Been getting by with a compact T32, but miss some AF assist in lower light. I thought the Metz 58 looked very interesting with the extra small flash for fill,but I've heard the software hasn't been reworked for the changed protocols on the 5D11. The Metz has good reviews by W. Crocket. The normal auto modes on the C 580 seem to be hidden in a nested menu. Thanks for any comments.
Mike
If you're buying a single flash, I'd actually suggest the 430EX. It's smaller and lighter. What you are giving up in comparison with a 580EX is the ability to work as a master and control other slave flashes wirelessly -- but if that's your only flash this ability doesn't matter.
If at some point you decide you need to go the multi-flash route, your second flash should be the 580EX so that your two flashes can work together. But for a single, solo flash the 430EX is perfectly fine.
KaaX wrote:
If you're buying a single flash, I'd actually suggest the 430EX. It's smaller and lighter. What you are giving up in comparison with a 580EX is the ability to work as a master and control other slave flashes wirelessly -- but if that's your only flash this ability doesn't matter.
If at some point you decide you need to go the multi-flash route, your second flash should be the 580EX so that your two flashes can work together. But for a single, solo flash the 430EX is perfectly fine.
Kaa
Well, the 580EX offers quicker reload times and a brighter strobe. Moreover, the size and weight between the two seems practically negligible. It's a difference of a couple ounces and a 430EX is still just a large lump of plastic that you attach to the top of your camera.
580EX II. I used and loved Metz years ago .... the MZ54 with my original 1D. I tried the MZ58 a couple of years ago with my MkII and ended up returning it. It was like torture making adjustments like FEC in fast moving situations. Too many button pushes. It may be more natural for others, but for me it was too cumbersome.
True. And it's so easy to switch from Off to Master to Slave with the switch. A little simpler to use than the Mk II. Great value. I don't think the Mk II has that much more to offer.
helimat wrote:
Although I have wanted a 580EXII for some time in order to play with the on camera menus, the original 580EX offers a lot for the price too.
Perhaps I was overly influenced by the smartshooter review. I thought the Ettl-2 not infrequently did not do so well with fill flash and the normal auto mode was too buried in the 580 EX or EX11. If the FEC is buried in the Metz, it may be a wash.
I appreciate all the suggestions and comments.
Michael Gordon wrote:
Perhaps I was overly influenced by the smartshooter review. I thought the Ettl-2 not infrequently did not do so well with fill flash and the normal auto mode was too buried in the 580 EX or EX11. If the FEC is buried in the Metz, it may be a wash.
I appreciate all the suggestions and comments.
With the 580EX II, you press the MODE button until it's in the mode you want.
Michael Gordon wrote:
Perhaps I was overly influenced by the smartshooter review. I thought the Ettl-2 not infrequently did not do so well with fill flash and the normal auto mode was too buried in the 580 EX or EX11. If the FEC is buried in the Metz, it may be a wash.
I appreciate all the suggestions and comments.
Go with the Canon. 580ex is the better overall choice because the extra .8 stop of light comes in handy when bouncing, using a diffuser, or using the flash outdoors.
ETTL-II actually does fill flash quite well once its understood how Canon evaluative metering, on which it is based, calculates exposure and how fill flash need to be used.
When using fill flash you want to shoot into the shadow side of the ambient lighting, keeping the sun of the front of faces the camera sees and the flash illuminates. If the flash fill overlaps sun on the front of the faces you get a situation akin to a dog chasing its tail. As you add more light in an attempt to raise the shadows you also add light to the highlights and blow them out. Increasing shutter speed will reduce the ambient in highlights and shadows so that's not a solution. It simply replaces the ambient light with flash resulting in a fake over-flashed appearance.
So flash isn't the solution for dark eye sockets on a sunlit face. In order for flash to reduce the contrast of the foreground to fit the range of the sensor, which is the point of the exercise, its necessary to orient the subject so the flash can lift the shadows with only minimal glancing overlap of the sunlit parts..
Put the back of the subject to the sun and first adjust the ambient exposure so the sun lit highlights are not clipping. In Av mode that may require - 2 EC. Once the ambient is correctly exposed turn on the flash in ETTL mode and more often than not the metering will match the "hole" in the middle of the ambient pattern created by the backlit subject with the correct amount of fill flash at FEC =0.
Another thing to realize about "fill" flash is that the open sky the subject faces is actually providing the fill for the shadows and the flash is actually acting in the role of frontal key light creating the highlight pattern. Understanding the difference and actual role of the flash in that situation guides its placement. To get natural looking lighting with flash in a backlit scenario its necessary to raise the flash so the light hits the face from a natural overhead direction. A camera-flip bracket is ideal for that.
BTW the solution to the dark eye socket problem, which will also occur in open shade when shooting at eye level, is to bring a ladder along on your outdoor shoots or find some higher vantage point to stand on when shooting. The root cause of the dark eye sockets is the fact the high angle of the sky light results in the brow shading the eyes. The solution is to raise the face into the light so it reaches the eyes and eliminates the shadows. The ladder is so you can also raise the camera position to capture a flattering above nose level view of the face once it is in the better light.
The same applies in a backlit situation which is simply the face in the open shade created by the head. The brow will often shade the the fill light being provided by the sky if you shoot at ground level. You'll get better results if you raise the camera and have the subject look up to it and get the fill from the sky into the orbits
See this tutorial I did on High Speed FP mode, which is ideal when shooting outdoors: LINK
