Trying to photograph small birds and chipmunks with Canon 5D and 400/f5.6 lens (non-IS). The little darlings move frequently and fast, so I was using Av mode, ISO 800, and f5.6 to keep shutter speed up to freeze motion and reduce effects of mirror slap and vibration (even on a tripod).
Now, when I use my 550EX and Better Beamer, the camera reverts to 1/200 and overexposes every shot by 2 stops. What would be a better strategy? Drop ISO to 200 and use flash to stop motion (but lose the DOF isolation and balanced lighting), ...OR... try using FP (High Speed) flash and keep ISO and shutter speed up?
By the way, on one outing the 5D reverted to 1/320 in AV mode and X-synch seemed to work just fine. Next trip out it insistsed on 1/200 no faster. Same rig, go figure.
The second shot looks like the ambient light is heavily overexposed so even without the light of the flash/BB the 1/200, 5.6, 800 setting seems much to much over exposure.
Suggest you try manual mode with the metering showing about 1 to 2 stops under exposure on the ambient light and allow the flash/BB to fill in the subject. May need some FEC as well. You may play with a variety of ISO/aperture/SS combinations to get different effects, but I have found that using 5.6 with about 1/125 and then adjusting the ISO as needed for 1 to 2 stops under exposure on the ambient with -2/3rd FEC kinda gives some nice light with soft shadows.
For what you are trying, viz getting sharpness and freezing motion with flash you may need to underexpose the ambient even more and make the flash work harder.
Oct 06, 2008 at 05:27 AM
Herb Houghton Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
Try backing down the exp. comp on the 580 from between -1 to -2. The zoom adj. should be at 55mmwhen using the BB. Also, you could keep stopping down the aperture until correct exposure is found. The better beamer works good for long distance shots or in dark shadowy areas, but I only use mine for longer shots. The 580 works very well on it's own under 50 feet away.
Herb
Thanks all; I had done some trials the previous week and as noted, the 5D dropped SS to 1/320 which worked very well and I failed to double check this time around. I will go with your recommendation to use Manual mode and dial in the appropriate compensations. Looks like I need to get to the site area and map out the exposures in the various locations then wait for the critters to appear.... I was using 50mm on the 550EX; when it gets dark tonight I'll run some coverage pattern checks at various distances and zoom settings. My photographic budget is exhausted for the remainder of the year, so any other flash is on hold until Christmas / New Year.
The critters seemed to delight in posing in brightly lit areas then quickly moving into a shadowed area just as I got the camera swiveled around and focused. The chipmunk above ("Lester") was more cooperative; I watched him for about an hour and he had a definite territory, so I was able to set up on the stump and wait for him. The birds were not so cooperative, but my wife got one with her trusty Pro1 (and some bait):
I use the 20D, 100-400, 550 and better beamer. I also (almost always shoot high iso) as well.
For example: Av mode, max aperture, ISO 1600 and set Exposure comp: -2/3, flash comp -1 1/3 or -1 2/3. Small adjustments with the EC and FEC will then let you balance the background / foreground.
It's hard to adjust to heavy bracketing, but works well once you figure it out.
What deedee said. Change the mode to Hi-Speed Sync and shoot at your normal shutter speed as though the flash were not present. Set the flash compensation to somewhere between -2/3 and -1 /23 (I usually use -1 or -1 1/3). This has worked very well with both my 400 f.5.6 and my 500 f/4 IS.
Forgot to mention that, I am usually set to the high speed sync mode as well.
On the 550 you push and hold both buttons to activate << >>
Though, (just to play devils advocate), I have seen a lengthy article stating several reasons why you should not use high speed sync with the extender. High speed works well for me though
Well, I've got two or three more weekends here in Michigan before the weather turns nasty, so I will practice both techniques (manual exposure and AV with HS flash) before traveling to Florida for three weeks of serious wildlife photography. Manual would seem to be indicated for a set-up where the lighting is fairly consistent shot-to-shot, whereas I think I would want Av and HS for situations where the subject was moving into areas of different lighting. Thanks again to all who responded.
Can you recall any specifics in the "lengthy article" why HS sync should not be used with the extender? The example above looks pretty darn good to me.
harrygilbert wrote:
Well, I've got two or three more weekends here in Michigan before the weather turns nasty, so I will practice both techniques (manual exposure and AV with HS flash) before traveling to Florida for three weeks of serious wildlife photography. Manual would seem to be indicated for a set-up where the lighting is fairly consistent shot-to-shot, whereas I think I would want Av and HS for situations where the subject was moving into areas of different lighting. Thanks again to all who responded.
Can you recall any specifics in the "lengthy article" why HS sync should not be used with the extender? The example above looks pretty darn good to me....Show more →
Harry,
I use HS sync with Manual exposure. I do most of my wildlife work using Manual mode anyhow, so it's no big deal for me. The only time I'll use AV is when the light is changing rapidly (moving clouds for example). If you check the EXIF of the image above, you'll se that it was shot in Manual mode.
If you use the manual mode with the shutter speed set to the flash sync speed, you will likely get ghosting, as the slower shutter speed will either not stop the bird's motion, or, more likely, not stop camera shake at longer focal lengths. The flash "part" of the exposure will freeze the subject (since the flash is MUCH shorter in duration than the shutter speed. The result will be a blurred image with a non-blurred image mixed together. Sometimes this is a desired look, but it is usually accomplished with what is known as "trailing shutter sync". FYI, the flash sync speed of a camera is the fastest shutter speed where the shutter is fully open for a time. Faster "speeds" are accomplished by just opening a variable sized "slit" in the shutter and moving it across the frame.
Also, I'm not sure if milmoejoe was referring to the flash extender or a lens extender. FWIW, I've used HS sync with both (together even) with no problems whatsoever.
I can't seem to track down the article. For some reason I recall it being written by George Lepp. But, again I read it years ago and may be loosing my mind.
Here is a quick blurb I found written by arthur morrris:
QAre there downsides to using the HS synch?
AYes, very much so. With High-Speed Synch, the flash fires in pulses. At 1/500th sec. I believe that the flash needs to fire twice, at 1/1000 sec. four times, and so on and so forth... With the flash forced to turn on and off almost instantly, the range of the flash is greatly reduced (especially at the higher shutter speeds). When using High-Speed Synch flash I just hope to get a touch of flash on the bird. When doing so the green flash confirmation lamp will usually light up only when you are photographing a subject at extremely close range.
--
Again, sorry to add to the confusion. I spent several weeks shooting birds around the clock and found HS to work just fine.
Thats a very good example shot Edward and thanks for your explanatory comments.
However, I too don't fully understand the benefit of using high speed sync. Tried it a few times, sometimes benefits, sometime not much benefit, can't quite figure out the "equation". Especially at higher shutter speeds I have found results poor. Perhaps higher shutter speeds work better when the ambient light is lower. I guess there are many different situations whch require different settings dependent on ambient light levels and subject distace etc. Must search for the article mentioned but "milmoejoe".
mabidally wrote:
Thats a very good example shot Edward and thanks for your explanatory comments.
However, I too don't fully understand the benefit of using high speed sync. Tried it a few times, sometimes benefits, sometime not much benefit, can't quite figure out the "equation". Especially at higher shutter speeds I have found results poor. Perhaps higher shutter speeds work better when the ambient light is lower. I guess there are many different situations whch require different settings dependent on ambient light levels and subject distace etc. Must search for the article mentioned but "milmoejoe".
The benefit is that the overall exposure is the same as with no flash---the flash just serves as fill flash---dialed down to -1.5 stops or so (on the flash) the result is much more shadow detail and the shot will not look flat and 'flashy'.
I prefer to use camera in manual mode with flash in full eTTL. Flash with Better Beamer is only providing small amount of fill. Flash head is set to 50mm zoom setting, high sync mode and flash exposure comp anywhere from -2 to -1.
