This has been bugging me for quite some time and I need to find something out. I know that the flash should be off the camera to get rid of red eye. Well I sometimes put mine on a flash bracket but will still get red eye. I am in a wheelchair and will always be shooting "up" at people. Is it because of my lack of size that I will still get some red eye even while using a bracket? Or could I just be doing something wrong. For Adults my flash would still be below their eyes when on the bracket.
How is the Quantum T5D for basketball? Better then the 580EXII?
Brackets work better when the subject is close. The farther away the subject is from the camera the less difference the bracket makes. Not sure shooting from a low angle makes a difference. Most sports shooters shoot from as low as possible.
I wonder if you could zip tie a mono pod to the back of your chair somehow and stick your flash on it. That way you can reach it to raise or lower it as needed.
Can't help you with which flash is better. I shoot Nikon stuff
It is possible to get red eye even with a flash bracket but it should reduce the chances greatly.
Bounce the flash off a wall or ceiling. Use a Joe Demb Flipit on your flash to bounce and spread the light.
Now since you told me you are in a wheelchair I instantly got some neat ideas!
Mount the flash on a monopod and strap the mono pod to the back of your wheelchair, get the flash up above like 6 feet. You also have the option of using two flashes attached to your chair on on each side, this will make them work less and recycle faster. You could use a quantum 2x2 attached to your chair and drive both flashes. You will then need a remote trigger like Cyber Syncs.
Get creative you have some options here. Many photogs run around with light on a wheeled light stand and push it around.
I had a Quantum td5 and the bracket and weight of the thing got in my way! The light was great though! You have the option of attaching it to your chair thus eliminating this problem. Use your 580ex II for now and work things out, I do not think the t5d will improve what you are doing much, the 580 is quite powerful and cycles faster with a battery pack.
Hotshoe flashes are inherently going to provide more redeye even when on a bracket, compared to using one of the 'potato masher' flashes like Metz 45CT...simply a matter of elevational separation of the flash axis from the lens axis. Some brackets like Newton have optional 'risers' to raise hotshoe flash units higher, so that you can shoot to longer distances yet still avoid redeye.
You generally get red-eye when the ambient light is very dark and the subject's pupils are dilated. Try either a longer flash bracket or a softer light source, like a lumiquest. http://www.lumiquest.com/
