blast with the 550ex

[outoffocus]

I'll admit I have not gone through the entire manual yet.. Just got the setup and have a shoot with them tomorrow..

I need to blast as much light as I can out of the 550ex. I have 3 set up as slaves with a transmitter. Is my subject is two to three models indoor. Is it as easy as stopping them up as far as they go (plus 3)? What is the experience out there on setting to zoom length of the flash (again for optimum light power/blast). I do use defuser.

thanks in advance for answering my stupid question!


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http://www.THEBIGPICTURE.ws

[TKHerman]

The 550's will put out a TON of light. I have 3 w/ the wireless transmitter. I would guess, unless you're shooting in a huge warehouse, that you'll have way more light than you want...

Here's a test -- just try turning one up all the way (stopping it up) and see what happens. I did this in my basement (which is pretty good sized) and it blew out the entire picture. Adding two more would have given me a sunburn I'm guessing... :)

[iwatkins]

Don't know how you would do it, but I guess stopping them up would do it for more light. However, a couple of test shots will get your levels right.

As an aside, a single 550EX kicks out plenty of light.

I have taken shots of birds in trees (near sunset, with the birds backlit) at 40 feet with a Sigma 50-500EX (at 500mm) and there has been plenty of light and it exposed properly.

You know when the 550EX is using all the power it can, it doesn't half make a crack when the flash triggers and you get an almighty whine as it recharges. 8)

Several weeks ago while walking back down the road from taking some shots (or trying to, it was too dark) of a buzzard that roosts nearby, I heard the unmistakeable sound of someone coming through the village in their car at great speed. I was just packing my gear up as I walked and put the camera in my bag. The 550EX was in my hand, on and charged. Couldn't help myself as he drove past I hit the test button twice in quick sucession.

Double flash, brake lights on.... :twisted: :twisted:

Cheers

Ian

[robertwgross]

Ian, I liked the car story.

A year ago, I was driving home from shooting in Yosemite National Park. As I passed through one small town, I stopped for a red traffic signal. About ten seconds later, a pickup truck slammed into the rear bumper of my car. Without missing a beat, I jumped out of my car with my D60 in hand. The truck driver had stalled his engine, and he was trying to restart it, possibly with the thought of running away before the police could arrive. I fired off two flash shots of his truck's front bumper showing the front license plate. Then I got back into my car, locked the doors, and pressed the OnStar button.

OnStar saw my GPS position and got the police summoned and they arrived within five or ten minutes, but if I had not photographed that license so quickly, the other driver might have tried to make a run for it.

Well, maybe that other driver did not appreciate the high resolution of the image. He didn't care that I was shooting a RAW file.

---Bob Gross---

[outoffocus]

Thanks for the help guys. I sorted it. Shoot went well. I was a little dissapointed with the wait in between shots to get the flash fully charged and ready. Got quite a bit of variance in the lighting if I did not wait long enough. I tend to like to blow off a bunch of shots back to back. Not possible with this set up I guess.. Can't beat the portability though.



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http://www.THEBIGPICTURE.ws/

[Jonas]

Great stories Ian and Bob! I enjoyed reading them both! What can the humble owner of the 420EX say.... great stories thou.... :)

[Longwatcher]

Thanks for the help guys. I sorted it. Shoot went well. I was a little dissapointed with the wait in between shots to get the flash fully charged and ready. Got quite a bit of variance in the lighting if I did not wait long enough. I tend to like to blow off a bunch of shots back to back. Not possible with this set up I guess.. Can't beat the portability though.

If you can find them, get a set of the Kodak 3X "digital max" oxy-akaline batteries they take about 3-10 shots to warm up and then the charge the 550EX faster then anything and the buffer on a 10D and the flash will be racing each other. I love these batteries. I have not found any that work better. There may be other brands, but it is the oxy-akaline to look for, not just akaline batteries.

[trivia: I checked out the Kodak site and the stats page on the batteries showed that they are designed for high discharge rates (such as flash and digital cameras) - the only catch to date, they are a little slow on the first few flashes (but not a lot) and I can't recommend them for long duration low power uses - so they are specialized]

Just my experience.