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Photography Question 

Heather R. Morgan
 

Canon's wireless flash system not working ... ?


Hi folks;

I posted last week on the business questions site (http://www.betterphoto.com/forms/QnAdetail.php?threadID=13642) and was given the same advice as I had received from several other people - if I wanted to do studio work for babies and toddlers, to get a wireless flash system. I purchased the Canon system for my Canon 300D - the 580 as master and two 420's as slaves, along with stands and umbrellas for the slaves. I read the manual with a fine-toothed comb and did everything it said to do, but in E-TTL mode the images still had huge variance in flash output. So I called the store back and asked for help (I had gone with a local, slightly more expensive store for that exact reason!) They said, 'yes, you'll always have problems with variance in E-TTL mode, put it into manual mode and then you'll be able to moderate it yourself. So I did. And yes, I could moderate it myself, but the 420s wouldn't fire anymore. Checked the test-flash and they were both working, fiddled around with several dials, looked at the manual again and low and behold I find out that the wireless system doesn't work in manual mode. Now, I bought these on Wednesday and I have a total of 14 days for full refund.

What I'm wondering is - is there something I'm missing - some magic way of making this flash system achieve guaranteed reproducable images, or should I take it back and get monolights and just learn to deal with the cords? I have nightmares about some beefy toddler pulling over a $600 light, but on the other hand, spending $1700 CDN on these three Canon flashes and not having any guarantee that my images will turn out is more than I can cope with!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


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January 23, 2005

 

Andy
  Heather,

Did you put the camera on manual exposure mode or the flash on manual mode? If you put the camera on manual, the wireless ETTL should work. If you put the flash on manual mode, the wireless system won't work. I just tested with a 550EX on my 1v with a 420EX slave. Give it a try. Hope this helps.


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January 23, 2005

 

Heather R. Morgan
 
 
 
Both. I was already working with the camera on manual exposure mode and wasn't pleased with the vast difference between photos - it was as if the flash metering was still deciding the power output, which was not what I wanted (see the attached two photos, taken one after the other with no change in manual settings). Any other suggestions to try?


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January 24, 2005

 

Andy
 
 
 
Suggestion one: Almost all images taken with digital camera need some post processing. At least some basic level adjustment. I took the liberty to download one of the thumbnail pics and using a PhotoShop Limited Edition 5.0 to make a slight level adjustment (move the slide bar on the brightness side from 255 to 165) and voila.

Suggestion two: Your flash may be too far away from the subject. Move the flash a little closer (usually around 4 feet away from the subject).

Suggestion three: Use f4 instead of f5.6.

Hope this helps.


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January 24, 2005

 

Andy
  Please disregard the information under the pic I uploaded. I have to select a 'camera' before I can upload the pic. I just randomly picked one of my cameras.


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January 24, 2005

 

Heather R. Morgan
  Thanks for the time you took to change that for me, and for your suggestions. Unfortunately suggestion three requires buying a new lense, which I know I need, but can't afford this week at least. I was confused that given that both flash units were within four feet from gun to the subjects flash that I still had problems.

I will keep working at it - I'm not going to get it all overnight, but appreciate your help in picking apart this problem at least.

Thanks!


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January 24, 2005

 

Andy
  You do not necessarily need a new lens. You have not mentioned which lens you are using. I am assuming you extend your lens to the maximum, and thus f5.6. You can come closer to the subject and retract the zoom so you can use f4. Just a suggestion. If you are not using direct flash on the subject, as you said you were using your 420EX on light stand with umbrella, you can bring the light source closer (3 feet, 2 feet). Just keep trying.


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January 24, 2005

 

Peter
  Just as an idea, I'd recommend getting another lens anyway. The Canon 50mm f/1.8 is like $70, and will open up a whole new range of options.

Anyway, there are a number of things that will give you inconsistent results. The biggest, is the autofocus point at work. E-TTL works by giving the most consideration to the specific autofocus point being used. So, if you just let the camera pick the points, it might be picking different points every time. Since you're shooting on a white background, if it autofocuses over the background, you'll be way underexposed. If you autofocus over the subjects, the subject will be properly exposed, but you'll blow out the background (a good thing, in my opinion). Also, if you use the center focus point, like I do, and recompose the shot, it will fire the flashes based on where the focus point ENDS UP, not on where it started. Try using the Flash Exposure Lock (point the center at what you want to be exposed properly and hit the * button). Good luck.

Oh, and the 300D doesn't have a PC Terminal for external flash, so you actually have to use the speedlights unless you upgrade to the 20D. Good luck.


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June 08, 2005

 
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