 Connie Cossey |
Deciding on a Flash Hi, I've only had my Canon Rebel 2000 for a couple of months, it's my first SLR camera. I got it to take pics of my son playing basketball. I've been using an 80mm-200mm lens with the built in flash. Some of the pictures turn out all right except for the red eyes (I do have my red eye reduction on) but others are kind of dim and not good clear pics. Would you recommed this flash for that also? Thanks a bunch!!
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Connie Cossey |
oops.... the flash in which I am refering is the Vivitar 730 AT auto focus zoom electronic flash.
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Jon Close |
Red-eye is due to the flash light coming from a low angle too close to the lens. The light shines through the open iris of the eye and reflects the red of the retina directly back to the camera. The 730AF has a tilt head that allows for bounce flash, which will eliminate red-eye. If you are outdoors, or in a gym with a very high ceiling, bounce flash is not practical. In these cases you can reduce red-eye with a relatively inexpensive diffuser over the flash head, such as the Omnibounce from Sto-Fen, or the many diffusers/"softbox" attachements from Lumiquest. You can also reduce redeye by moving the flash farther from the lens by using a flash bracket. Your other pictures that appear dim and not clear are because your subject is beyond the effective reach of your flash. The 730AF is one of the more powerful shoemount flashes available. Even so, based on its maximum guide number of 115, the effective useful range of the 730AF is under 20 feet when used with an lens with maximum aperture of f/5.6 and ISO 100 speed film. It's effective range is extended by 1.4x with each doubling of film speed, so with ISO 200 film the range is extended to about 28 ft, 39 ft. with ISO 400, and 55 ft with ISO 800.
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Jon Close |
P.S. Using a diffuser attachment will decrease the effective range of the flash by at least 1/2.
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Connie Cossey |
Thanks Jon for all your help !! Is there a certain flash you would recommed?
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Doug Vann |
I would highly recommend the Canon 420EX flash. It really makes a difference compared to the built-in flash on my Elan 7. If you are using a 200mm lens or setting your lens at 200mm length you may have trouble with most flashes as that may be too long. You would start to loose the effect of the flash.
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Jon Close |
I respectfully disagree with Doug's statement about 200mm lenses. This is not true. The effective range of the flash is a function of its guide number rating, film speed used, and lens aperture only. Whether you use a 50mm or 500mm lens doesn't matter. Flashes do have a restricted angle of coverage, most providing light to area in view of a 28mm lens. If you use a wider angle, such as 24mm or 20mm, then you'll notice dark areas at the sides where the flash light doesn't reach. To use wide angle lenses you need a flash designed to cover that wider angle of view, or use a diffuser or bounce flash to throw the light on that wider area.
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Lora Roberts |
I have the Rebel 2000 and purchased a Quantaray flash that is compatible with the 2000 from the Ritz store here in my area. Much cheaper than the Canon flashes and works wonderfully. It tilts and rotates and at $150 compared to several hundred it has been money well spent.
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John A. Lind |
I disagree with Jon C.'s characterization of diffusion devices in general being able to reduce red-eye risks. They "soften" light and shadow contrast at closer distances and that is their primary function. Unless a particular device also moves the light source farther from the lens, it won't reduce red-eye risk. The reason you are having this problem has already been cited; proximity of flash source to lens. This is a particular problem with the built-in flash units on P&S's and SLR's. Red-eye reduction pre-flashes are just that, a "reduction" method, and IMO they don't work very well. In addition, they cause a horrible lag between pressing a shutter release and when the shutter actually opens, a real problem with "action photography" when anticipation and timing of the photograph are very important. I do agree with Jon C. about external flash units and brackets that move the flash farther away from the lens. This is the only real solution and one of the reasons wedding photographers use flash brackets. They cannot afford any red-eye risk, which increases greatly in dimly lit receptions when people's pupils are dilated wide open. The more distant the subject, the farther the light source must be moved from the lens axis. It's not so much a specific distance from the lens, but the angle formed by light source to subject's eyes to camera lens. Both the external flashes mentioned (Canon's and the Quantaray) are "cobra head" style and move the flash farther from the lens even when mounted in the hot shoe (without using a bracket). It's the reason both significantly reduce the red-eye risk. Regarding the "dim" photographs, the built-in flash or your Rebel 2000 is horribly weak for the typical shooting distances at sporting events. It's not much good beyond about 10 feet at best, especially inside a large gymnasium where the light from flash simply disspiates into a large open space. In the typical home, some light bounces back from the much closer ceiling and walls. In short, you need significantly more flash power for reliably shooting basketball events. I also suspect you are using a slower lens; i.e. its aperture cannot open up that far, especially at the 200mm end of its focal length range. I recommend nothing less than a flash with a GN of 120 with ISO 200 film and would feel more comfortable with a 150 GN. At f/5.6 and ISO 200 film, a GN 120 unit gets you about 30 feet of maximum range and I consider it quite minimalist for what you're doing. Going to ISO 400 film only gains about another 10 feet of range with the attendant grain increase faster films create. By comparison, the Rebel 2000 built-in flash has a GN of 39 (ISO 100, in feet). -- John
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Anand Madabhushi |
I believe the quality of pictures shot with a flash depends on the subject to flash range. You have mentioned about the quality of action shots of your son's game. I suppose you are in the gallery while your son is in the arena.Is the arena well lit with overhead lights?! A powerful flash with fast film and steady hands should give good results. I use EOS 300 and EOS 30. I started with 220ex in 1999 and went on to 380ex in 2000 and very recently to 550ex. I strongly believe that a dedicated flash,though expensive, relates with the camera better than the other flash units. I would suggest that you go for one of these dedicated speedlites. If you can spare the dough, the 550ex is versatile. I am still learning the intricasies of this flash unit.
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Amie Kyte |
Connie, I too have a Rebel 2000 and I really am very new at this wonderful hobby of photography. I had similar problems in nearly identical situations. The better flash seems to be what helped me the most! I bought the Canon 420ex flash online at a very respected store and have been very pleased with my purchase. It gives me greater range and I haven't even learned what I can really do with it yet. Please feel free to email me if you haven't bought anything yet and I'll be glad to tell you the store I bought from. (I'm not sure if I can post "advertisement" on this q & a ??) I paid $164.95 for my 420ex and I've seen it for up to $300! amiekyte@naxs.net is my email!
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John A. Lind |
Other dedicated units to consider are made by Metz, numerous models of which allow the use of SCA-300/SCA-3000/SCA-3002 modules. These modules contain the electronics and a foot with the correct contacts that interface particular camera makes/models to the flash. Build quality of the "SCA" models in the power range we've been discussing is professional grade . . . indeed many pros use Metz gear. Something to consider as you go shopping for a flash unit . . . and a possible alternative to one made by Canon. As you compare prices, don't forget to include the price of the necessary SCA module to the Metz unless the module for your Canon happens to be bundled with it. They're usually sold with the generic SCA-301 foot which only has a center trigger contact. The Metz units I've purchased always came with the generic SCA-301 and had to purchase the dedicated SCA module for my camera system separately. I understand now, that Metz does bundle some of their models with a Nikon or a Canon SCA module. If you find one that bundled, ensure the module is the correct one for your specific model of Canon. Canon has changed their hot shoes over the years and Metz still makes modules for all of them. -- John
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Doug Vann |
The Canon 420EX automatically adjusts the flash to the lens focal length and camera meter reading. The focal length range for this flash is 24mm to 105mm. If you go past 105mm (200mm) you may not get the correct exposure as the flash is built to satisfy 105mm max. The 24-105 range of this flash is right on the back of the flash and adjusts to the lens installed. If you have a zoom lens you can see the LED range on the flash change as the lens is zoomed in and out. I have found that by using a 200mm lens with this flash the picture will turn out but the lighting may be slightly on the darker side.
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Wayne Smith |
I bought Quantaray 7500, dedicated module for Nikon, worked great, got Canon cam, module, would only fire wide open manual, not DEDICATED except to set lens wide open, shutter to 60th. Great on Nikon with bounce, swivel, fill flash built in. False abvertising by maker.
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