[ghporter]

I have a question for anyone familiar with Canon DSLRs, particularly their Rebel XTi. I bought an LED ring flash to do some close up photo documentation with my Rebel XTi, and so far, I can only get the flash to work when the camera is the M (fully manual) mode. While this is not a major issue for me, I can't find anything in the documentation for either the camera or the flash that says "the XTi will only trigger the flash when in the M mode." Is that the case?

No, it's not a Speedlight. It's a no-name flash, which if I can get it working will help me establish whether or not I need to spend a LOT of money on a Speedlight or other "compatible" brand-name flash.

[subego]

I perked up when I saw this, since I'm a Canon whore, but I'm all about the hot lights.

As an aside, should I report you for posting in the wrong forum?

[mattyb]

Is there a Mode on the flash? I have a Metz POS flash that needs to have the mode set both on the flash and the camera.

[iMOTOR]

If you look at the part that slides onto the cameras hot shoe (flash connector on top of camera) is there on metal dot in the middle with four metal pads below or just a metal dot in the middle?

Your camera won't fire a unit that it can't communicate with.

[ghporter]

The flash has no real "mode" selections. It has only the single contact in the middle. That tells me that it should at least fire when the camera's shutter goes, but then that would only be true if the camera wanted the external flash to fire.

As far as I can tell, there's no real difference between LED and xenon in terms of how the box works when it's triggered. It is simply a hotshoe mount that should get its trigger from the camera. Choosing an LED flash is really just my attempt to keep things cooler when doing macro shots.

With the other possible forums not jumping out and saying "camera stuff goes only here!!!", and as this is a minimally technical question, I decided to risk being reported... I hope that pays off!

[Jawbone54]

Avoid making a commotion, just as you wouldn’t stir up the water before fishing. Don’t use a flash out of respect for the natural lighting, even when there isn’t any. If these rules aren’t followed, the photographer becomes unbearably obstrusive.

- Henri Cartier-Bresson,
"American Photo", September/October 1997, page: 76

[subego]

Words to live by.

IMO, the best feature of the MkIII by far is "quiet mode".

[ghporter]

For portrait and action shots, I will definitely get a more professional flash. This is for what you might call "still life" stuff; jewelry designs, mainly.

Getting good, even lighting without a huge setup is hard when you're shooting something that fits on a lady's finger, like a ring. I have a small diffusion light box (a pop up type) but with the right amount of background and fill light, I still need front light to bring out details. The XTi's built in flash is NOT good for this.

I had hoped the ring flash would be simple enough to use that I could just hook it up and let my wife do the shots she wanted without a bunch of fiddling, but it'll be a bit more complex than that. We're up to those challenges, but simple would have been better.

[mattyb]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

- Henri Cartier-Bresson

No apologies for digressing, but did you know that Cartier-Bresson would not be able to do what he did in modern day France due to the laws now in place?

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

No apologies for digressing, but did you know that Cartier-Bresson would not be able to do what he did in modern day France due to the laws now in place?

Ridiculous, isn't it.

By far my favorite photographer.

[subego]

Fill us in!

[ghporter]

I'm betting it's because he was a "street photographer," because much of his work features candid images of people "on the street" (or at the beach, etc.) while they're just being themselves. In the US, if you're out in public and you don't actively say "don't take my picture," you're essentially fair game (with exceptions for creepy stuff like photographing up people's clothes...), but the French Government seems to have different ideas about...just about everything.

[mattyb]

In Frog land, privacy is King. You can take pictures of people in the street but you cannot benefit financially unless each subject has signed a release, you cannot put the pictures on display in a public 'area' even if you are not gaining financially - so not on Instagram, Flickr etc. There is a 'news-worthy' clause that gets around this, but certain celebs/politicians have managed to win court cases, I have a feeling that it depends who you are.

Of course with smart phones everywhere, this is proving un-enforcable, but like so many French laws, its still there to catch someone 'just-in-case'.

[subego]

This word... "publique". I do not think it means what the French think it means.

[Powerbook]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

For portrait and action shots, I will definitely get a more professional flash. This is for what you might call "still life" stuff; jewelry designs, mainly.

Why use flash at all for portraits? It turns humans always a bit into wax figures, I think.
Of course I am only a beginner, just got myself a Canon 60D and my first "L"-lens. I like to make pictures without flash in as many situations as possible.

Regards
PB.

[exca1ibur]

I have the 60D also and take 99% of my photos without the flash as well. Which L lenses did you get? I use the 24-105 for just about everything.

[ghporter]

For formal or formal-ish portraits, I may (and that's a big "may") need to provide some extra light. ALL of the formal photos I've had done were with both static and flash lighting, so I'm not thinking about flooding my subject with excess light. I may want extra light on the subject, or maybe just for atmosphere or background separation. But wherever I need that extra light, I will want it properly metered, synced and color corrected, so a quality flash, like a Speedlight, will be useful. I have a line on some decent looking yet inexpensive slave flash units, but I don't know that they will be needed for my limited applications.

My camera is the 400D/Digital Rebel XTi. It came with one lens, an 18-55mm, f 3.5-5.6. So far, I haven't yet decided on what other lens I may need, since the one it came with seems to cover macro to mildly telephoto; it will work for everything I need right now.

[Powerbook]

Originally Posted by exca1ibur 

I have the 60D also and take 99% of my photos without the flash as well. Which L lenses did you get? I use the 24-105 for just about everything.

I have the 70-200 f/4 L which is really fantastic and the 18-135 f/3.5-5.6 IS which is quite solid, too. I was thinking about getting the "2x L" range extender to get rather "cheaply" a 400 mm zoom and also to add some wide-angle lens (not sure which one yet).

The 60D seems like a very good camera - I don't like the flash logic though. I'd like to use an automatic mode and still control globally if I want to use the flash or not. Have to admit though, that I only read 20% of the instruction manual so far...

Regards
PB.

[Jawbone54]

What do you folks have against primes?

[exca1ibur]

I shoot in Manual and AV mostly, because it was the best way for me to learn the camera. The only time I really used Automatic, is to get a start point and then dial in another mode for certain looks. I like the flexibility and still am learning more each time I go out and shoot.

Not a thing wrong with Primes. It's all about the best tool for the job (That you can afford). I have used the 50mm and 100mm primes and they were great, fantastic in the right instances. I tend to do a lot of outdoor shooting and some indoor so I needed a wide range and a decent zoom, so I went for the 24-105, which covers 90% of that for me. There are times when I could use other lenses, but those cases where not as often as I though I'd need them, so for now I'm rocking my single lens and the 60D.

[subego]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

What do you folks have against primes?

Give me the 135 L, and I'm like a pig in shit.

[mattyb]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

What do you folks have against primes?

Primes are great, but when stuff like this is available : Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM Review: Digital Photography Review

Yeah I'm on a cropped sensor, sue me.

[Jawbone54]

My favorite Nikon combination consisted of exactly two lenses:

35mm f/1.4
85mm f/1.4

Canon, of course, has the 85mm f/1.2. [/DROOL]

These days I'm shooting with a Sony A7 with an M-lens adapter, mostly with a Voigtlander 50mm f/1.5, but I'm hoping they make a native 85mm f/1.4 for the E-mount series. So far it's just a bunch of semi-crap lenses.

[mattyb]

You were full frame sensor on Nikon though no?

That 35 on a cropped isn't wide enough for me. I tend to use my Nikkor 16-85mm or my Sigma 150-500mm. The others (Nikkor 35mm f/1.8, Sigma 10-20mm, Sigma 85mm f/1.4, POS 70-200mm) are gathering dust. Tempted by a Sigma 50-150 or a 70-200 f/2.8 but have a feeling that I just want a new toy instead of actually needing a specific lense for those ranges.

Of course some idiot on a Mac forum then posts about Fujifilm's Xwhatever and it gets me thinking if I really need a SLR.

[Jawbone54]

Yes, indeed.

When I was on a cropped sensor, I loved using the 24mm, and found the 35mm borderline useless.

[subego]

To take it to the other end of the scale, as much as I love my 135, I love it that much more on a crop.