Flash is a device which provides additional light to a scene. It can be used to help fill in a dark area of a photo, to provide light if there isn't sufficient light to begin with, or it can help to improve the composition of a particular photo, by creating your own source of light.
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Advantages of TTL over manual mode when using speedlites
Yesterday a user on stackexchange asked me why do I prefer manual over TTL when working with speedlites. I use them mostly off-camera and I've developed a kind of a workflow where I do not walk back ...
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3answers
333 views
Quick way to disable the flash (Speedlite) on a Canon without switching off?
I have a 430 EX mounted on a 450D/XSI.
Is there any easy way to quickly disable the flash for a shot, without turning it off, as you have to wait for it power up again.
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2answers
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Why does my old Quantaray flash not work on my newer Canon DSLR?
I have an older Quantaray QTB-7500A flash with the Canon TTL module. I used this with my old Canon EOS Elan 35mm which died a few years back. I recently bought a Canon Rebel XSi, because I could use ...
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1answer
557 views
Main differences between the Nikon SB-600 and SB-700?
I am a total newbie when it comes to flash, and I am looking to buy an off-camera flash for my Nikon D80. The main choices for an amateur like me seem to be the SB600 and SB700. What are the main ...
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4answers
5k views
How do I light a photo booth with a single flash and an umbrella?
I run a photobooth for a friend at a party for a side job and last night we came across a predicament. We only were able to use one flash on a tripod, instead of the usual two, along with the camera ...
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1answer
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When would you use CTS (Straw) gel instead of CTO?
The Roscolux sampler pack contains several strengths of both CTO (Color Temperature Orange) and CTS (Color Temperature Straw?). The CTS seems to be a bit yellower than CTO.
What situations would you ...
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2answers
818 views
What flash slaves can be used with a Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT?
My current flash setup is a standard shoe mount but I've been thinking about getting a remote.
I've been drooling over the Speedlite 600EX-RT. It uses radio to control slaves, which is nice (longer ...
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1answer
111 views
image metadata - flash mode values
the 'flash mode' is saved in the image meta-data as a number, what does every value mean in words? How can it be parsed? is their any documentation for this?
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3answers
316 views
Flashgun for Nikon D60 and F5
So, I'm a massive fan of Nikon gear. I've got a D60 which is pretty lovely, and I've recently bought a 2nd hand F5.
However. The flash on the D60 is feeble, and there's no builtin flash on the F5. ...
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2answers
2k views
How do I manually calculate fill flash?
My main flash is a Nikon SB-24, used on a Nikon D200. Hence, iTTL doesn't work. I've had no issues using A-mode (the thyristor in the flash determines flash output) or M-mode (manual on the flash) ...
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1answer
231 views
Can an E-TTL II cable trigger a speedlite in Manual mode
Essentially, if you own an E-TTL II (or presumably iTTL) cable of a certain length/type, is there any reason to also own a manual PC-sync cable of a similar length/type, or can the camera be fired in ...
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1answer
467 views
How do I repair a detached SB600 flash head tilt/rotate lock-release button?
The rubber cover that I press to tilt/rotate the head of my SB-600 flash has come off after years of abuse, and it looks like the original adhesive has dried out.
Can anyone recommend some ...
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2answers
163 views
Why do my Cybersyncs fire my Sunpak flashes with the test button, but not the shutter release?
During wedding receptions, my Sunpak 383s fire very inconsistently. Every time I press the test button with the Cybersyncs, they fire every time. When I press the shutter button, they don't fire.
...
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2answers
187 views
Can Nikon flashes display flash power used right after a shot was taken?
I'm trying to compare two camera bodies (Nikon D90, Nikon F100 (digital and film)) with respect to TTL flash power in different situation. I came to know that few Canon flashes can display the flash ...
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3answers
361 views
How long will the bulb last in the flash of a compact or DSLR?
Compact cameras and DSLRs have built in flashes. And DSLRs have external flashes that you can attach.
How do I know how long the bulb in the compact camera flash will last? (e.g. how many more ...
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5answers
366 views
What is needed for a photoshoot in a concert?
I have been invited to take some photos from an ensemble in a conservatory. I do photography a lot, but mostly outdoors and this is going to be my first experience.
I have a Canon 50D with 2 lenses: ...
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6answers
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How do I get this fashion photograph effect?
I found an interesting fashion photograph and I want to recreate the effect.
I know for a fact that the pictures are taken in complete darkness using a Canon XSi, the built-in flash, and some ...
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3answers
949 views
Why are there white dots on my night time photo?
Could you please explain why I am getting white semi-transparent dots for night photography with flash on?
Original image here.
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3answers
297 views
Why doesn't narrowing the aperture have the same effect as lowering the flash power?
I have a small doubt here. I'm no strobist and just got my first flash (Canon 430ex II Speedlight). While I was playing around, I found that narrowing down the aperture DOES NOT have the same effect ...
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2answers
224 views
What is an independent flash called?
By "independent flash" I mean a flash which is not attached with the camera by default.
What is the technical name for it?
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7answers
439 views
Is this sensor ghosting, or something else?
I recently took some shots of a house fly, primarily for use in a simple case study of print sharpness that I posted here. Several of the shots turned out fairly well with flash, however they all seem ...
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2answers
224 views
Can using an old flash damage a new DSLR if it never fired?
my daughter found my old flash (20+ years old) and tried it on her canon T3i. It didn't recognize it and it never fired, but she tried the shutter button. Could this have damaged her camera even if it ...
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4answers
461 views
How can I use a flash indoors with a really high roof?
I am using a Nikon D3200 with SB-700 flash. Typically, when taking pictures indoors, I bounce the flash off the roof or the walls. However, I will soon be in a situation where the roof is too high to ...
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3answers
1k views
Are there any major drawbacks to buying a used flash gun?
I'm looking to buy my first external flash to use on my Canon 350d (which I bought used — no problems). Most likely this will be a Speedlite 430EX II.
Looking on Ebay, it looks like I can save over ...
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3answers
953 views
Why does using my slave flash darken the image?
Why does my slave flash at full power actually seem to darken the image?
The camera (Lumix G1) is set to M-Mode, forced flash at -2, f6, 1/30s.
I set my external flash (Nissin Di466 FT) to slave mode ...
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2answers
222 views
Why photos taken with flash appear to have less noise?
I have not verified this on pixel-peeping level. But I have observed that photos taken with flash (built-in one in my case) appear to have very less noise at ISO 800/1600 than the ones taken without ...
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3answers
250 views
Are super cheap flashes worth it?
Is YN-460 Yongnuo worth it? Found it for 34 EUR http://bit.ly/GE1Tdp
Fist of all: is it so cheap I will regret I bought it and just withdraw using it?
In my understanding and for I would use ...
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2answers
519 views
What batteries are best suited to Battery grips?
I have a Battery grip that will add an extra 1fps when used with AA batteries instead of the standard Nikon camera battery. This takes 8 bateries at once
I currently use AA Energizer rechargable ...
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3answers
2k views
What is the best way to trigger a canon 550 EX speedlite in a studio
I want to try my hand at off camera flash for some indoor portraits. How should I trigger the speedlite (Canon 550ex)? Should I go for wired/wireless? What's the difference between TTL cable an PC ...
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2answers
1k views
Can i use my old Canon Speedlite 2777T with my new 5D Mark II
Actually it's my dad's lens that he bought many many moons ago to use with his old Canon T70. I dont have a flash but have borrowed his to try out, but he mentioned that some flashes will send too ...
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2answers
245 views
What is term for the opposite of “Dragging the Shutter”?
My first helpful experiments with flash started after taking a seminar with Scott Kelby on the subject. I don't recall him mentioning dragging the shutter (but he may have). But, I do recall him ...
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1answer
208 views
What is the smallest option for a flash that can also bounce?
I have a full size Canon flash, which has a flash head that "can be moved up from 0-90°, left from 0-180° and right from 0-90°". This is a necessity for me in a flash to properly bounce the flash on a ...
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4answers
466 views
How to use a flash on the red carpet without interference?
When I have used flash at semi popular events, from time to time my flash overlaps with others and the image either turns out extremely overexposed, or an odd color(gels?). How do photographers at ...
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4answers
530 views
Does adding additional strobes cumulatively add to the flash power?
I've been reading articles that talk about using multiple strobes next to each other, all pointing in the same direction: as a means to add more light over what one flash can do.
Does the addition of ...
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2answers
197 views
Is it possible to have a hybrid lighting setup with flashes and studio lights?
From what I've read so far, one the decision you have to make when interested in lighting work is either going with flashes or studio lights.
Can we use both at the same time ?
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2answers
125 views
Will my SB-600 work off camera with any camera?
I own a Nikon SB-600 flash and no camera. Now, looking for a new camera, I want to know if I could trigger the flash from another non-Nikon camera body.
I never use it on camera and therefore I ...
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1answer
115 views
How can I get started with a first flash gun?
I just got myself a flash gun for my dSLR. I realise that I don't quite know what to do with it. What should I do to get used to it, and to learn about how to get the most out of it?
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1answer
389 views
Should my flash zoom match my lens focal length or its 35mm equivalent?
I have a camera with an APS-C sized sensor. Should my flash zoom match my lens's actual focal length or its 35mm equivalent?
I am hoping that someone can shed some scientific light to this matter.
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4answers
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What are some budget flash options for the Canon 1000D?
Could you kindly suggest an external flash for 1000d within 100$ to 150 $.
My main interests are portraits and wedding.
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3answers
261 views
How do I get started with off camera flash in the Canon ecosystem?
This is a very basic question, and I have looked through different resources including the Strobist Lighting 101 tutorial and a few books (Scott Kelby, Neil van Niekerk). Some of the limitations I ...
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2answers
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I cannot open the internal flash on my Canon 60D camera; how do I fix it?
I tried opening the internal flash on my Canon 60D camera the other day and it didn't open at all. I couldn't understand why. After messing around in the menus, I found out that the camera thinks that ...
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2answers
318 views
Are there any tricks to make a pop-up flash suck less in low light?
I'm taking a lot of low-light indoor shots of moving subjects. I hate a the default flip-up flashes of most moderns DSLRs (in my case, a Canon 60D), but this is typically a point and shoot situation ...
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2answers
2k views
How to use old flash units with Digital SLR?
I got some old flash units (e.g. Metz 30bct-3) that I won on eBay along with some older slr cameras. The flash units are in good condition. I thought of using them with my Canon 600D but heard about ...
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2answers
269 views
How are power levels automatically determined when using multiple speedlights with CLS?
If I take a picture with an on-camera flash, or a single speedlight, my understanding is that the camera/flash pre-fire and then automatically select the approrpriate power level to properly expose ...
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1answer
92 views
Is it possible to manually controll the flash while using the BULB manual exposure setting on a Canon XSi?
To explain a little more, I want to be able manually set off the flash more than once for the purpose of having a double exposure while shooting in manual exposure mode. Is there a way to do this ...
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2answers
269 views
Flash gun or some other light source?
I'm looking for some piece of advice from more advanced fellow photographers with regards to the artificial 'daylight' sources.
I'd like to be able to some pictures of kids at home. Unfortunately the ...
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1answer
511 views
Can the D800 built-in flash be used to trigger slave flashes only?
Without itself emmiting light during the exposure?
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3answers
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How does TTL flash work in manual exposure mode?
I got the Metz 44 AF-1 flash recently that is TTL capable for my Canon 550D, and have been reading around to get a better understanding of using flash on-camera (Neil Van Niekerk's article on flash ...
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4answers
360 views
Flash on Nikon d50 broken, need to set up correctly
Nikon D50 comes with built in flash now it's not been firing for a while and its impairing the camera's usability. I've now changed to a speed-light but seems that the two different flashes have a ...
5
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2answers
213 views
Should my Nikon D3100 adjust settings to allow for use of flash in AP or SP mode
When I'm shooting with the onboard flash in low light conditions, I observe the exposure preview settings between no flash and the flash popped up - there appears to be little or no difference between ...
