Speeddlite 430EX, now what?

Question

I got a Speedlite 430EX that came with my Canon Rebel xti and I don't have a clue as to how to use the thing or why I should use it over the regular built in flash. I did read the manual but i don't know how to apply what it said to my camera. For example.. what is flash exposure lock? What is high speed sync good for? Why would i need a "trail" in Second Curtain Sync? I semi understand bounce flash althogh it doesn't ever seem to do what i think it will. Any tips with that? And why is there a zoom option on the flash? And what wide panel are they referring to? Any help would be godsend, thanks lol. Oh and what is a slave? And while i have a whole stream of questions, why even with the flash on in my house can i not get a even semi decent speed in AP mode. It won't even go over 1/50 ever. Usually it stays alot lower than that, sometimes in the 0'' range.

Answer 1

WOW - You sure crammed a lot of questions into this one!

I got a Speedlite 430EX that came with my Canon Rebel xti and I don't have a clue as to how to use the thing or



Why I should use it over the regular built in flash?
- Because it's stronger, covers a larger area, mounts well above the camera (which amongst other things, reduces red-eye). The 430X will shoot MUCH further then your built-in flash. I generally only use the built in flash as an emergency when I'm going to shoot something and don't have the other flash with me.


What is flash exposure lock?
An advanced feature for locking in exposure. Don't worry about it until you really know a lot about using your flash.


What is high speed sync good for?
In order for a flash to work correctly with your camera, it has to flash in the same amount of time as your camera shutter. High speed sync for a flash actually slows down the flash so it will go off in the same amount of time your camera does. If you flash doesn't have this feature, your camera shutter opens 1/2 way, then the flash fires in this 1/2 frame, in which you end up with 1/2 a photo and the other totally black.


Why would i need a "trail" in Second Curtain Sync?
Another advanced feature. Normally the flash goes off at the beginning of your cameras shutter. So if you use a slow shutter speed on your camera and use flash, your subject is clear, but has a lot of blur too. When you set your flash to trail, the camera opens it's shutter first, then the flash fires just before the shutter closes. This creates that effect where the person is clear and has a trailing blur behind them.



I semi understand bounce flash althogh it doesn't ever seem to do what i think it will. Any tips with that?
Set the camera to "P", set the flash to fully automatic. Let them work it out together. Later you can learn about playing with some more complex settings. The trick here is to make sure you use a white ceiling that isn't too high. Angle the flash a 90 degrees if your are close to your subject or at 45 degrees if you are further away.


And why is there a zoom option on the flash?
The Canon EOS system is designed to work smart. In the old days, the flash put out the maximum amount of power and you adjusted your camera settings to adjust for distance. Today camera equipment is very advanced. When you zoom to wide angle on your camera, the flash will zoom to wide angle. This cause the flash to spread it's light wide to accomodate for the flash. If y ou zoom, then the flash will zoom too. So the angle of light from the flash is narrow and will shoot further.



And what wide panel are they referring to?
The wide panel (semi-transparent piece) makes your flash spread even wider


What is a slave?
A slave is a flash that goes off when another flash goes off. It can be triggered by IR (infrared) or by radio signal. In the case of the EOS flashes, they have a Master/Slave setting. If you have 2 flashes, you can set one as master and the other as slave. So when the master fires, the slave fires at the same time.


Why even with the flash on in my house can i not get a even semi decent speed in AP mode.
Use "P" mode.


It won't even go over 1/50 ever. Usually it stays alot lower than that, sometimes in the 0''range.
Use "P" mode.



After you've mastered using most of the default settings I've mentioned, then venture into more of the advanced settings. Such as using "AV" mode over P mode and then learning about use "M" Manual mode.

Answer 2

Why use the 430EX over the built in?
It has a bounce feature, is more powerful, uses it's own power source.

Flash exposure lock - this is used when you meter with your camera, but want to reposition but keep the same flash level that the camera previously metered for. Every time you press the shutter down half way, not only does the camera meter, but the flash unit does it's own computations to determine how much power it should use.

High Speed Sync - flashes have a maximum shutter speed they can be used with. A lot of cameras are 1/250sec while others are 1/500sec. this is the fastest shutter speed that that the flash can keep up with and still be useful. The high speed sync allows the flash to be used with shutter speeds faster than the "limit". Not all flash units can do this.

Second(rear) curtain - if you use the flash normally, the flash goes off at the time the shutter open. whatever is in the frame is frozen, but if the shutter speed is slow, the camera keeps recording what it is there. Rear curtain makes the flash shoot at the end of the exposure, right before the shutter closes.

Bounce feature - use this when you have a white wall or ceiling to redirect the light. Direct flash on a subject generally leaves a harsh shadowing and the image does not look as good as it could. When you bounc the light(generally at 45 degree angle) the light is dispersed more evenly and diffused, this giving softer shadows and more even light coverage. This generally makes the image more appealing.

Flash Zoom - A zoom head on a flash takes into account the zoom of the lens. this makes the flash more accurate in both power output and direction. If you are shooting a picture at 35mm, you'll need wider coverage than you would if you shoot at 85mm. If the zoom head is activated, it can direct the right amount of power to the right degree.

Wide panel - usually a dispersion or diffusion adapter that comes with the flash for super wide shots. It helps spread the light out at extreme focal lengths like 10mm or 17mm.

Slave flash - can be controlled by a camera or other flash unit in a "commander" mode.

Flash supplements the ambient reading, it does not introduce enough light, long enough to affect the shutter speed. that's why most of he time it will read 1/60th or 1/50th of a second. The meter only cares about what it can see at the time of the reading, not what the flash will do when it fires.

Answer 3

Take a deep breath. Calm down. Now find a quiet place and sit down and read and study the section in the Owner's Manual for your camera on Using Flash. Now read and study the Owner's Manual for the flash. These units are made to work together.

Your camera and flash are both E-TTL compatible. If you have the camera in Auto Mode I think the flash will set the correct shutter speed - but you'd better check. With TTL the camera is metering the flash off the sensor and in effect controls flash duration. This gives you more control over the f-stop you choose - within reason. Its very useful when bouncing the flash off the ceiling. The Owner's Manual for the flash should have a distance chart at various ISO settings and f-stops. Something similar should be on the flash body itself.

You would use zoom on the flash just as you would with your camera lens, especially if you want a narrower flash beam to, perhaps, isolate one area of your subject. The "widepanel" is an option that effectively broadens the angle of coverage of your flash. Used with wide angle lenses (12mm, 18mm, etc.)

A "slave" is an attachment used to fire remote flash units in multiple flash set-ups. Nothing you need to concern yourself with at this time.

For now, IMO, you should ignore high speed synch and 2nd. curtain synch and focus on learning the basics of getting your flash and camera to work together as they should.

One accessory you should have, IMO, is an off-camera bracket for your flash. Canon offers one and there are numerous after-market good quality ones. I've never used a flash mounted on my camera.

When I'm feeling really retro I drag out my Minolta SRT-202 and Vivitar 283 flash and "do it manual". The rest of the time I use my Minolta X-700 and Minolta 360PX flash with the camera in Auto and the flash set at TTL. Yes, you've been getting advice from an old film user.

p.s.: Minolta actually invented off-film flash metering (TTL) when they introduced the X-700. Now its off-sensor flash metering.

Answer 4

Congratulations on your new flash- as you study to apply it, you will start to realize how clever it rather is and how extra suitable to the geared up-in flash. you're much less probable to get crimson eye in flash photos alongside with your new flash, noticeably in case you bounce it off the wall or ceiling. i latterly watched a professional shoot a marriage and reception and she or he in no way as quickly as took a right away flash photograph- continuously bouncing it, regularly right now up on the ceiling. Your new flash has an more advantageous instruction manual form, meaning its helpful attain is larger than the pop up flash. In green mode the shutter speed is sixtieth of a 2nd yet could be set to 2 hundredth of a sec in instruction manual mode, that can help end action while using flash. 2nd curtain sync is a few distance cool- you drag the shutter, meaning pick a slower shutter speed with flash. you will get numerous photographs and it will look like the secondary exposures are trailing the image that become frozen with flash. you want your flash to cover the zoom component to your lens and it could try this immediately or you could set it to lead zoom. in case you have extra suitable than one flash or an infrared transmitter on your insurrection (or the extra state-of-the-artwork Pocket Wizards) , you could set the flash to fireside off digicam despite the fact that if it rather is desperate to slave, or in case you have a numerous flash setup, one set on grasp and one one slave you could fire numerous strobes (flashes). Many execs hate direct flash and carry the flash up extreme at an attitude to offer extra dramatic lights- test, it rather is the way you study and it expenses next to no longer something with digital photographs. extreme speed sync has 2 applications- one to larger freeze action, the different to permit fill flash while taking a portrait exterior and a larger aperture is needed to blur the historic past. A slower shutter speed would enable in too lots mild. i think of the panel would desire to be a diffuser that slides out from the appropriate of the flash head- it softens the sunshine. remember my journey is with a distinctive flash form by ability of Canon, yet they have many similarities. reliable success and save taking photos.