Determine exposure with flash

[joey1234]

Im curious how you are supposed to determine what settings to use with a manual flash while in manual mode on the camera.. I have been playinga round, but it has ben alot of guess work.
I find myself living at these settings usually-

ISO 400
1/250
F/6.3 - F/8

sunpak 383 FLASH SET TO: 400 ISO , 1/4 Power - I get VERY good results with these settings about 95% of the time in my apartment, but again this is a guessing game and wors, but if i was i n another location i wouldnt know where to begin- would a e-ttl system be better suited??

[SkipD]

A light meter that can measure the output of the flash unit is the best solution. Other than that, you're stuck with a lot of trial and error to get things right.

I highly recommend the Sekonic L-358 meter.

[wile_e_coyote_n_taz]

Im curious how you are supposed to determine what settings to use with a manual flash while in manual mode on the camera.. I have been playinga round, but it has ben alot of guess work.
I find myself living at these settings usually-

ISO 400
1/250
F/6.3 - F/8

sunpak 383 FLASH SET TO: 400 ISO , 1/4 Power - I get VERY good results with these settings about 95% of the time in my apartment, but again this is a guessing game and wors, but if i was i n another location i wouldnt know where to begin- would a e-ttl system be better suited??


Check out this site for all your answers.
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101-balancing-flash-and.html


And by the way the strobist dvd series is well worth the purchase.
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2008/05/now-available-strobist-lighting-dvds.html

Heres another link to the very beginning:
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html


bill

[Franko515]

Im curious how you are supposed to determine what settings to use with a manual flash while in manual mode on the camera.. I have been playinga round, but it has ben alot of guess work.
I find myself living at these settings usually-

ISO 400
1/250
F/6.3 - F/8

sunpak 383 FLASH SET TO: 400 ISO , 1/4 Power - I get VERY good results with these settings about 95% of the time in my apartment, but again this is a guessing game and wors, but if i was i n another location i wouldnt know where to begin- would a e-ttl system be better suited??

While I dont own one, I agree with Skip
A light meter that can measure the output of the flash unit is the best solution

While it is the best solution it isnt the only one.

Your brain has started to be a light meter already. You know the settings for your apt. so in fact you have a base line or starting point (based on your experience with your equip) to work from in similar situations (i.e. someone elses apt, a studio where you control all light). From your baseline settings you can adjust and chimp to your liking to suit the situation, keeping in mind recycle times at a certain power (remember your baseline recycle time), Flash intensity at a given distance (remember your base or you could use a knotted rope).

Remember though this is only with your equipment (which you have used and know pretty well), without a light meter and with different equip. your baseline setting go out the window so again a light meter would be the best solution.

Hope this helps some

[Obtong]

Hello,

I believe your Sunpak is capable of auto flash as it is thrysistor unit, but ou will have to do a little work to get consistent pictures. Unlike Canon's E-TTL, a thyristor acts as a light meter and when it senses that enough light has hit the subject, it switches off the flash, based on the f/stop, distance, and ISO settings you made.

Right now you have your Sunpak flash set at 1/4 power. This could just be a good setting for the kinds of pictures you take, and perhaps in your apartment you take pictures at a distance that gives you a good exposure. However, if your subject-to-flash distance changes significantly, then you will have to increase (or decrease) your flash power each time to get a good exposure. Using your flash in Auto/Thyristor mode will mean that you don't have to buy a separate light meter and that you don't have to mess about with power levels.

I'm not quite sure, but I think this is how you would use your Sunpak flash for :

1. Your 20D must be set to M, or manual exposure
2. Set your flash to Auto
3. Now set the same ISO on both your camera AND your flash (400 is a good starting point)
4. Your flash should have a scale which will give you a choice of 3 or 4 f/stop settings and the distances (range) that the flash work at that f/stop.
5. Set your shutter speed to say 1/45 or faster (depending upon how much ambient light you want in your background.)
6. Now set the aperture on your 20D as shown on the flash for the distance range you want.
7. Take your picture.

If this works for you great, but you may get more consistent results with a Canon flash unit such as a Canon Speedlite 430EX II for about $250 which has bounce capability, or a straightforward Canon Speedlite 220EX without bounce for about $120.00. (You can still find the orignal 430EX for less than $200.)

Hope this helps.
~Dom

[AxxisPhoto]

A good light meter will eliminate a lot o guess work. ???

[joey1234]

My question is what about when you are runing around some type of party taking shots on the fly- definitley no time to be pulling out a light meter..

[Obtong]

Hi Joey,

The easiest thing to do is to get a newer dedicated Canon flash, set your flash to E-TTL, your camera to P, (or M at 1/60, f/8.0 etc.,) and an ISO of 400 or so. You can just fire away and you'll get a lot of keepers.

If you still want to keep/use your Sunpak for parties, or don't want to spend the money on a new E-TTL flash, use the instructions I gave in my first post in this thread, but choose an f-stop that gives you a distance range which will cover most of your subjects. (There should be a scale or something on the back of your flash unit.) If for some reason your subject is farther away or closer than the range shown on your flash, then readjust the f-stop scale on your Sunpak and change the f-stop on your camera.

Hope this helps,
~Dom

[40Dude6aedyk]

I've had extremely good luck with ETTL at parties and conferences taking people shots. I cannot imagine using a manual flash with as much ease and confidence in such situations. In essence, I am using my camera body and its ETTL algorithm as my light meter.

But there are other situations where manual flash wins hands-down for me such as basketball games.

You gotta use all the tools available to you and not snub one method over another just because you are photography stud.

[Obtong]

I usually set my ISO to 400 or higher, set my flash to E-TTL, and use 1/60th at f/4.5. I find it easy to adjust the speed and aperture on the fly depending upon my needs. If I hand the camera to a family member to take pictures, I usually set the camera to P.

~Dom

[joey1234]

I was kind of hoping to not buy a new flash- but - it may have to happen..

[Lotto]

Although the Sunpak 383's auto mode can give pretty nice results, but I found that the 3 choice of setting is quite limiting, and no auto focus assist sucks. ETTL flash will handle a moving subjects well, and you don't need a light meter for that.

[xenomorphic]

A light meter that can measure the output of the flash unit is the best solution. Other than that, you're stuck with a lot of trial and error to get things right.

I highly recommend the Sekonic L-358 meter.

I second that.

Edit:
On closer inspection, I third that.

James

[joey1234]

I picked up a metz 58 - VERY nice flash- definitley works better than my manual flash, BUT recycle times seem to be crappy compared....


I may pick up one of these light meters to play around with..

[Obtong]

Congratulations on your new flash! I hope you are enjoying picture taking with the Metz and that you are getting the results you want, with the ease of use you have been looking for.

~Dom

[joey1234]

So far so good- Just wishing for a PC Sync port- does the 580ex II have one??

[Obtong]

Yes, the 580EX II does have a PC Sync port. The original 580EX mark I does not.

~Dom

[joey1234]

may have to swap it..