Hi Tom, Few comments...
In bounce flash, the important point to think about the the *right angle*. You should estimate the best bounce angle by pointing the flash to the middlepoint on the ceiling between you and your subject. Also, with high ceilings use the max. zoom setting (on the flash, not sure it's possible with the 420EX) BlueSky wrote: > It also depends on how far the subject is from the flash, and the amount of > ambient light available. The GN on the flash indicates full-power output, > which may not be reached depending on the exposure needed. If you're just > 1-stop under-exposed in M mode, the flash output will be less than if you're > 2-stops under, for example. So, always try to use faster films for flash > shots. No, no, no. In M mode you control ambient exposure. If you have -1, 0 or +2, it will be from the existing light in the place. The flash output will be THE SAME ([*] see below) regardless of the ambient exposure As Julian wisely said, ETTL Flash is reflective, and based on a subject with 18% reflectance. That means, that your flash will try to produce a exposure such that the subject comes out as a 18% shade. Here is where you introduce FEC (flash exposure compensation) to control the flash output to fit your needs. (*) Well, if you're over EV 10 (125f/4 ISO 100 and equiv) , the 'automatic fill-in flash exposure compensation will start to work, but that's another story and I suppose you're speaking about indoor flash, where it's not so easy to reach those light levels. > > > * If shooting in vertical mode, where should I point the flash, if I want > to bounce? Do I swivel it up? Combine swivel with tilt? Bounce off the > wall instead? Or should I just get a flash bracket and not worry about > that? > If you bounce from the ceiling you give your subject a "light shower" (usually darkening the features of the face) , if you bounce off a side wall you give him/her/it side lighting (can be interesting). If you bounce off the wall behind you, then you give _____ soft front lighting. You decide. There're no rules. > > * What is the usefulness of flash diffusers in your opinion? I guess this > is a hard question, because some people love Omnibounce, others are > disappointed. Same is true with the Lumniquest series. > I had a Lumiquest Softbox when I had the 380ex I loved it. When I got the 550ex I couldn't find any, so I went for the Omnibounce. Not very happy with it, as it's usability is limited to certain places (where you have a nice white ceiling to bounce off, and close walls to provide a surrounding lighting. In those case it's really good!). Now I got another Lumiquest. Happy with it as before and asking forgiveness of our separation ;-) ;-) ;-) !! Just a tip here: In the same conditions mentioned before for the Omnibounce (close while walls and ceiling) placing the 17mm diffusor on the 550ex provides a wonderful soft surrounding light. !! > I've never used any of those commercial diffusers. A couple pieces of > semi-translucent rice-paper plastered to curve in front of the flash head is > cheaper. If going for the DIY way, be sure to separate somehow the diffusing material from the flash head. Very little you do if you put the paper or any other thing just covering the head. What you want to do is to increase the size of the light source. Think of a studio softbox. I hope this helps. Gerard * **** ******* *********************************************************** * For list instructions, including unsubscribe, see: * http://www.a1.nl/phomepag/markerink/eos_list.htm ***********************************************************
