AF Assist Beam: D60 Built-in vs 550EX

[cole]

I just bought a D60 recently, and found that somehow the built-in AF assist beam seems to have further range than that of the 550EX.
Is this normal? If so, anyone has any workarounds for this?

[Pat Lepore]

Hi Cole,

The 550EX beam is much more powerful than the inbuilt AF assist beam. Visually, the white beam on the camera seems more powerful than the red beam on the flash, but the cammera reacts much better to the red beam from the 550EX.

The inbuilt white beam has a range of about 3 - 4 meters, while the red beam on the 550EX has a range of up to 10 meters.

If your observations are from experience and not by just looking at the beams, then I would say you have a faulty 550EX.

Also, check the Custom Functions on both the camera and the flash to make sure they are set correctly. I am at work at the moment so I cannot check what they should be for you.

Pat