Intrigued by 430ex

[_andyjb]

Hi everyone

I was worried that my 430ex had broken as i couldn't get it to 'work' automatically, ie recognising focal length, maximum distance measurement etc. I was really getting worried. It was only when i put it back down to zero degrees elevation that it did all it's things.

Now i can understand why it shouldn't give distance measurements if i was bouncing of a ceiling but can you experts explain why it won't show focal length etc when at any angle other than 0 degrees? Or is it just how Canon have designed it.

Learning about flash and the inverse square law is a challenge albeit very interesting

thanks

Andy

 

[david1701]

the zoom is set up to match a zoom lens, it resets when you bounce as its not matching a zoom lens and would probably screw up trying

they're lovely flashes

 

[kmiragaya]

That's how it's designed. The flashes use the focal lens to zoom the flash head accordingly and avoid wasting light and power. That doesn't make sense if you are bouncing.

 

[_andyjb]

Thanks guys. I'm gradually getting my head round it.

 

[HoppyUK]

As above, also the moment you tilt the head you want to be in manual operation so you can control the direction of the flash and also the size of the pool of light it projects.

For example, if you're bouncing off a high ceiling you will want to narrow the beam to get as much range as possible; if it's a low ceiling, you might want to zoom back and even use the wide panel to get the pool as big as possible for maximum softenness.

If you are using a bounce card (which the 430 doesn't have but the 580 does) then you can also use the zoom head facility to alter the bounce-fill ratio.