Why use a flash?

[00bolt]

Okay, sorry for the ignorance but Im still pretty new to this photography stuff. Photography is not my career, but just a hobby. I mainly just take pictures of my kids and vacations.

Anyway, I posted a thread on here about a week ago asking which lens I should buy next (went with the 85mm 1.8 btw) and a few people commented to skip a new lens and go with a 580EX flash.

In conversation with my boss at work (another hobbiest), I mentioned how a few people suggested the flash. So he said he would buy one and we could play with it. Well it came in today and we are a little overwhelmed. Seems like we are finally starting to understand the fstop, shutterspeed, iso, etc and now this new thing comes in with all new settings, lol.

anyway, onto my question. I have purposely built my small collection of equipment around fast lenses. For some reason in my mind, I always thought flash=bad. Which has alot to do with why I bought the f/1.8 85mm lens.

So does buying a better lens like a 580ex=good? For example, just last night I was taking pictures of my son at karate with my 17-55 2.8 and I was taking pictures are f/2.8 AND 1600 ISO and pictures were still a tad darker than I wanted. Would the flash have helped alot? Like I said, I had always thought of a flash washing out the pictures for some reason. I turned it off on my 30D and believe it or not, have NEVER used it even once.

[gooble]

Everybody learns somehow.

Built-in flashes are bad, pretty much exclusively (look at Canon's 1D and 5D series and see if you can find a flash on them).

Placing a flash on the hot shoe that you can pivot and tilt to bounce is a huge improvement and will be the best solution in many situations.

Getting the flash, one or more, off of the camera really opens up creative possibilities and gives you a look you can't get with just a fast lens. Have a look at this: http://************/oq66vn This was lit by two flashes.

Here are some links to some flash photography resources that I found helpful:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=171657
http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/

[Titus213]

There are situations where even a fast lens will result in too much noise at higher ISO. In those situations the properties of the fast lens can be enhanced by the careful addition of flash.

It's another whole realm of photography - another learning curve.

[vadim_c]

For some reason in my mind, I always thought flash=bad. Which has alot to do with why I bought the f/1.8 85mm lens.
.

First of all I would suggest to have another converstation with your boss. Tell him that you want a flash too so you need a raise.

Secondly your statement above is as far from the truth as it can be. In many if not majority of cases a flash enhaces photos in a way that is difficult if not possible to acheve without it. This does not necessarily apply to a low light conditions. You just need to learn to use it.

[buurin]

Check out www.strobist.com... its a site dedicated to using small flashes (like your 580) off camera

[Karl Johnston]

Built in flash isnt necessarily bad, its not as effective as off camera lighting or a big unit though

[Ray Marrero]

I don't like or use my built in flash, but I do use flash. i started with bouncing the flash and just recently have been playing around with off camera flash, using wireless triggers. Do a search on Off Camera Flash, some of the photos are amazing.

[drh681]

When you buy and learn to use a modern camera system flash you will enter a whole new world of great images with very little effort on your part.

the Camera meter and the flash work together to ensure that you have the proper exposure.
It works.

That said, you do need to have a handle on your camera's exposure controls.
because as smart as the system is, it will make some bad decisions if left to its own devices.

I have my camera set so that when the flash is attached, the shutter speed defaults to 1/250 sec when AV auto exposure is set. ( this is a custom function on the camera ) If left to the automatics the camera might choose too slow a shutter speed to try and balance the ambient light. ( good outside, bad inside )

beyond that little caution, a system flash will let you make the best flash pictures you have ever taken.

A strongly recommended buy.

[Curtis N]

Six reasons to get a good flash unit:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=207470

Today's digital cameras have a phenomenal ability to capture images in low light. When you add your own light, you can create images. It's not about the quantity of light, it's about the quality.

As mentioned, there is a significant learning curve, well worth the effort.

[shutterfiend]

Built in flash isnt necessarily bad, its not as effective as off camera lighting or a big unit though

LOL. The last time I tried to take my built-in flash off-camera it went to the service center for some real expensive repairs.

[snatiep]

Hello drh681!

I'm using a 30D with my new 580 EX II and like to shoot in Av mode.

You mentioned the custom function must be set to get the camera to shoot at 1/250 sec.

What custom functions must be set to achieve this. In the camera or on the flash?

I mainly shoot in Av mode, but when trying to figure out the 580 EX II, even in Av mode, sometimes the shutter speeds are still to slow. I know why, the camera is exposing for ambient light and the flash is firing for fill in flash. (I think?)

Thanks for your help!

[egordon99]

Why I use a bounced flash - I could either
-Shoot at f/1.8, ISO3200, 1/60s for "natural light" in a dark room at night OR
-Shoot at f/2, ISO100, 1/250s, and bounce the flash off the wall/ceiling

Which picture do you think will come out looking better?

[egordon99]

In Av mode, the camera will ignore the flash and set the shutter speed as if NO flash was being used (the camera's meter actually NEVER accounts for the flash being on or off)

Your best bet is to shoot in manual mode on the camera.

Hello drh681!

I'm using a 30D with my new 580 EX II and like to shoot in Av mode.

You mentioned the custom function must be set to get the camera to shoot at 1/250 sec.

What custom functions must be set to achieve this. In the camera or on the flash?

I mainly shoot in Av mode, but when trying to figure out the 580 EX II, even in Av mode, sometimes the shutter speeds are still to slow. I know why, the camera is exposing for ambient light and the flash is firing for fill in flash. (I think?)

Thanks for your help!

[egordon99]

Just replace P-TTL with E-TTL and 1/180s with 1/250s (for your 30D) as I originally wrote this to help out my Pentax "peeps" :)

Basically, with flash, the FLASH exposure is solely determined by flash power (actually duration, how long the bulb is actually firing for), aperture and ISO. Ambient exposure is determined by ISO, shutter speed, and aperture (just like without any flash), so the trick is balancing the two. If I'm indoors in a smallish room (such as in someone's house), I usually just forget about ambient since the flash is powerful enough to light up the entire room (hence the 1/180s below, if the flash didn't fire, I'd have a more or less black picture) Now although you're shooting MANUAL Mode, that's only for the ambient exposure (the exposure needle in the viewfinder will blink warning you about underexposure, but ignore that). The camera's P-TTL metering will determine the needed flash output for a proper exposure.

Here's something I wrote on another forum -
"Easy" recipe for great P-TTL flash shots -
1)Point flash at ceiling
2)Put camera in MANUAL mode on the mode dial
3)Set FEC to +1 on the flash head

4)Shoot RAW (this allows you to recover some highlights that might get blown as a result of #3 above)

5)Set ISO to 200 (to start)
6)Set shutter speed to 1/180s
7)Set f-stop to whatever DOF you want


Now if the flash runs out of "power" because of high ceilings, you can raise the ISO or open up the f-stop to compensate. Or you can slow down the shutter to bring more ambient light into the exposure (in addition to adjusting ISO/f-stop) If the ceiling is REALLY high (like in a church), you may need a reflector to throw some of the light forward (I use the Joe Demb Flip-it).

Quick and dirty outdoor fill flash tutorial -
Basically, if your subject is in shade and the background is bright (ie under a tree) or majorly backlit, fill flash is your friend. Think of those times when you got a properly exposed background, but the subject was almost pitch black.

Put camera into Av mode, metering will set the shutter speed to expose the overall shot (which in the situations that call for fill-flash will generally be the background) based on your selected aperture/ISO.
Make sure flash is set to HSS (in case your shutter speed go faster than 1/180s) and P-TTL. Fire away! The shutter speed/f-stop/ISO will expose the background, and the flash should output enough power to light up the foreground.

Now to control the background exposure, you use exposure compensation on the camera body (which would adjust the shutter speed), to adjust how much fill for the flash exposure, you use Flash exposure compensation. The trick is balancing the two (as it is with indoor work), and that comes with experience/experimentation.

[Curtis N]

I mainly shoot in Av mode, but when trying to figure out the 580 EX II, even in Av mode, sometimes the shutter speeds are still to slow. I know why, the camera is exposing for ambient light and the flash is firing for fill in flash. (I think?)Your best bet is to shoot in manual mode on the camera.Agreed.

Av mode is for when you want the camera to decide the shutter speed based on the ambient light. If that's not what you want it to do, then you need to ask yourself why you're using Av mode.

Yes, there is a custom function to make the shutter go to X-sync speed in Av mode with flash. But that's doing it the hard way and leaves you no flexibility. Manual mode is quicker and gives you the option of slowing down the shutter to let in some ambient.

[Pearlallica]

i have a 580ex ii.. but it's been collecting dust in my bag since i've learned to fine tune my exposure skills. Some of my best pictures were taken with flash and so I've perhaps become lazy or maybe it's just a weight issue (5D2 + battery grip + L zoom = heavy on it's own) I also have some radio controlled flash triggers and some umbrellas/stands/lights. They're a pain to setup.. I spent 1.5K and have used them once or twice.. we're talking real pain. Don't know how "strobist" photographers muster up the patience!

Anyways, if you do get a flash and need to learn the basics, I often point people to the book "Flash, the most available light" (http://www.lumiquest.com/ftmal.htm)

[tkbslc]

I found this on CPN yesterday. pretty good rundown of the basics.

http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/infobank/flash/bounce_flash.do

[Papa Carlo]

Built in flash isnt necessarily bad, its not as effective as off camera lighting or a big unit though
I must disagree on this one. Built in flash is almost always necessarily bad. It is not about the lower power. That is one of the reason why for example 5D don't have it.
Sometimes it is better than nothing though.