Fill Flash with the Canon 20D?

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

A quick and dirty solution to your problem is to just use the flash. What
many people do is use a reflective card or board on the flash with it's head
turned up so it acts as a bounce flash, bouncing off the card. Sto-Fen make
a diffuser to do the same thing or, in a fix I've been known to resort to
using a white paper bag over the flash head!

Some transparent material used in window drapes is also useful as a
softener. Raw flash, no matter how reduced is not kind to highlights.
Diffused flash is the way to go.

Doug
-----------
"Jerry Shaw" <jnshaw@earthlink.net> wrote in message
newse8uq0le1n89d0nnd91p1oi6eg44nvg4eb@4ax.com...
> I have a new Canon 20D and 580 EX flash. I'm looking for information on
using
> this combination for fill flash.
>

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital,rec.photo.digital.slr-systems (More info?)

Your equipment is a generation newer than mine but I'll offer that program
mode and Av mode will both provide what you want.

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital,rec.photo.digital.slr-systems (More info?)

"Mark B." <mbohntrash54@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:BsudnR_YF_QaaS3cRVn-qw@comcast.com...
> "Charles Schuler" <charleschuler@comcast.net> wrote in message
> news:SqadnRDxRv9MEjLcRVn-tw@comcast.com...
>> Your equipment is a generation newer than mine but I'll offer that
>> program mode and Av mode will both provide what you want.
>>
>
> Program mode will assume the flash is the only source of light for the
> subject and adjust aperture, shutter speed, and flash output accordingly.
> Av will assume flash will light the subject, but adjust shutter speed for
> background ambient light. So I'd say they could be very different
> depending on ambient light conditions.
>
> Mark
>
Actually, ETTL does that in program mode, too...

--
Skip Middleton
http://www.shadowcatcherimagery.com

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital,rec.photo.digital.slr-systems (More info?)

Todd,

t@toddh.net (Todd H.) wrote:

>Jerry Shaw <jnshaw@earthlink.net> writes:
>> I have a new Canon 20D and 580 EX flash. I'm looking for information on using
>> this combination for fill flash.
>
>> Anyone done any flash fill, and have any suggested settings for the
>> Canon 20D?
>
>Howdy Jerry,
>
>The definition of fill flash varies based on lighting condition and
>ISO. Really, what we're talking about is playing with the mixture of
>flash light to ambient light, and in a fill flash situation, the
>desire is to have mostly ambient light, and just a taste of flash to
>punch in the shadows.

My original reason for the post was to get some fill flash on outdoor shots,
to fill in the harsher shadows at a convention I was going to. It was cold
enough outside that day that there wasn't anyone outside.

I used a bit of fill on the stage presentations, however (and thereby hangs a
tale).

>One way to guarantee a given amount of ambient light with just a taste
>of fill flash is to use Tv modes. Pick a shutterspeed that gives you
>the level of ambient light that looks right, and let the camera fill
>in the rest for proper expsoure. Warning though, your max flash sync
>speed can get in the way here on the top end.

The Canon 20D will sync at up to 1/250. The 580EX has a high-speed flash mode,
that lets the camera know it can shoot above that speed. I set the flash for
that mode, but I don't think I ever used a speed above 1/250. Maybe if I were
outside, I could have used it at 1/1000 or so. Maybe during this Christmas
break, I can get a chance to go to Venice Beach, and photograph some of the
bodybuilders there. That should give me a good chance to test out the higher
speeds in the bright sun.

>Another way is to use P mode and vary the ISO setting. Higher ISOs
>should give you more of an available light mix, lower isos will call
>in more flash to make the exposure.

I made the mistake of using the P mode on the stage pictures I took. The
camera set the speed to 1/60 (with ISO 800) even with the minimal lighting on
the small stage. I had the flash set at -2/3 a stop. The problem I had was
that the contestants were moving quite a bit. And even with the low lighting,
the camera still exposed the stage light pretty well, but exposed the
costumers with the flash. This caused a lot of blurring. Next time, I will go
to full manual and set the speed to 1/125 or 1/200, and let the flash do most
of the work.

Another thing I found out fairly quickly was to not turn on the "safety"
parameter in the camera, as it will change the speed of the Tv mode when there
is not enough light, even if you want the flash to do all the job. With this
setting on, the camera will reduce the speed of the shutter, overriding the Tv
setting. I got a few several second shots this way, when I really wanted to
use 1/250 and the flash for the light.

>Yet another way is to play with exposure compensation. An old trick
>to get more available light and less flash is to go +1 stop on the
>main exposure compensation, and -1 stop on the flash exposure
>compensation.

On the 20D, the camera will attempt to set the speed and F ratio to expose the
background properly (in all modes except manual), even if you have the flash
on. It will then use the flash to expose the subject in the center properly.
So, it is usually better to go -2/3 or -1 on the camera, then +1 or so on the
flash, to fill the subject properly.

Supposedly, the Canon has an auto-fill when the flash is on that will drop the
flash power in lighter scenes, to just a fill level. That is why I need to
take a lot of outdoor shots and determine the best fill settings in sunlight.
I may go up into the mountains in the forest, to get some harsh shadows to try
the best settings.

>I'm not sure there's any one setting that'll work best regardless of
>the situation. Try P mode on ISO 200 for starters, and tweak from
>there.

With P mode and flash, at any ISO, the shutter speed is limited to 1/60 to
1/250, and the aperture is adjusted accordingly. So I'll probably use a fixed
Tv mode, at 1/1000 or so to stop the action, then use the highspeed flash mode
for fill. I may even set the camera in full manual, exposing for the sun, then
using the flash for fill. That's probably the way I'll go when I go to the
next Muscle Beach competition, as the sun is usually bright all day.

>Best Regards,

Thanks for the information,

>Todd H.
>http://www.toddh.net/

Jerry