I don't ever use flash but I would like to start learning about portraits and lighting. I have a mainly unused Canon 430ex which I would like to use off camera with a softbox or bouncing of an umbrella. I am pretty sure I cannot fire it remotely from either my Canon 6D or 60D without additional hardware. I am a total "flash newbie" so I don't know mych about flash transmitters, etc. What sort of equipment/trigger/transmitter do I need to fire my flash remotely. I figure some sort of a radio control? Recommendations welcomed.
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I use this: http://amzn.com/B002W3IXZW from cowboy studio or if you have more money I would get this: http://amzn.com/B00BBQ8IDS from Pocketwizard which was just released. Many people also praise the inexpensive Yongnuo transmitter/triggers. The 60D even has a built in wireless transmitter. The 60D's built-in flash can act as a controller or commander to multiple, remote wireless flashes. It is a pretty great feature first introduced in the 7D. As far as I can tell, the 430EX will work in slave mode with the 60D in this way. I haven't looked too far into it though to confirm. You can optically trigger with the 60D since it has a built in flash, without any additional equipment. It just isn't all that reliable and requires line of sight. The 6D does not have a built in transmitter unfortunately, or a flash, so you need to either buy a 580ex/600ex style flash or a flash trigger like I linked to above. In essence, if you are looking to use one system with both flashes, you will need to invest in some new equipment. Finally, I would highly recommend buying this book if you are new to flash on the Canon system: Mastering Canon EOS Flash Photography by NK Guy http://amzn.com/B004J4VVN8 A great deal of it is also available here for free: http://www.photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/ |
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In addition to a radio trigger, you might consider an off camera shoe cord. They come in lengths from 1.5' to 10'. They are a very economical option for getting the flash off camera while still retaining TTL capability. This shot was taken using an off shoe cord in a dimly lit banquet hall. I hand held the flash with my left hand about 18-24" away from the camera in my right hand.
If you do buy a cheap wireless trigger, you might as well get this version of the Cowboy Studio radio trigger. For only about six bucks more you get two receivers with the transmitter. Since you will be operating the flashes manually with this setup, another cheap flash with manually controllable power will expand your options exponentially. Using a manual-only trigger: Once you get the power on your flash(es) set in the neighborhood of what you need, you don't need to keep running back and forth to make fine adjustments. Instead, control the flash exposure from your camera with the aperture setting and adjust the shutter speed for the amount of ambient light you want. There's an excellent Strobist blog entry that explains in great detail how to do this. In fact, Strobist is a great place to learn about using flash. The Lighting 101 series covers the basics and the blog covers all sorts of scenarios, uses, and how to get a certain look with off camera flash. He even has a wide selection of articles on how to make your own cheap, DIY light modifiers. With a simple manually adjusted two light setup (plus using ambient sources) you can go from natural looks that aren't obviously carefully lit shots to very dramatic results. The shot below is an HDR combination of two images shot at the same exposure of a restaurant decorated for Halloween. My friend, who is one of the restaurant's owners, was behind the bar for only one of the exposures. Combining the two exposures gives him a ghostly, transparent appearance. There was plenty of ambient light spilling into the room from the large glass windows behind camera left. The overhead lighting was dimmed much lower than normal. One strobe was off camera right at fairly high power pointed at the spooky guy hanging on the right column. The spill from that light provided a lot of fill to balance the ambient daylight. The other flash is on the floor pointed up at the other vertical column decoration, I had a screen between the flash and the camera, but decided to leave some of the spill light in the scene to add to the surreal quality.
This shot was taken a little later. The daylight coming through the front windows had faded and the scene was lit by a primary flash at full power on a table to the right. I stopped down to f/4 to control the flash power. A slow shutter speed (1/4 sec) was used to allow the dim ambient light coming through the front windows to the left of camera to light the background. The overhead lights were dimmed to almost nothing to keep from blowing out the bare bulb in the light fixture.
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This Canon site article: http://www.learn.usa.canon.com/resources/articles/2012/eos6d_builtin_flash_alternative.shtml discussed a nice alternative--a 90ex speedlight which can act as a Master unit with a 430exII as a slave. I have just ordered one to use with my Canon 6D and will see if it works as indicated. I also like that it is quite small, and can act as a built-in flash substitute without the heft of a 430/580/600 speedlight. |
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