HeatherK
10th of February 2003 (Mon), 00:18
Hi -
I have a D60 along with a ST-E2 transmitter and two speedlites (550EX and 420EX). I also have two lightstands and two umbrellas. When I invested in this equipment, my hope was to produce studio-quality lighting that was relatively affordable and portable (my main interest is children's portraiture, and I work mostly on location). Up until now, I have worked mostly outdoors using available light, so flash and studio lighting is still new to me.
I initially started out with just one flash and the transmitter. When I bounced the flash into the umbrella, all of my pictures came out looking over-exposed. So, I turned the flash compensation down about - 1 1/2 stops and seemed to get better results, but still a little hit and miss. Now that I have two flashes, I seem to have the opposite problem - everything looks underexposed, even when the flash compensation is at 0 or adjusted + 1/2 stop. Yesterday, I realized that the transmitter seems to be triggering the 550EX and then there is a slight delay before the 420EX fires. No wonder my pictures all look so dark. Any thoughts on what might be causing this to happen?
And then my next question: If I set the camera on AV mode and choose an f-stop of f-8 for example, I get a VERY slow shutter speed in low light situations. If I set the camera on Program mode, I seem to get f-4.5 at 1/60 regardless of whatever ISO, which doesn't give me enough depth of field or a fast enough shutter speed to capture quick-moving kids. I called Canon last week to ask them about manual settings, and was basically told that the E-TTL system is meant to work in full auto, and that the Program mode was my best bet. I am currently taking a studio lighting class, and would like to achieve the same consistency with my Speedlites as I can with strobes, but just don't know whether it is possible with this equipment. I would appreciate whatever input anyone may have.
Thanks - Heather
I have a D60 along with a ST-E2 transmitter and two speedlites (550EX and 420EX). I also have two lightstands and two umbrellas. When I invested in this equipment, my hope was to produce studio-quality lighting that was relatively affordable and portable (my main interest is children's portraiture, and I work mostly on location). Up until now, I have worked mostly outdoors using available light, so flash and studio lighting is still new to me.
I initially started out with just one flash and the transmitter. When I bounced the flash into the umbrella, all of my pictures came out looking over-exposed. So, I turned the flash compensation down about - 1 1/2 stops and seemed to get better results, but still a little hit and miss. Now that I have two flashes, I seem to have the opposite problem - everything looks underexposed, even when the flash compensation is at 0 or adjusted + 1/2 stop. Yesterday, I realized that the transmitter seems to be triggering the 550EX and then there is a slight delay before the 420EX fires. No wonder my pictures all look so dark. Any thoughts on what might be causing this to happen?
And then my next question: If I set the camera on AV mode and choose an f-stop of f-8 for example, I get a VERY slow shutter speed in low light situations. If I set the camera on Program mode, I seem to get f-4.5 at 1/60 regardless of whatever ISO, which doesn't give me enough depth of field or a fast enough shutter speed to capture quick-moving kids. I called Canon last week to ask them about manual settings, and was basically told that the E-TTL system is meant to work in full auto, and that the Program mode was my best bet. I am currently taking a studio lighting class, and would like to achieve the same consistency with my Speedlites as I can with strobes, but just don't know whether it is possible with this equipment. I would appreciate whatever input anyone may have.
Thanks - Heather