Help from experienced shooters!

[bdsauvageau]

I have been shooting film for over thirty years in both medium format and 35mm. My experience has been mostly with Nikon and Mamiya equipment: F5, F100, F3HP M645, M645Super, and RB67. I have used several flash systems as well: Sunpak, Metz, and Nikon. I am new to the world of digital imaging and find it not better or worse than film but different. Because Nikon does not make a good 6mp digital SLR under $2000, I opted for the EOS 10D. The Nikon D100 being an upgraded N80 film camera and made of plastic, was not a consideration to replace my F5. So far, I love the 10D but am in need of some guidence from experienced users. I have both a Canon 550EX and a Metz 54MZ-3 shoe mounter strobes. I use them with the 10D on a Stroboframe RL Pro grip to keep the flash centered over the lens. My main lens is the Canon 17-40 F4 L. After limited testing of both flash systems and comparing several contact sheets, I have determined that my Metz 54MZ-3 gives me better results than my 550EX. I also have the option of full Auto mode on the Metz as well. I am not saying that the 550EX in a bad unit, but find E-TTL to be at times inconsistant in low light at great distances. I do miss the Nikon D-TTL 3D Multi-Balanced flash system which is more accurate than E-TTL. Hopefully E-TTL ll on the new EOS 1D Mark ll is a good improvment. Sorry for the long story, but my main question is this: I need to shoot about 300 frames at a retirement function in a rather large hall under tungston lighting. Am I better off using my Metz in E-TTL with the 10D on Program "P" mode, or the Mettz in Auto mode with the 10D in manual. I know that my aperture is fixed, but would use either 1/60, 1/90,or 1/125 for a shutter speed. I know that Auto flash is not the most even for foreground and background, but I am worried that E-TTL is just not up to par at about 35-40 feet out. Any recomendations would be helpfull. Thank You

[Pekka]

I would use Metz, with 10D in manual mode. 550 with 10D in manual mode and lots of FEL's (annoying to subjects) might work, too, but I feel the "simpler" Metz is actually more controllable.

When using two 550EX's on stands with ST-E2 as trigger I have got much more reliable results (even without FEL), but one 550 on camera has always been problematic (i.e needs constant attention). ETTL-II will absolutely be much better - that's one of the dozen reasons why I have ordered it.

[bdsauvageau]

Thank You for your input!

[DaveG]

I have been shooting film for over thirty years in both medium format and 35mm. My experience has been mostly with Nikon and Mamiya equipment: F5, F100, F3HP M645, M645Super, and RB67. I have used several flash systems as well: Sunpak, Metz, and Nikon. I am new to the world of digital imaging and find it not better or worse than film but different. Because Nikon does not make a good 6mp digital SLR under $2000, I opted for the EOS 10D. The Nikon D100 being an upgraded N80 film camera and made of plastic, was not a consideration to replace my F5. So far, I love the 10D but am in need of some guidence from experienced users. I have both a Canon 550EX and a Metz 54MZ-3 shoe mounter strobes. I use them with the 10D on a Stroboframe RL Pro grip to keep the flash centered over the lens. My main lens is the Canon 17-40 F4 L. After limited testing of both flash systems and comparing several contact sheets, I have determined that my Metz 54MZ-3 gives me better results than my 550EX. I also have the option of full Auto mode on the Metz as well. I am not saying that the 550EX in a bad unit, but find E-TTL to be at times inconsistant in low light at great distances. I do miss the Nikon D-TTL 3D Multi-Balanced flash system which is more accurate than E-TTL. Hopefully E-TTL ll on the new EOS 1D Mark ll is a good improvment. Sorry for the long story, but my main question is this: I need to shoot about 300 frames at a retirement function in a rather large hall under tungston lighting. Am I better off using my Metz in E-TTL with the 10D on Program "P" mode, or the Mettz in Auto mode with the 10D in manual. I know that my aperture is fixed, but would use either 1/60, 1/90,or 1/125 for a shutter speed. I know that Auto flash is not the most even for foreground and background, but I am worried that E-TTL is just not up to par at about 35-40 feet out. Any recomendations would be helpfull. Thank You

Wecome to the crappy world of E-TTL. I too have high hopes that the E-TTL II in the Mark II will be the cure we are looking for; but Canon made E-TTL sound like a cure as well, and all they cured was accurate flash exposure.
In any case I shoot similar assignments as yours and I use the 550 EX. I find that the flash is very inconsistent, but consistently inconsistent if you follow me. If I'm going to do table shots I'll take one and look at the histogram. It's amost always two stops under exposed. So I'll use the +/- control to dial in two stops of overexposure on the flash. Then things are fine. If I'm going to do small groups shots I'll try a test again and bias my exposure based on that. Maybe that shot will require that I go down 1/3 of a stop. Last night I did award presentations and "underexposed" by 2/3 of a stop and they were all bang on. So as long as you can do shots in bunches you can use that +/- control and get excellent results.

Now if I'm doing podium or head table shots I like to use a second Canon flash, in my case a 420EX, as a slaved mainlight, set up on a light stand. My 550 is the Master (and fill light) on my Stoboframe Pro-T bracket and I usually use my 70-200 f2.8 L with this setp and on a monopod. As bad as the E-TTL is with one flash, it's brilliant when you use the wireless TTL. I can vary the lighting ratios from the shooting position and it produces exceptional images from a very ordinary shoot. Email me directly and I'll send you some shots.