Please help with 550EX

[shoot_a_star]

I have never set the 550EX to manual mode before.

Last night I tried this and there are a few things I don't understand. I hope all the masters in here would help me.
1. What does it means when you set 550Ex to manual, point your camera at the subject and it said the range 3 meter. Does that mean you have to stand 3 meters away from the subject. Does that mean if you stand 4 meters away, your picture will be underexpose? Or If you stand 1.5 meters, your picture overexpose?

I set my camera shutter speed 60, F5.6. I stood 3 meters away from the subject and took the picture. The flash meter read 60 and F 2.84. But the picture I developed today looked right. There are enough red, pink, yellow,...on the face and skin of the person I took picture.
With the same setting of the 550EX flash, I changed the setting on my camera to match the flash meter reading, the picture came out yellow. The skin tone is light yellow.

I don't understand why. Anybody out there used 550EX manual before, please help.
Thanks alot
tom

[robertwgross]

1. I assume that you purchased this as a used flash, and it came without any manual. There is a PDF version of the manual floating around here in the forum if you search for it.

2. I assume that you are attempting to set your camera to Manual mode. This is not critical, but you might want to mention what camera you are using.

3. On the flash LCD, there is a range scale of how far its light will be effective, from minimum to maximum. I know that works in Full Auto mode.

4. Set the camera's mode to M, and set aperture and shutter. Set the flash's mode to ETTL. Focus. Check the range scale. Check for the flash icon lit in the camera viewfinder. Snap it.
---OR---
5. Set the camera's mode to Av or M. Press the 550EX's mode button to M. Press the SEL/SET button. Press the +/- button to set the desired flash output. Press the SEL/SET button again. The manual flash output display will stop blinking. Focus. Check the range scale. Check for the flash icon. Snap it.

---Bob Gross---

[shoot_a_star]

I am using EOS3 film camera.
The thing I don't understand is the range. I am not sure what it means.

When I set Camera to P (auto) and E-TTL on 550ex
I point at the subject and the 550ex LCD said something like
1.5----------13 meters. Is this the range you have to be in. anywhere between 1.5 meters to 13 meters? I think if you stand at 2 meters away you will have more light than 13 meters away.

Second:
If I set you camere mode to Manual, Speed 60, F 5.6. 550Ex to manual, point at the subject and 550ex LCD showes 3 meter. What does this 3 meters means? I know it is the range? but Where I have to stand is the question?

thanks
tom
Thanks bob, please elaborate this "range" thing
---OR---
5. Set the camera's mode to Av or M. Press the 550EX's mode button to M. Press the SEL/SET button. Press the +/- button to set the desired flash output. Press the SEL/SET button again. The manual flash output display will stop blinking. Focus. Check the range scale. Check for the flash icon. Snap it.

[robertwgross]

I am using EOS3 film camera.
The thing I don't understand is the range. I am not sure what it means.

Since this is the Canon Digital Photography Forum, I guessed that you might be using a digital camera, not a film camera.

Range is the minimum to the maximum distance from flash to subject, since most of us are using digital cameras with E-TTL capability.


When I set Camera to P (auto) and E-TTL on 550ex
I point at the subject and the 550ex LCD said something like
1.5----------13 meters. Is this the range you have to be in. anywhere between 1.5 meters to 13 meters? I think if you stand at 2 meters away you will have more light than 13 meters away.


I cannot think of any other meaning to the range. Yes, 2 meters is different from 13 meters. That's why your camera has a metering system and exposure system. That's why automatic flash metering is effective. Apparently, for the thrill of it, you are attempting to set everything manually.

The manual method that you might consider is to use the Guide Number of the flash, and divide that by the aperture, and that should dictate the single distance number that you seek.

For the 550EX, the number changes with focal length.
28mm... GN 30
50mm... GN 42
80mm... GN 50
105mm...GN 55

That number is expressed in meters at ISO 100.

---Bob Gross---

[PacAce]

I am using EOS3 film camera.
The thing I don't understand is the range. I am not sure what it means.

When I set Camera to P (auto) and E-TTL on 550ex
I point at the subject and the 550ex LCD said something like
1.5----------13 meters. Is this the range you have to be in. anywhere between 1.5 meters to 13 meters? I think if you stand at 2 meters away you will have more light than 13 meters away.

Yes, that is the range that the flash is effective within. The camera will automatically control the amount of the flash to get the proper exposure for subjects withing that distance range.


Second:
If I set you camere mode to Manual, Speed 60, F 5.6. 550Ex to manual, point at the subject and 550ex LCD showes 3 meter. What does this 3 meters means? I know it is the range? but Where I have to stand is the question?

When you set the camera to Manual and the flash to Manual, the flash will tell you what specific distance the flash is good for for the aperture you have set on the camera. You will note that as you vary the aperture, the distance on the flash changes as well. So, to get a proper exposure for the aperture you have selected, the subject must be exactly at the distance displayed on the flash. Any closer and you'll get overexposure. Any farther and you'll get underexposure.

If you need to set the aperture to a specific value but the flash tells you the subject needs to be farther away than you would like, you can manually reduce the power of the flash until the distance specified is close to what you want.

BTW, in your example, you have to be exactly 3 meters from the subject if the flash indicates 3 meters on its LCD.

[MarkH]

I am using EOS3 film camera.
The thing I don't understand is the range. I am not sure what it means.

When I set Camera to P (auto) and E-TTL on 550ex
I point at the subject and the 550ex LCD said something like
1.5----------13 meters. Is this the range you have to be in. anywhere between 1.5 meters to 13 meters? I think if you stand at 2 meters away you will have more light than 13 meters away.

Second:
If I set you camere mode to Manual, Speed 60, F 5.6. 550Ex to manual, point at the subject and 550ex LCD showes 3 meter. What does this 3 meters means? I know it is the range? but Where I have to stand is the question?

I have a 10D and a 550EX, I have used the camera and flash in manual mode, but I am no expert and have not had all that much experience.

But anyway here I go:
If you set both camera and flash to manual and the LCD on the flash shows 3 metre then that means the flash believes that for the settings you have selected you should be 3 metres from the subject for correct exposure, just remember that a white subject might be over exposed and a black subject might be under exposed, the 3 metres is only a guess.

If you set the flash to auto and the camera to auto then the 2 of them can alter their settings to get the exposure correct for any distance from 1.5 to 13 metres with the settings you were using. If you want to use a greater distance then you could try a higher ISO (on your EOS3 that means using a roll of faster film), then the distance would read higher, like 3 to 25 metres (or something like that).

Unfortunately you have the wrong sort of camera to easily know if your settings are right. With my digital I was able to take a shot on manual settings, then check the exposures and whether I had blown highlights. I can easily adjust flash output, aperture, shutter speed and ISO settings to get the exposure perfect to 1/3 exposure. I can also see how well lit different parts of the photo are.

Note: Careful with Av on camera and auto on the flash, that tells the camera to expose for natural light and use the flash for fill. Av on the camera and manual on the flash should work fine.

[PacAce]

...
If you set both camera and flash to manual and the LCD on the flash shows 3 metre then that means the flash believes that for the settings you have selected you should be 3 metres from the subject for correct exposure, just remember that a white subject might be over exposed and a black subject might be under exposed, the 3 metres is only a guess.

Mark, the good thing about using the flash by measuring distance is that the exposure will always be spot on (assuming that the GN is acurate) whether the subject is black, white or any shade of gray in-between. This is because the distance is based on the guide number of the flash and the aperture selected on the camera. There is no metering involved which does fall prey to "miscalculation" of exposure based on the tonal quality of the subject. And there is no guess work involved here either as far as distance is concerned. :)

[shoot_a_star]

Thank you very very much all you guys for your help. I got it. Yes, that was what I did. The 550EX said 3 meter and I stood 3 meter from the subject and I got good picture. Although the flash meter said under 1 f stop. (Example: Set camere 60, F 5.6, 550EX said 3 meters, I stood 3 meters away from the subject. Snap. Flash meter said 60, but F2.8) If I trust the flash meter and set the camera to F2.8, picture will be overexposed.

This is a great forum. My knowledge is very limited, but If somebody asks something that I know I am willing to help. "I help you, I help myself"
Thanks again.

[robertwgross]

From f/2.8 to f/5.6 is two stops, not one.

---Bob Gross---