L-358 & 580EX II Off Camera..Need Help!!

I have a l-358, skyports, & a 580EX II which is on a stand with an umbrella.
I set the SS to 1/60, ISO 100, & the meter is in the auto-reset cordless flash mode.
I meter from the subject, pointed at the camera, flash set by the test button on the skyport.
I want to use at least f/4-f/8. I can not seem to come up with that combo. The meter is telling me f/2.0-f2.8. I am able to get f/4 if I raise the ISO up to 800.
I have tried changing the flash power & that ends up in blown highlites but still shows way to the left on the histogram.
What am I doing wrong?
Thanks, Kath

How are you using the meter? Is it set to incident metering mode? Do you have the dome extended out? Do you have a sample picture?

More questions - how far is the umbrella from the subject? Are you bouncing from the umbrella or shooting thru it?

Hi, The lumisphere is raised. Right now I have a very small area.
The umbrella, which i am flashing into, is only about 2 feet from the subject. A little in front of, pointing down.
Originally I had the flash 6" above the subject. I tried going up about 2 ft above the subject & it seemed to work. I then did a couple of shots at 1/125 & managed to get f/5.6 with that setup.
I had read that /125 & f/8 are good settings, but I cant' seem to get close to that.
Do you think I am too close with the umbrella? How far away & how high is a good starting point?
thanks, Kath

I'm not really familiar with all the capability of the 580EX II but is it in manual mode? Not auto? That flash should have more than enough power to blow out that image....

It does blow it out. The flash definatley has enough power.

What I'm having a problem with is not being able to get an f stop above 4.0 without raising my ISO up over 400 when I meter with my L-358. Is my subject too close to the light? I would pull the light farther away, but I don't have the room & it's too cold to go outside.

If I pulled my lights farther from the subject would that give me a higher f stop in my meter?

Yes, it is in manual mode.

OK, I'm missing something here.

On the meter:
Dome extended.
Battery should show full
The flash mode is the first one on the left - auto reset.
The ISO is set to 100
Shutter is set to 60

Push and release the meter activate, trip the flash with the Skyport.

You should get an f-stop reading.

I do get an f stop reading. But I can not get one that it is more than 4.0.

Lets say that I WANT an aperture of 8.0 to insure everything is in focus. The meter doesn't give me that. I can raise my ISO or lower my SS to 1 to get it but I want to keep ISO at 100 & my SS up around 1/60-1/125.

So what I am wondering if I am doiong something wrong to NOT get an f stop over 4.0.

Does this make sense?

No, it doesn't make sense. And that's my problem. You are saying the picture in the camera indicates it is blown out at these settings? If that's the case then you have an issue with the meter or the camera is not set to what the items on the meter are set to. The ISO, shutter, f-stop on the camera should match the readings on the meter.

Can you post an example picture with exif intact?

for the record a 580 at 6" into an umbrella at iso 100, shutter irrelevant, should give you f/11 no problem.

I was so mad that I couldn't figure this out. I didn't keep any of the pics. I am going to start fresh in the morn so I will post a couple for you to see then.
Thank you, Kath

Suyenfung, Thats exactly what I thought. Any ideas?

well i would start over.

confirm that your camera is set to manual mode, iso 100, 1/125. do not set your fstop yet.

confirm that your meter is set to iso 100, 1/125. for simplicity's sake ditch the triggers for now and set it to the lightning bolt.

confirm the 580 is in manual mode, set to 1/1 power, and that the batteries are charged.

put the meter in front of your subject, press the button to take a reading on the meter, press the pilot button on the flash to fire it.

you should get an f number between 8-16. set your cmaera to this fstop, reattach the triggers and take a picture. should be perfect.

O.K. I will start fresh in the morn. Pretty late here so I am off to sleep.

Hopefully I can figure it out.

Thanks guys for your patience with me.

Kath

I just set up a test -
550EX at 1/2 power
60" silver umbrella
ISO 200
6 feet from flash to subject
f6.3 is a perfect exposure according to the L-358 and my histogram on a 20D