubber hood is extremely useful anyway, and they're reasonably cheap, so it's a great idea. Not sure if you can mount one on your particular wide-angle (many don't have external threads).

Not sure what calendar you go by, but that thread is only a couple of months old. ;) Anyway, I had posted in that thread that I was also having some flare problems with my G6, 420EX flash and omnibounce.

I think I solved my problem by keeping the omnibounce a little higher on the flash. In other words, instead of really jamming the omnibounce onto the front of the flash and getting it all the way down, I now just place it on the front of the flash securely, but without pressing it all the way towards the flash. I'm not a camera or flash expert, but this little tweak seems to have worked for me. No more flare from using the omnibounce, and I really like the benefits it brings to my flash photos with the G6 and 420EX. Perhaps the space created between the flash output and the omnibounce was what was needed to avoid the flare.

[dbump]

Not sure what calendar you go by, but that thread is only a couple of months old. ;)

Whoops! Yes indeedy. I keep looking at the poster's joined as-of date, instead of the thread date--I think I'm used to an older forum that used to locate the post date immediately below the poster's name, rather than in the title/subject bar area.