self: comparing flashes

I use direct external flash at the race track and night sporting events. Or as fill outdoors in daylight. Direct's not totally useless but it's no good inside.

I don't do sports. Therefore, useless for my purposes. Mine's almost always slightly less than 90, with the white card out unless they're wearing glasses (nasty glare)

I use direct flash at long distances.. sometimes with the better beemer... for fill flash and catchlight on birds and such.. otherwise the 580 is allways pointed somewhere else

I got a Better Beamer a couple weeks ago. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet in a real life need-it situation but I can't wait to see what it lets me do with Bigma at the track!

Thumbs up for the 580.

Here's my review for a $2 flash diffuser.
https://photography-on-the.net …116567&highligh​t=diffuser

Thanks for the info on the diffuser Drisley - looks interesting.

Ok...here's a dumb question. I'm trying to learn about flashes so I can get one that will fit my needs. I thought the benefit of the Canon flashes over the cheaper (Phoenix type..) was that the canon flashes work with the camera to determine the amount of light needed and adjust the amount of flash to get a proper exposure. If that's the case, then why does everyone bounce the flash? Couldn't I just use a cheaper flash with a high guide number and bounce it too? I'm sure I'm missing something, but I don't know what...

Yes, the Canon EX flash units, and a number of aftermarket brands designed for Canon digital cameras work the same way. Part of the beauty of the various forms of TTL metering is that it works regardless of whether you're bouncing, diffusing, or aiming directly at the subject.

The point of bouncing or diffusing is not to change the quantity of light, it's to change the quality of the lighting - the way it hits the subject from various angles to create a more natural-looking effect.

Can you see the difference in the two images berrylish posted? It's more than just brightness.

The cameras flash makes it look very painful.

Here's some examples of various lighting effects. Each is labeled according to the type (ie method) of flash used. In all 3 instances I was using an external flash...but the position of the flash head and/or use of a bounce card changed the results.

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

cdi-ink,
Those shots illustrate the effects nicely.
They also illustrate a phenomenon I've seen with both the 300D and the 20D - They tend to underexpose when bouncing, requiring some + FEC. Theoretically, you'd think this wouldn't happen with TTL metering as long as you have enough power.

Yeah...Canon's wierd like that. I didn't want to add any variables to the samples so I didn't use FEC like I normally would. I resized, sharpened, and saved. That's it.

In this case it could be the reflective silver of the clock that threw it out of wack though. I woulda chose a better subject but A) I don't know any supermodels and B) My shrinking machine is broken so they wouldn't fit on my desk anyway.

Most of the time, I use my 580 45 deg bounce, lately with LSII PJ diffuser. I have to set the FEC to +2/3 though.

Yeah that's typical Amorous. I had the original LS and needed +2/3 on average. I still need FEC for some shots with that card I rigged up...but it depends on what I'm shooting. It seems like it's correct more often compared to LS usage.