If I got a 580EX...What can I do with it?

[jcw122]

Hi, this is my second post/thread on this forum and it's a pretty amateur question.

If I bought a 580EX for my Canon Digital Rebel XT, how would it be able to assist me in my pictures? I know this sounds stupid, but my neighbors may have a 580EX that they are willing to sell, at a cheap price, which I'm very excited about since this is a major Canon flash. I just wanted to know how it will be able to help my photos, and what I can do with it. I don't know much on flashes and Canon's websites provides nearly 0 information on the flash's functionalitys and how it can help.

Thx.

[Smooth1]

AF assist beam is great for low light situations. The fact that it's much stronger (You can control output 1/1-1/32 as well) than your built in flash and you can angle it anywhere (For bounce, etc). High speed sync functionality. Strobe functionality with adjustable power and interval also comes in handy sometimes. The simple built-in white card that works great as a catch light. I could go on. It's a very useful tool and canon did a great job with it.

[JRJay]

I would read the sticky in this forum.
Heres the link...http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=138907

[Curtis N]

Welcome to POTN!

JRJay gives good advice.

To answer your question more specifically, here's a quote from Flash Photography 101, Chapter 3:
Why use flash?
Simply put, adding light to indoor settings will allow you to use a faster shutter speed (less motion blur), a smaller aperture (more depth-of-field), and a lower ISO setting (less digital noise) than you could use with ambient light only. The focus-assist light on your flash unit will also help with focusing when needed.

Why bounce the flash?
We are accustomed to overhead lighting, so the shadows produced by light bouncing down from the ceiling will seem more natural looking. When the light from the flash hits the ceiling, it reflects down in all directions, illuminating the entire room. This creates a larger effective light source and produces more even lighting, softer shadows, and brighter backgrounds. When properly used, bounced flash will help to create images that don’t look “flashed” at all. Finally, bouncing will eliminate the redeye problems associated with direct flash.

If you can get a 580EX cheap, by all means, go for it!

[GovtLawyer]

Hi, this is my second post/thread on this forum and it's a pretty amateur question.

If I bought a 580EX for my Canon Digital Rebel XT, how would it be able to assist me in my pictures? I know this sounds stupid, but my neighbors may have a 580EX that they are willing to sell, at a cheap price, which I'm very excited about since this is a major Canon flash. I just wanted to know how it will be able to help my photos, and what I can do with it. I don't know much on flashes and Canon's websites provides nearly 0 information on the flash's functionalitys and how it can help.

Thx.


Go here: The Canon Digital Learning Center @ photoworkshop.com (http://www.photoworkshop.com/canon/index.html)

[Mike R]

The 580 ex is a great flash, BUT there is a learning curve. This link is actually a 3 part series that is in PDF format and I recommend you print it out. I keep it in a binder, It is long but very detailed.

http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/

[coreymcl]

The 580 ex is a great flash, BUT there is a learning curve. This link is actually a 3 part series that is in PDF format and I recommend you print it out. I keep it in a binder, It is long but very detailed.

http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/

Thanks for the link I am printing out all three right now. I wish I could find a good video tutorial

Corey

[queenbee288]

This is in movie form. Go for the flash but as others have said, be prepared to learn how to use it correctly. It is not that easy but well worth it. It opened up a whole new world for me. http://web.canon.jp/Imaging/flashwork/

[psy4fun]

Cheap? Get it! In doubt? Get it! Finally, study it!

The better thing you can do with this flash consist in remove it from shoe mount and use it as a standalone flash unit. You can do incredible and beautiful things with this setup, similarly as what can be done with studio lights.

For a really good, very good, excelent starting point read everything in this link: http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html

[jcw122]

Thansk everyone, I really, REALLY appreciate all the help, I've been reading into alot of it and it's very helpful!!

THANKS!

[JRJay]

The 580 ex is a great flash, BUT there is a learning curve. This link is actually a 3 part series that is in PDF format and I recommend you print it out. I keep it in a binder, It is long but very detailed.

http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/

Where is the PDF at? It just looks like html.

[KAS]

I just made the website a pdf. If you don't always have an internet connection, you can use this.

Flash Photography With EOS Cameras PDF File (http://www.box.net/public/1amnbzeji0)


Cheers
-Kirk

[JRJay]

Thank you Kirk. How do you make a website into a pdf?

[KAS]

get yourself a copy of Adobe Acrobat Professional....and you can turn anything into a pdf.

:)
-Kirk

[jj1987]

Thank you Kirk. How do you make a website into a pdf?
Free Cute PDF
http://www.cutepdf.com/Products/CutePDF/writer.asp

Or buy Adobe Acrobat Professional.

Or get a mac.

[Curtis N]

If you don't always have an internet connection, you can use this.PDF files are nice way to create a printable document in a ubiquitous format. But you can also save any web page to your harddrive for future reference.

[RuggerJoe]

get yourself a copy of Adobe Acrobat Professional....and you can turn anything into a pdf.

:)
-Kirk

In that case would you mind using it to turn your 30D into a PDF and sending it to me? :lol:

[KAS]

In that case would you mind using it to turn your 30D into a PDF and sending it to me? :lol:



You'll need a pretty big harddrive....I'm not losing quality due to compression!

:)
-Kirk