Canon 220EX and EOS 5D MkI... Help needed!!!

[captures.in.time]

Hi

A long time ago when I had a Canon EOS 3 Film SLR I decided I needed a flash... and I bought the above mentioned 220EX.

This flash is ok I think... but to be honest I've never really used it apart from a bit of basic flash togging of people at a party...

Now im doing a 52 and feel if I'm going to be shooting stuff in the house... still life etc... experimenting with water drops etc... I could do with a flash... but will this do??? Or is it just a monkey that's only good for a bit of basic stuff and fill in... basically all you would expect from a pop up flash???

Any tips by anyone on how to use this flash more creatively... can I use it to bounce flash if I take it off the camera via a cable... can you get a difuser for it...

And actually... where is the best place to read for some basic learning on flash togging?

Mark

 

[HoppyUK]

That flash is very limited. It points directly forward, that's it I think.

You could use it off camera with a cord, providing you can control it from the camera. Does it have that facility with the 5D? There's also a little diffuser that Gary Fong makes, which you could press into service if you know what you're doing, but it's not ideal. Here's a pic http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgu...C4Dg&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:0

All in all, I think you might be better getting the much more versatile 270EX for £100 (great little gun) or maybe the Metz 50AF1 which does most things for a reasonable price, including high speed sync.

The place to go for strobisty stuff is www.strobist.com

 

[THE-BIG-MAN-SAYS]

You could try making a diffuser first ie from a milk carton and tape on...then see if you are happy before pruchasing...

A cheap Yong Nuo 460 Mk II from ebay is <£40...so is another consideration...add a £25 pair of Yong Nuo 602s triggers and you are good to go in manual off camera...a bit more veratile...

STEVIER

 

[captures.in.time]

Ok... Lame question i know... I take it high speed sync is the camera flashing at the same time as the shutter releases!?

 

[HoppyUK]

Ok... Lame question i know... I take it high speed sync is the camera flashing at the same time as the shutter releases!?

With High Speed Sync, you can use any shutter speed above the camera's normal x-sync maximum (1/200sec in the case of a 5D) right up to 1/8000sec.

It changes the way the gun issues the light, basically turning it from a very brief flash into a burst of continuous light, just long enough for the shutter to complete its full cycle. As a result, much of the power is wasted (and more is wasted as the shutter speed rises) but there is usually still enough for things like fill-in flash in bright sun, which is extremely useful, provided you keep the distance quite close, don't try and bounce it etc.

Google focal plane shutter for an explanation of how it works, and why normal x-sync is limited to slower shutter speeds.
Edit: here's a little video http://www.pocketwizard.com/inspirations/tutorials/pocketwizard_controltl_optimiz/