550ex???

[ian h]

hiya...

ive read alot of differing opinions on usin the 550ex flash with the d60...is it the best choice of flash to buy for this camera? or should go for something else? what is ETTL and is it as complicatedd as it sounds?!!!!

peace.......ian
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pics from my G2: www.ianhphoto.co.uk

[torun2]

ETTL is short for..."electronic through the lens metering".
The 550 ex is a fine flash and is especially helpful for focusing in poor lighting conditions, as it's focusing beam is much more effective than the on-camera focus. The lens will tend to lock- focus much faster and will "hunt" less. I use it alot for flash fill in daylight portrait shots to put a little twinkle in the subjects eyes and really make the subject stand out from the background.

[David Miller]

To whom it may concern,
I would challenge anyone who says he (or she) can get good ETTL flash pictures with the 550EX flash. After dozens of weddings and a couple of hundred seniors I find the Canon 550EX flash unexceptable for candid flash photography. I would opt for a flash that can be set on "automatic" instead of ETTL. www.fredmiranda.com has a 26 page difinitive report as to exactly how the Canon flash system was designed. It will tell you why the Canon 550EX has problems with candid flash pictures. I have taken beautiful wedding pictures and senior pictures with the D60 but not with the Canon 550EX flash. The Canon flash relies on one of the three focusing points to set the proper flash exposure. If you lock focus and re-position the camera to compose your picture the focus point used might not be on the subject you want correctly exposed. The FEL system is a real pain in the rear to use. It's ok for outdoor seniors but not for weddings.
Respectfully,
David Miller

[blacksun]

here's a direct link to the letter from Canon explaining how to use the EX series with the D30

http://www.fredmiranda.com/D30FAQpage/letter.html

cheers,
c

[torun2]

Ian, I should have stated that I only use the 550ex for outdoor flash fill when shooting the athletes for their yearly photo packages. I also do alot of prep sports action, such as volleyball and basketball where no flash is allowed, so I use the ultra-fast prime lenses such as the 50/1.4, 85/1.8, 135/2.0 and the 200/1.8. I don't do weddings, so David's advise should be noted, as I have read similar feedback concerning indoor shooting with the 550ex. I will maintain that for my usage, the 550ex is a very valueable tool.

[Thom]

E-TTL = "Evaluative-Through-The-Lens" ... not that it's a point worth debating ... whatever, it's still a PITA for most people. A drastic change from A-TTL, ahem ... "Advanced-TTL" that most long term (since 1987) Canon users could rely on almost unconditionally. The conditions required to make E-TTL work are slow (FEL), ponderous (NO! wait that wasn't the picture, only a meter reading! huh? Let's try that again ... ) and impinge on compostional creativity with the focus point on 18% gray requirement, usually dead center. Question ... Why do many 3/4 length candids I've seen have the subject's face dead center in the frame?

[ian h]

so......ettl isnt perfect....can i use the 550ex flash on settings other than ettl? and produce better results?

just ordered d60 with sigma 17-35f2.8/4...some one in the shop said the sigma 15-30 is better....if so is it a massive difference? has anyone out there compared both?

also.....firewire compactflash readers....whats best+good value?

get camera weds....buzzin!!!!

[David Miller]

There are two basic settings with the 550EX flash-ETTL or manual. I'm not sure why Canon left out the "automatic" setting. I have to assume Canon was totally confident that the ETTL system was going to work perfectly. It may work well with the D1 that has so many focusing points but the the three focusing points of the D60 just isn't enough for candid flash photography. The flash depends upon the focusing point to determine the correct flash. I believe, from experience, that the Nikon 3-D matrix flash system is better than the Canon ETTL system. Not only does the Nikon system uses 5 zones on the sensor, it also factors in the flash-to-subject distance to determine the correct flash exposure. Nikon had a patent on the 3-D matrix system at the time Canon was developing their new flash system which is why the ETTL works differently that the Nikon system. The Canon D60 is a great camera, except for the candid flash system which needs improvement. It just can't be trusted for weddings when there is no second chance to capture candid pictures.
Respectfully,
David Miller

[Thom]

ian h wrote:
so......ettl isnt perfect....can i use the 550ex flash on settings other than ettl? and produce better results?

Restricting to the 550EX, you can use manual flash output settings, this would prove (in most cases) to be more trouble than FEL ... not really a viable alternative. You can also switch your lens to manual focus, which supposedly forces the flash system to measure reflected light in a center weighted pattern, I haven't found it much of an improvement. With the 550, you just have to deal with it's strict limitations.

I have four shoemount flashes and the 550EX is the most difficult to use in situations when the subject is moving, static portraits are fine ... use FEL, etc. no problem. Sports, kids, candids at partys ... no way. The other three are auto-thyristor sensor based and do a much better job as they measure relfected light with out regard to the camera's settings (except the Metz, which see below)

One is a Vivitar 5600 system flash with replaceable heads. It is *electronic* in that it has an LCD display which indicates the selected ISO, aperture and the range over which the output is sufficent for the selected parameters. The camera and flash must be set to the same aperture, which is typically of all old style auto flashes. The zoom head has to be manually adjusted for lens focal length. It's about 23 years old, but does have flash trigger voltage of 5VDC so is safe on a D60. They sell on ebay for $50 when they rarely come up for sale. Very nice as the auto range goes down to f/2 even at high ISO speeds.

I have also been recently evaluating a METZ 54MZ-3 This flash combines E-TTL compatibility with an auto-thyristor mode. It is not perfect either, but seems to be more consistent in E-TTL than the 550EX. It's autothyristor mode is excellent, very predictable and the most flexible as it senses ISO and aperture changes on the camera.

My most powerful, simplest and most versatile flash is a Sunpak Auto 120J (not the TTL version, that will not work on a D30/D60). Shoemounted it's quite unwieldy so I prefer to use it on a bracket or mounted on a light stand and triggered with a Wein infrared transmitter. It has manual as well as auto-thyristor functions.

A flash I haven't used but some folks really like is the Sunpak 5000AF.

This post is quite long, so at this point I recommend you do some more searching on this, and other sites, to help you understand all the options.

Good luck.

I can't help you with your other questions as I've never used a Sigma zoom or firewire. My Zio USB reader works great FWIW.