Thread: First Time Using Off Camera Flash
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Old 07-20-2008   #34 (permalink)
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Default Re: First Time Using Off Camera Flash
Quote:
Originally Posted by BeckyC View Post
Mark,
I know Strobist very well. It's a great site. But since David Hobby never seems to use a flash meter, I still need help. I guess where I get lost is when it comes to metering ambient, then knowing exactly where my flash settings should be. For instance, with these group images I metered the ambient with my meter on ambient mode and the shutter speed at (a too slow) 1/125. The meter gave me an ambient reading of f/8. Next I changed my meter to flash mode, kept it at 1/125 but what should my goal have been for the f/stop? I believe I ended up at f/11 but adjusting the flash output.
Becky,

If you have enough flash power you can use 1/8th of a second for your exposure. Remember the shutter speed controls the ambient light and the flash controls the aperture. This can be adjusted by increasing the f-stop (stopping down) and slowing the shutter speed to adapt to the stopped down f-stop. So if you have a daylight scene that is 1/250th of a second at f-8 you could go to f-11 at 1/125th of a second and get the same results. You just need the additional power to boost the f-stop to compensate for the for the slower shutter speed. Additionally, if you can go faster than 1/250th of a second you can go a more wide open f-stop which requires less power from the flash. Sounds confusing but it works the same as the f-stop shutter combination for any exposure. Just need to figure out how to meter the flash.

Really simple concept to put into action with awesome results. The best part is you won't have the ETTL exposure problems when metering black or white objects. The camera is not thinking for you. You are actually doing photography on your own.

As far as the comment by one of the guys about the ETTL shutter speeds, the top of the line Canon cameras will for the most part sync at any shutter speed the camera has if the Canon flash is used. For example my EOS 1D will sync at 1/16,000ths (16 thousands of a second) with the 430, 550 or the 580 flash. Which allows you the freedom to do anything you want.
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