Tips on fill flash with 540ez

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I have A2 body and 540ez flash. How do I get a better balance on the fill flashing shooting people indoor or low light situation? When I shoot with "P" mode, the background usually end up too dark, but if I use "A" mode, then I get the blur object. What should I do to get a better balance between the background on my objects? Any advices are great. Thanks, Gabe

-- Gabe (gchoy@aol.com), September 21, 2001

Answers

This seems like a technique question.

Try more sensitive film. And/or brighten the light on the background. Or bounce or diffuse your flash. Or use more than one flash.

Cheers

-- Julian Loke (eosdoc-owner@yahoogroups.com), September 21, 2001.


Thanks for your reply, but maybe my question was very clear. Let me try this again. I used to have 1N (got stolen) and replaced with an A2. With 1N, when shooting with flash light during day time, the user can turn the dial and adjust the background exposure up to +/-3 stops (if I remember it right). Is there a similar function with A2 or is there anyway that I can make that kind of an ajustment? Thanks.

-- Gabe Choy (Gchoy@aol.com), September 24, 2001.

Yes, you can dial the ambient exposure up or down two stops with the A2. In P, Av or Tv mode you take a meter reading (press the shutter half way) and turn the Quick Control Dial on the camera back. You can also dial the flash exposure up or down two stops independently from the ambient metering. But that's not going to do your background exposure much, if any, good in a low light situation.

The problem is, in P mode your shutter speed won't be allowed to get below 1/60 sec. You need to get into Tv or M and set the shutter to something slower while keeping your lens aperture fairly wide open. The you will have to do something to steady the camera, and tell your subjects to stop moving while you're at it.

Wedding photographers do this all the time. Using 1/15 or 1/30 sec shutter speeds to pick up some of the ambient lighting for the background. It's usually not enough for a fully proper exposure in the background, but it's enough to stop it from looking too black.

Or as Julian said, "Try more sensitive film. And/or brighten the light on the background. Or bounce or diffuse your flash. Or use more than one flash." - Those are all good suggestions to your problem.

-- Jim Strutz (j.strutz@gci.net), September 25, 2001.


Thanks Jim for your answer. You did answer my question. :) Too bad that I can't get the sync speed slower than 1/60 in P mode. I will try to shoot in Tv with slower shutter speed. Also, I was reading another message regard to flashlight. Chris wrote this: "With 540Ez flash with D30, I find that M is often easier to set up and control and the exposure is still automatically controlled by the flash." Now, my question is how can this be possible? When shooting in "M" mode, the flashlight output will be only what you set the flashlight at, then you set the F-stop and the shutter speed to match with the flashlight output, just like shooting with studio light. Was he saying that the flashlight will automatically adjust it's power according to your F-stop and shutter speed setting?

-- Gabe Choy (Gchoy@aol.com), September 25, 2001.

I find that when using a flash that M mode is easier as well. But I think he (and I) meant setting the CAMERA to M, not the flash. The flash still uses fully automatic TTL exposure even though the camera is set to manual. This way you can set the shutter speed & aperture to be what you want and still have auto exposure via the flash.

-- Jim Strutz (j.strutz@gci.net), September 25, 2001.


Hi. I shoot with the EOS 5 (A2E) and 540EZ. For 90% of my flash shots, I set the 540 on -2/3 flash exposure compensation. Why? Because I read somewhere that the A2 with the 540 overexposes flash shots unless compensation is used. I took the advice and have been very pleased with the shots.

I agree...to get lighter background in indoor flash pics, use command dial on back of A2 to get up to +2EV compensation for the background.

-- Mark Elam (mjelam51@juno.com), October 02, 2001.


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