Digital Rebel Flash Problesm

Just got a Digital Rebel for XMAS and am still figuring it out. Transitioning from 35 mm Digital and reusing my 380EX flash (circa 2000 -- it can swivel and is E-TTL, though it is no longer manufactured).

My problem is that all pictures with the external flash on are severely over-exposed. Almost like an X-Ray.

The 380EX worked very well with 35 mm Rebel, and supposedly is Digital Rebel
compatible.

I'd like to use the 380EX in the so-called Dummy modes.

Any suggestions out there?

Thanks

Are you pictures over-exposed only when you use the 380EX flash? Are the pictures taken with the internal flash OK? If so, there might be something wrong with the 380EX because there really isn't anything you can set on the 380EX other than to attach it to the camera and turn it on. The DRebel doesn't even have FEC so even that can't be the problem unless you have the hack firmware installed. If so, double check your FEC.

BTW, what settings are you using and in what kind of lighting environment are you using the flash in?

It's the Rebel not the flash.

The Rebel and most digitals have issues with the EX lights.
THis is why the 580ex came out for the 20D...wish Canon had a firmwire update for the Drebel to work with the 580ex.

I'd suggest underexposing the flash compensation.

Pictures come out fine with the built in flash. But this flash is limited.
As previously mentioned, when using the 380EX Speedlite everything
is overexposed.

I could do the compensation stuff. But sometimes you want the dummy
modes. In addition, my wife uses the camera, and lacks the patience
for compensation adjustments, etc.

Can the 380EX be readily used by the Drebel. Will that famous
firmware hack upgrade work? Or do folks need a special Drebel
external flash?

This is a mostly false statement.

Maybe MrChad has issues.

---Bob Gross---

Agreed. The EX Series Flashes all work well with Canon Digital Cameras in ETTL and ETTLII. The 580EX was designed to take advantage of some features of ETTLII which are not available in the other EX Flashes.
Scott

I will add that the primary thing that has issues would be the user manual for 420EX or 550EX. Very few beginners seem to be able to read one manual and figure out what to do. As it turns out, here in this forum there have been many links to adjunct sources of flash information, but the beginner has to read and re-read this in order to digest it all and make sense out of it. The Canon manuals seem to tell you which button to push to do this or that, but they don't go into the background of why you would want to do this or that.

That's why scottbergerphoto has been trying to finish off his PhD in Canon flash photography. His thesis will be "Guide Numbers -- A Robust Approach."

I think his aspiration in life is to become a flasher in Central Park.

---Bob Gross---

Although this is certainly implied by Canon literature, this assessment of the 580EX is not even close.

What Canon did was to REVAMP the flash exposure system in the 20D and 1D-II. The ETTL-II features on the 580EX are mostly window dressing, and don't really impact actual results.

Here is the bottom line: The D60, 10D, 300D and 1D ETTL flash systems are very, very focus point biased. Much more so than the film cameras. If your focus point ends up on a white dress when the preflash fires. . . you are hosed.

The cure? ETTL-II on the 20D, Elan 7 and 1D-II dropped the AF point out of the flash exposure calcuations.

Yeah, they talk about a whole bunch of other compensation factors. They talk about this groovy 580EX flash. Baloney. Doesn't mean a thing. It is the change in the AF point bias that is the real change.

Been there, done that!
Scott

Sorry about that statement, my 420EX works fantastic for as long as I've been using it (3days But I use bounce flash inside and it's too cold for outside....

But My buddy shoots an Eos3 and a Drebel (since it was new to the market) with his 550EX, and on the film body it's awesome. Never a bad shot in 4+ years of use. Now his 550EX continually misses exposures on his Drebel.

....Just got off the phone with him, I thought it was an over exporuse issue (my bad for thinking again), but he said most of the time it under exposes on the Drebel.

I thought it migh tbe the normal E-ttl issues, but we have played around a bunch with settings this past summer on both the Eos3 and the Drebel....

And yes the Drebel still missed the exposures from time to time. (We conferenced it on the phone last summer--he lives across the state from me.) Once we saw the new 580EX we figured it had to be the crop factor and the 550 external speedlight because the onboard flash works fine with the kit lens. But the 28-70L and the 55OEX are not friends to his Drebel at times. We usually play around with indoor and outdoor stuff of his kid. He plays with his kid...I play photoshop with his kids pics.

In anycase for a long time I remember we weren't the only ones with Drebel speedlight issues...

No need to apologize.

Many claim the dRebel underexposes: I have read many shoot at a consistent +2/3 FEC.

(I have a 10D. I tend to -1/2 FEC. . .this week. Last week it was no compensation. )

From what I read, ETTL as implemented in the digital bodies is vastly different in execution from what was done in the film bodies.

From what I have read, exposure from any EX flash and the onboard flash should be IDENTICAL on a given body. On my 10D, the internal flash is indistinguishable from either a 420EX or 550EX fired directly ahead (I have both). Exposure is consistent even when shooting both flashes together (but the look is totally different, naturally). I would fully expect the 580EX to be the same.

On a 20D, the 580EX will zoom *taking into account the 1.6 crop*. This feature is irreleveant when bouncing the flash. The 580EX will add a white balance adjustment to the image on a 20D. If you shoot RAW, or do your own White Balance. . .this is irrelevant. Shooting JPEGs. . .may make a minor difference.

I never found white balance to be adversely affected when shooting my flash units on my 10D.. . .of course. . . . maybe the broke the auto white balance on the 20D so that you *must* use a 580EX to . ... . correct. . .it. . .back. . . .

I tried FEC once, but I didn't like it. I tend to do it directly on the flash instead of on the camera. I usually stay at around what the rebel meters for, occasionally I need to turn it down, even less often I turn it up a bit.

Reminds me of a quote I saw on someones's wall only yesterday - and sorry I can't recall the author:

"Documentation is like sex. When it's good it's very, very, good. When it's bad it's better than nothing at all"

J