canon flash

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walk-about
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canon flash

Post by walk-about »

Anyone use a Canon 580EX flash unit for herp photography, and if so, pros...cons?

Thanks,


Dave
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justinm
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Re: canon flash

Post by justinm »

I would say that would be overkill unless you're shooting herps from pretty far away, but I use a 430EXII, and it's more than sufficient. I would use the 580 just for the remote use aspect, but not really as a plus for shooting herps, since most of my shooting is with a 100mm, a 580 would be too much.
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Schell
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Re: canon flash

Post by Schell »

I use the 580 ex ii in several capacities for shooting herps. I find it to be very versatile.

Wide Angle:

When paired with my 16-35, it works really nicely with a soft-box as a fill-flash for shooting herp-in-habitat type shots, such as these:

Image

Image

I am also transitioning from using the MT-24ec flash to a set-up that has more punch and versatility

From this:

Image

to this:
The 580ex ii that fires two 320ex slave units on the novoflex bracket.

Image

These are the only shots I've taken with the above set-up so far...

Image

Image

But it gives some really nice, even light (wasn't even using diffusers for these shots), gives of minimal reflections, and allows me to shoot 1/320th in total darkness at ISO 100 at 1/2 power. It also has faster recycling times than my MT-24.

Just for the sake of comparison, here is a shot that I took with just the 580 ex ii equipped with a softbox:

Image

Admittedly, I rarely use the flash at full-output, but IMO its better to have and not need than need and not have.

I hope this helps.

Cheers,

Rob
Aaron Mills
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Re: canon flash

Post by Aaron Mills »

Sorry to get off topic here a little bit, but Rob, what made you choose the Novoflex bracket that you have over the one with the flexible arms? I have been looking at those two brackets myself trying to decide which direction is best.
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Schell
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Re: canon flash

Post by Schell »

Hey Aaron,

I chose the one I did for a couple of reasons:

1) It's enough. What I mean by that with the three flashes (that each rotate and swivel) and the ball-heads I have plenty of degrees of manipulation. The 320's are smaller than 580's but they are still heavy when loaded with 4xAA's. Sight unseen, I wasn't able to determine whether the flexi-arms would be able to hold the weight. Additionally the The arms are just kinda goofy.

2) Durability. Everything on the Uniset is metal (besides the mounting plate and tightening screws) I just simply don't trust the ball-in socket linkages to survive what I put my gear through in the field. I think they are rather gimmicky and I don't trust them. They would probably be fine for studio light field duty, but when sand and dirt and sweat are involved, all bets are off. Additionally the arms are just kinda goofy.

3) Simplicity. With an unlimited plane of manipulation like with the arms, if you bump something and knock it off, its a pain to get it right back perfect how it was before. With the Uniset, once you have it where you want it, you can lock it in and you're good to go until you WANT to adjust something. Additionally the arms are just kinda goofy.

Noticing any patterns? ;).

I'm sure they work great and they certainly offer some advantages over the Uniset in certain situations, but for what I do and how I do it, they're just not for me.

Cheers,

Rob
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crocdoc
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Re: canon flash

Post by crocdoc »

To the O.P.: I use a Canon 580EX with a stofen diffuser and love it.
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Rothdigga
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Re: canon flash

Post by Rothdigga »

I also use the 580 EX II and it seems to work great. A few times at night I've actually used it to light up at 100% a pitch black animal from pretty far away. Not a great photo or anything, but I wouldn't have been able to shoot this Aardvark in South Africa with much else (used a 400mm lens no less) from about 50ft.
Image

So although it's worked great in macro situations, it has also come in handy in other "random" situations that I wanted to capture something with some serious punch. I'm sure I'll need it for some Owl photos or other things later on as well.
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Kevin Price
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Re: canon flash

Post by Kevin Price »

Dave,

The 580 EXII is Canon's most powerful flash. Used in ETTL mode it won't be overkill, even closeup to a subject. The camera will adjust the flash's output. It's an excellent herp flash. The 580 EXII can also serve as a master to a slave of other flashes, such as the 430 EXII. It is very versatile and if you plan to get into using additional lighting in the future, that flash will fit right in. Like Rothdigga said, the flash in manual mode at 100% output is very bright. You never know where your photography will take you. That flash is versatile enough to be used in any situation, not just herp photography. I wish I had two of them.
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chrish
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Re: canon flash

Post by chrish »

I don't shoot Canon, but I have the equivalent powered flashes in the sony system.

I have
- a small pocket sized flash with a GN of 20 (slightly smaller and slightly less powerful than the Canon 270EX)
- a medium sized flash with a GN of of 36 (slightly lower than the Canon 430EX)
- a large flash with a GN of 58 (same as Canon 580EX)

I never use the medium sized flash except when I am using it with the big flash as a dual lighting setup.

I use the big flash for 90% of my herp photos, usually with a Stofen Diffuser and often wirelessly. With modern TTL systems, the flash can be automatically powered down enough to shoot close up. And with a powerful flash, you get faster refresh cycles when using it close up.

I do like the little pocket sized flash as well. It is very convenient for taking in the field where the big flash might be bulky.

Then, of course, the big flash gives you the reach and power necessary to shoot photos in the dark from a distance if necessary. Not often an issue with herps, but with birds and mammals it can make a big difference.

Image
Image
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Brendan
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Re: canon flash

Post by Brendan »

Although I'm usually trying my hardest to do without a flash if I can I do have a 580EXII which I use with both camera bodies (7D and 5DII) . Since the 5DII has no on board flash I tend to use it more with that camera when the situation calls for it but I find myself using that camera very little these days except for portrait type work. The thing I really like about the 7D and 580EX combo is that I can use the on board flash as the master and the 580 as a slave flash. I just purchased a Lumiquest softbox III for the 580 and so far I really like it. I also have the stofen flash diffuser for it but I didn't like the results I got so I rarely use it. I'd say that for the extra money the 580 is a better overall flash than the 430EX which I also have. There are many situations where the extra punch from the 580 really helps.

Rob how the heck do you manage getting setup with the novoflex unit in the field? I imagine it's not something you can just hike around with and set up time has to be several minutes, right? Over the years I really find that the less complex my set up is the happier I am. For a studio type situation I can see the advantage of a nice setup like that but for someone who spends hundreds of hours hiking to remote areas it seems like too much work.
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Schell
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Re: canon flash

Post by Schell »

Hey Brendan,

Yeah it does take a bit of time to set it up - maybe a minute or two - but it honestly doesn't take any more time to set this up than my MT-24 did.

I hike a lot for work and usually, if I'm just taking a quick shot, I'll defer to just the 580ex in the hot-shoe with a soft-box, and will fore-go setting up the contraption. I don't herp to collect data - thats what I do at work, I herp to find subjects to photograph and the data is a bonus, so I don't usually shoot everything that I find and therefore don't hike with camera in-hand.

If it's an animal that I want to do a session with, I'm usually shooting that animal off and on for an hour or more, so the couple minutes to set up the flash isn't a big deal.

If I'm herping, I'm usually cruising and can have this set up in the back seat, ready to deploy, or bag a couple of animals and then shoot them together to save time.

It really just depends. I haven't found it to be an encumbrance and it's worth it to me to get shots that I'm happy with.

Cheers,

Rob
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Brendan
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Re: canon flash

Post by Brendan »

Thanks for the reply. I can see how that would be perfect for road riding and or a field situation where your planning on spending a long time with one subject.

Over the years I've pretty much quit road cruising for most snakes unless I am moving between spots or I have a very specific target that I can't find on foot without wasting far too much time. I use to road ride far more than I field hunted but that's changed over the last several years. My interests have shifted from just finding a snake to wanting to understand more about it's natural history and biology. I am also very partial to in-situ shots of snakes being snakes without interference from me. To get these shots I found that it require a combination of persistence, luck and hard work. If I can eliminate having to lug around gear that requires time to set up I find that I have more time to maximize my encounters and therefore see far more of the stuff I am seeking.

Obviously since much of my hiking is done during the day I have the benefit of using the sun for natural lighting but as we all know sometimes it can work against us. In this case being able to add a bit of fill flash is very helpful. So far the 580EX with a bit of tinkering seems to get the job done. I used to do a lot more macro and close up stuff with the old Sony F828 which was one of my favorite PAS cameras. A simple pillsbury diffuser worked like a charm for spreading out the light and softening it a bit. This year I think I might work a little bit more on some macro stuff with the 5DII and the 100mm F2.8L. I'm sure using that set up will require something closer to what you are using to optimize results. Guess I'll have to try it and find out. I get lazy and find myself just defaulting to the 24-105mm for almost everything and I need to quit that!!
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