Dark corners with 20D built-in flash

[gastroboy]

Hi ppl

Anyone else experience dark corners when using the 20D built-in flash?

I will get a pic up to show you later.

okay....pic attached...

look at corners 1,2,3 and 4. I was aiming in the middle of the pic...dunno what it i...using a 17-85mm and when at 17mm, i get the dark patches.

[tim]

The built in flash is small and can't illuminate a wide enough area. If you really need that then you'll need to buy an external flash. An external flash is one of the best things i've bought for my camera so far. The 420EX is a great value flash, the Sigma 500 super is more powerful and has more features, choose between them. I'd go for the Canon myself, it's gauranteed to be compatible with any other Canon flashes you buy in the future, the 420 can still be used as a slave/2nd flash.

[PacAce]

Hi ppl

Anyone else experience dark corners when using the 20D built-in flash?

I will get a pic up to show you later.

okay....pic attached...

look at corners 1,2,3 and 4. I was aiming in the middle of the pic...dunno what it i...using a 17-85mm and when at 17mm, i get the dark patches.
The problem with the internal flash is that, according to the DReb manual, it can only cover the angle of an 18mm lens. When you set your lens to 17mm, you are seeing more area than what is covered by the flash. You can prevent this problem by either getting an external flash and using the wide-angle attachment, or zooming in a tad to 18mm or more.

[cmM]

As a matter of fact, the 550EX has a coverage angle of 17mm (with that front diffuser pulled out), so you didn't gain much there. BUT, you can bounce, and you can add all kinds of things on the external flash's head, so you have a lot more possibilities to increase your coverage area.

[DavidEB]

I wouldn't worry about the dark corners so much. But do try to fix the ugly yellow marks your camera makes on the image. Very distracting.

[robertwgross]

Areas 1 and 4 are the farthest away from the flash. I would certainly expect them to be slightly dimmer.

---Bob Gross---

[gastroboy]

I wouldn't worry about the dark corners so much. But do try to fix the ugly yellow marks your camera makes on the image. Very distracting.

hahahaha...yeah...and people complain about dust! :-)

thats for the advice guys, I thought one of the bulbs had busted...even tried looking at it <for the kids out there...DO NOT LOOK AT THE FLASH!...even from an angle..>

looks like the canon machine gets more of my hard earned $$.

so everyone agree that a 420EX is a good first flash to get?

[tim]

so everyone agree that a 420EX is a good first flash to get?

You're never going to get everyone to agree, but IMO it's a good first flash, and will work well in a multi-flash setup later if you decide to do one.

[robertwgross]

The 420EX is pretty good.

The 550EX and 580EX are better, but most of the "better" features are in areas that most people never use. As you start getting into advanced features, the 550EX and 580EX will shine, literally.

OTOH, if your camera has no FEC capability, then the 420EX can be somewhat limiting. The 20D does, fortunately.

---Bob Gross---

[Sicily1918]

Please note that in the picture there is a Canon lens cover and a laptop on POTN :mrgreen: