Recent content by RichieRich

I had a similar situation when I discovered the problem. I was filming a skateboarder doing a trick in a warehouse which was pretty well lit. I set up with the camera on manual, including the flash at 1/64 to give me a base power to work from - at the point where I'd take the photo the skater...

Thanks very much for taking the time to do that. Your comments and what you've observed suggest the following: 1) My initial observations seem to be broadly correct. 2) I need to invest more time in learning how to use the 430 EX in order to get the most out of it. While I wouldn't regard...

If you have the chance could you do a quick experiment - with the settings you describe try increasing the camera's ISO until the image starts to become blown out. At that point switch to ETTL and see if it's still blown out. If your flash behaves like my 430EX II you'll find that you can go...

Actually, I will respond because that was useful info - thanks Phil.

Yes, that's entirely possible Steve. Good info.

Thanks for the reply. Sorry, but I don't get the 1/40,000 sec bit. Also, if Canon thinks that a certain power is available with ETTL I'm not sure how the logic of restricting it in manual stacks up. After all, most people have discovered this issue when switching to manual during a shoot...

I was investigating the problem, and I performed more tests after I'd posted, some of which were based on feedback which I'd received. My original findings surprised me, and led me to post here to see if others have encountered similar issues - I've since discovered that they have, both here...

The tests showed that the minimum power available when shooting manually is about 4 stops brighter than that available when shooting in ETTL. Not sure how else I can put it.

The point is - why doesn't manual control provide the user with access to the full range. Actually, in ETTL it goes far lower than 1/128 anyway - hence the 580 doesn't provide you with complete manual control either. It really is an annoying 'feature', which makes shooting manual when very...

We're not the first to encounter this. Interesting speculation that Canon wanted to save digits on the LCD (although I don't really buy this). Then again, 4 stops would take you to 1/1024 - an extra 2 digits...

I did my test shots with a tripod. The flash to subject distance, along with all other variables, was constant. My experiments indicate that the lowest power available when shooting the flash on manual is as much as 4 stops brighter than the minimum power achievable with ETTL. If you hunt...

Absolutely. To be honest I don't usually get tripped up by things like this - I'm one of those people who actually reads instruction manuals etc. But this has me truly stumped. I'll contact Canon and see what they have to say.

Thanks very much for taking the time to provide this info Yv. The point which you raise is a good one, although the flash indicates a zoom of 24mm in both cases. I simply suspect that Canon isn't offering the full range of control that ETTL can achieve - which is annoying as it does limit the...

Thanks, yes, I took a look at that. Although it doesn't indicate how it may be modified for different modes. I've just done some test shots of a wooden door. I upped the ISO to see how the ETTL metering coped compared with manual power control - which I set to 1/64 (the lowest output). The...

You're missing my point about why the minimum power of the flash when set to manual is producing a far brighter image than when using ETTL - all else being equal.