Tim Pindar
Well-Known Member
Anyone expecting anything nice for Christmas? I'm expecting to get a Speedlite 430 EX II and some rechargeable batteries.
Photography Christmas gifts on the way?
- Thread starter Tim Pindar
- Start date
Chris Dodkin
West Coast Correspondent
Nice one Tim!
I think Santa should be delivering a book on Photoshop RAW processing if he got my letter ok.
I hinted at the Canon 85mm f1.2, but Mrs Cdod said that Santa didn't have the budget!!!!
I think Santa should be delivering a book on Photoshop RAW processing if he got my letter ok.
I hinted at the Canon 85mm f1.2, but Mrs Cdod said that Santa didn't have the budget!!!!
Hamish Gill
Tech Support (and Marketing)
ive heard that about santa ... hes been hit pretty hard by the international down turn ... not to mention these greedy kids all want playstations ... terrible state of affairs ... you gotta feel sorry for the guy ... mind you, if he ate a bit less maybe he could afford that one extra playstation for me ...
Darren Turner
XProPhotographer
my present to my self is gonna be a "Speedlite 430 EX II" lol and my mom & step dad have got me a Lowepro Classified 200AW Bag - Sepia
Cant wait lol
not sure what else photo related.........!!
Cant wait lol
not sure what else photo related.........!!
Tim Pindar
Well-Known Member
You'd be better off with this one:
Darren Turner
XProPhotographer
nah pink aint my colour
Tim Pindar
Well-Known Member
My Speedlite duly arrived. Took some great photos with it on the day. Will post something here later.
Tim Pindar
Well-Known Member
... and here's one:
Darren Turner
XProPhotographer
wow what a great family image.........i going looking in sales.........i never used flash before, is it easy....lol
For Christmas I Got - me man bag as mentioned in this thread, a 16gb memory card & battery grip & spare battery..........well happy bunny lol
For Christmas I Got - me man bag as mentioned in this thread, a 16gb memory card & battery grip & spare battery..........well happy bunny lol
Tim Pindar
Well-Known Member
With the 40D and the Speedlite 430 EX II it's a piece of cake, even though I've not read the instructions properly yet. Just plug it in and the camera controls it, even using manual mode it seemed to add the right amount of flash whatever shutter speed and aperture I selected.
That shot was taken in a normal lounge in the evening, you'd hardly know it was artificial light! And no shadow on the wall.
I always get confused with flash if I try to use Av mode. Can anyone help? If it decides the aperture is small, it flashes, but still chooses a mega-long shutter speed so it's a blurry mess.
I've never used a battery grip - what is the point of them, given that they make the camera heavier?
Darren Turner
XProPhotographer
battery grip enables you to use 2 batteries thus allowing alot more images to be taken without the need for changing them. Also i have BIG hands and my 40D and now 7D feels much more comfortable in my hands, also it adds an extra grip to the bottom of camera with shutter release & shutter speed wheel when shooting in portrait orientation it is again much more comfortable to hold & use.
when using a longer telephoto lens the camera feels much more balanced & Personally the weight issue isn't much of a down side for me
Daz
when using a longer telephoto lens the camera feels much more balanced & Personally the weight issue isn't much of a down side for me
Daz
Chris Dodkin
West Coast Correspondent
Nice one Tim - flash has already paid dividends I see - great shot 
In AV mode, the camera assumes you want to expose for the ambient light that's already illuminating the subject, and you're just going to use the flash to fill.
So it meters the ambient light, and in your case see's that it was F dark, and therefore sets a looonnngg exposure to get enough ambient light in.
You can 'fix' this by bumping up the ISO to the point where the exposure is a decently short time - I use ISO 800 or higher indoors when I'm shooting in AV with some ambient room lighting, and that seems to do the trick.
Or, you can use another mode on the camera, but potentially loose the ambient lighting and be totally flash illuminated.
There's a good intro to Canon flash here: http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/
The guy has written a whole book on it as well, but the web write up is great by itself.
In AV mode, the camera assumes you want to expose for the ambient light that's already illuminating the subject, and you're just going to use the flash to fill.
So it meters the ambient light, and in your case see's that it was F dark, and therefore sets a looonnngg exposure to get enough ambient light in.
You can 'fix' this by bumping up the ISO to the point where the exposure is a decently short time - I use ISO 800 or higher indoors when I'm shooting in AV with some ambient room lighting, and that seems to do the trick.
Or, you can use another mode on the camera, but potentially loose the ambient lighting and be totally flash illuminated.
There's a good intro to Canon flash here: http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/
The guy has written a whole book on it as well, but the web write up is great by itself.
Chris Dodkin
West Coast Correspondent
Santa bought me a hot shoe level, so I can line my shots up properly in the field (instead of Photoshop).
A photoshop RAW book.
And also a nice set of Tiffen ND Filters.
0.3 0.6 0.9 and 1.2 screw-on 77mm
Looking forward to doing some blurry water shots
A photoshop RAW book.
And also a nice set of Tiffen ND Filters.
0.3 0.6 0.9 and 1.2 screw-on 77mm
Looking forward to doing some blurry water shots
Tim Pindar
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the flash advice Chris, will absorb and keep reading...
Tim Pindar
Well-Known Member
On the Av Flash issue, it has just dawned me that there are now FOUR variables to getting the right exposure; as well as aperture, shutter speed and ISO number we also have: amount of flash light added. This only multiplies up the options.
Yesterday in my initial forays (which were all family shots in a typical house after dark) I settled on Manual mode, with a suitable aperture for the occasion (f/7.1), a fixed 1/60 shutter speed, and ISO 100. I then let the camera add the amount of flash required. However I could have varied any of the other three and it would have compensated accordingly. If I had set the ISO to a much higher value, the camera would presumably have added less flash. That choice would be a trade-off of noise vs type of light, and given that all the light was artificial anyway, there was little reason to minimise the amount of added light from the flash.
Yesterday in my initial forays (which were all family shots in a typical house after dark) I settled on Manual mode, with a suitable aperture for the occasion (f/7.1), a fixed 1/60 shutter speed, and ISO 100. I then let the camera add the amount of flash required. However I could have varied any of the other three and it would have compensated accordingly. If I had set the ISO to a much higher value, the camera would presumably have added less flash. That choice would be a trade-off of noise vs type of light, and given that all the light was artificial anyway, there was little reason to minimise the amount of added light from the flash.
Tim Pindar
Well-Known Member
Meanwhile here's a before and after comparison.
First another from Christmas Day of my two daughters, again showing the benefits of the new flashgun, bouncing the light off the ceiling. (I LOVE this photo!)
It is followed by a shot from another day recently using the inbuilt flash, which has clearly inferior lighting including a shadow on the wall behind.
New flashgun:
Built-in flash:
First another from Christmas Day of my two daughters, again showing the benefits of the new flashgun, bouncing the light off the ceiling. (I LOVE this photo!)
It is followed by a shot from another day recently using the inbuilt flash, which has clearly inferior lighting including a shadow on the wall behind.
New flashgun:
Built-in flash:
Darren Turner
XProPhotographer
I DEFO Need A Flash Gun Now..........!!
your daughters are going to be getting really brassed of with posing & smiling for dad..........haha
Daz
your daughters are going to be getting really brassed of with posing & smiling for dad..........haha
Daz
Chris Dodkin
West Coast Correspondent
Nice bounce flash example Tim
Darren - I think daughters and grand daughters go through phases of being interested and completely dis-interested in having their pictures taken.
As a family photographer, you just have to have thick skin, and keep snapping! LOL
Darren - I think daughters and grand daughters go through phases of being interested and completely dis-interested in having their pictures taken.
As a family photographer, you just have to have thick skin, and keep snapping! LOL
Tim Pindar
Well-Known Member
Too true... I think Christmas Day is an occasion when the usual "attitude" is put away for the day.
