So the 300D doesn't have FEC? And that means...

That FEC won't work on my 300D with my 580EX?

I really need this to work, with doing lots of wedding photography, so does this mean I should run out and get the 20? And is FEC that much of a difference?

Also, this was my plan anyway, in the next couple of weeks pick up the 20D and keep the 300D as my back up along with having the 24-70L on the 20D and if I pick up the 70-200L have that on the 300D...

Also, I know this is rambling on, but are the batteries for the 300D and 20D the same?

You can set FEC on the flash gun (+/- 3stops). You just can't do it on the 300D body. Since you have a 580EX this isn't a problem for you. If you had a 420EX it would be a pain.

Yup
I use the 300d +550EX and use FEC all the time (on the flash).

I'd be dead in the water without FEC

300D + Undutchable Hack = FEC capability
JUMP button brings up FEC


http://www.syeager.org​/300d/forum/index.php?

Flash Exposure Control was a major factor in my decision to afford a 550EX over a 420EX.

I don't want to install any of the hacks but my 550EX has given me FEC. As others have said, you'll need to adjust the setting on your 580EX, so look it up in the manual.

Regards, David

David1943 wrote:
Flash Exposure Control was a major factor in my decision to afford a 550EX over a 420EX.

I don't want to install any of the hacks but my 550EX has given me FEC. As others have said, you'll need to adjust the setting on your 580EX, so look it up in the manual.

Regards, David

You might have a valid reason in not wanting to use the hack. My Sigma EF500 DG Super can also do on flash FEC, but its not a quick as doing it on the camera and there is nothing wrong with the hack. At first I was also hesitant to use the Hack, but with anticipation of getting the 1DMKII I didn't care so much about the camera so I went ahead and now I can wait a while longer maybe until the 1DMKII comes out. Its that much better.

Back to subject. TTL= Through The Lens metering
Now if the camera is doing the metering and telling the flash what to do. Why would I want the flash to make a compensation decison for me??? The whole point in TTL flash is to let one metering device to make the decision and send a command to the flash and then tell flash how strong and how long. Too many chefs spoils the stock.

If the camera is metering the scene, why can't the camera decide what level of flash output to use? why would we need to manually adjust the FEC? Whether it be on the camera or flash...

If that were the case, ie., not necessary to on occasions manually adjust the output of the flash (Flash Exposure Compensation) why do so many people install the hack?

Before being too hard on me, please bear in mind that I'm an oldie who began his photography prior to the modern automatic innovations and, as such, I still like the feeling of security afforded me by being able to adjust manually. That's what I'm used to, so call me an old stick-in-the-mud if you want to

If auto settings work for you on every occasion, that is fine.

Regards, David

If the camera metered the flash output perfectly every time you might not need FEC. Just like in Av mode if the camera was perfect you wouldn't need regular exposure compensation.

even then, you might want FEC ocassionally to adjust the relationship between ambient light and flash light (that is, use regular EC to increase background exposure and FEC to decrease foreground exposure or vice-versa).

This comes down to how cameras meter a scene. It assumes every scene is a mix of dark and light that comes to 18% grey (it sees in B&W for this). If your scene is very dark it'll make it look too bright. If your scene is very bright it'll pull down the brightness to 18%. FEC (and EC when a flash isn't being used) adjusts the target for the metering to higher or lower than 18%. For a scene with a lot of white you'll need FEC of +1 to +2, for a dark scene the opposite - though sometimes less so. Experiment, it's the only way to learn this black art.

David1943 wrote:
If that were the case, ie., not necessary to on occasions manually adjust the output of the flash (Flash Exposure Compensation) why do so many people install the hack?

Before being too hard on me, please bear in mind that I'm an oldie who began his photography prior to the modern automatic innovations and, as such, I still like the feeling of security afforded me by being able to adjust manually. That's what I'm used to, so call me an old stick-in-the-mud if you want to

If auto settings work for you on every occasion, that is fine.

Regards, David

I too started photography when in camera metering was a luxury. My first camera was a old Pentax with a screw mount lens and no in camera metering. Being a kid with very little resource I learned to take picture by eye. But that was a long time ago and if you ask me to do it now I wouldn't be able to, just too old. But I must say I learned alot back then and I hope todays kids could learn it the same way. Unfortunately todays teachers don't share that philosophy with me. They point out that it is better to let the camera do its magic and spend more time in composition. I think they missed the point that part of the composition is the lighting.

Not all of my subjects are 18% gray. In fact, none of them are. But that's what the metering system assumes, so sometimes you need to compensate, with or without flash.

Not all scenes are perfectly lit. The difference in lightlevel, dynamic range, might not fall in your favor. By using FEC you can balance the dark area you want more light and lit area less light. This is usually the case in fill flash.

FEC is THE best reason for using one of he hacks.........for sure.............

Chris Breeze's Downloader Pro alows you to change the FEC for the inbuilt flash whilst the camera is conected to a computer, you can set it, and then shoot with that FEC setting.

Not ideal as you need a computer to change back again. But if you only intend to use one setting, it is a workaround.

Happy Warrior