Hugo
If you do not really need multiple Canon EX flashes for anything
else but your home studio then don't waste your money.
I know it is great technology and looks/sounds cool but for
taking ordinary portraits at home you don't need that.
TTL flash technology may be beneficial in some cases though I
believe, see below.
If you have the money and want to spend it then the EX
flash system is great I bet. Although, I would make sure that
all flashes can be set to manual output mode (does EX420 allow this
with/from the master EX550 ?).
I have a simple and cheap home studio which I can build up
in 30-60 minutes:
I use three electronic flashes but no modeling lights.
I also have a 1.6 meters wide backdrop hanging in the ceiling on
which the model(s) can walk/sit (e.g. in a chair). 1.6 meters is
too narrow but I can't fit a significantly bigger one, I'm working
to get a new one though.
The main flash is an old Canon T299 which is connected (adapter
needed) with a 5 meter cable to EOS-3 PC socket. The flash is
mounted in tripod center column, pointing upwards in manual full
(100% power) mode (GN about 30 at 35mm position?).
I have built a matt reflector which I fit in the tripod head and
tilt it about 45 degrees so that the flash is reflected towards
the subject. Distance from flash to reflector is about 0.5-1
meters. The reflector size is about 0.5 * 0.8 meters or a bit more.
The tripod is normally in the highest position (45 up and 45 degrees
to the right of camera) but depends on situation of course.
The fill flash is a small (gn perhaps 20m, no zoom) and cheap
(100-200 FIM) manual flash with a separate optical trigger device.
This flash has also a similar reflector and is fitted in the same
way as the main flash but is located lower and opposite side than
the main flash. I bought a cheap tripod (250 FIM) just for this
purpose.
A separate slave trigger device is not the best solution because:
1) it may be more expensive than the flash (was in this case at least)
2) You may need some adapter to connect it to the flash and
3) it does not trigger with all flashes properly. In my case
it only works with one of my flashes (not e.g. the Canon flash).
It may flash once but to make it work for the second shot the
flash has to be manually triggered first.
Last time I also used a third flash for the background (which became
earlier almost black with my dark backdrop). The flash has a built-in
slave sensor and has GN of about 20m. This second hand flash was
also around 200FIM only, so really cheap.
I use a flash meter (Gossen Sixtomat Flash, about 1500+ FIM new) to
measure the flash. To meter the average I point the flash meter
towards camera position. To measure the contrast I point the flash
meter towards the main or fill flash and often adjust the exposure
so that the difference in flash meter readings is about 1.5 stops.
In most cases the lens aperture has been 5.6-8 (ISO 100 film).
Be aware that if the room is small and has white walls the reflected
light is also significant so even when the flash ratio is measured
all flashes should operate.
The main flash is always at full power and maybe 2-2,5 meters from
the subject. The fill flash is perhaps 1-1.5 meters from the model.
To adjust the fill and background flashes I either move them or
place a paper handkerchief in front of the flash (with rubber band).
A white paper handkerchief is practical since they have usually
several layers and the output can be adjusted by removing/adding the
layers. Be sure the direct light from the fill flash does not reach
the subject (some shade may be required).
Some modeling lights could also be built but maybe in that case
studio flashes or EX-flashes (in manual mode) might be more
practical (yet much more expensive).
Even if a flash meter may sound expensive it usually can be used as
an incident light meter for available light as well. And sometimes
an automatic flash simply does not work well so you have to use
manual mode anyway.
Life could be easier if my flashes had manual power control but
you can live without as well if you don't use your the studio very
often.
I have used NiMH accus successfully and with a good charger
they are easy to use (I use NiMHs in my BPack-E1 as well).
Thus not a fancy system but works well for me. Building it the
first time took days but after that it is easy to use.
I've only photographed children so far and the only problem with
my setup is that the area where the models can be (to get the
desired results) is not very large (since the flashes are quite
close to subject). Things get easier if the model(s) can be fully
controlled or they are e.g. sitting in a chair.
In that kind of case an automatic TTL flash system might be a
bit easier, if nothing else but at least the overall exposure level
would be fine even if the model goes close to one of the flashes.
But the results (the contrast) would be something else but the
expected anyway. In my case, with a narrow backdrop, close manual
flashes have never been a real problem. The bigger problem usually
is the too narrow backdrop itself.
Also since the room walls (and ceiling) are white the light is
always very soft, so to be "creative" I might need some black
room/reflectors and more controllable (spotty) lights.
regards Vesa
> > You might want to do slight adjustments and see what
> > the difference is. TTL metering will level most of
> > your sophisticated light. Precise, reproducable manual
> > settings preserve it.
>
>This I believe. But so far the setups that would allow me to do that are
>either very expensive and don't include the 550EX I already have, or would
>mean that I buy several 550EX's, which I consider too expensive and would
>like to go with some 420EX's if possible.
>
>Best regards,
> Hugo.
>
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