Bouncing flash - results heavilt dependant on equipment?

FlyTVR

FlyTVR

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Was at a wedding the other day and the pro tog was snapping away at the reception which was inside a marquee.

Now, granted he was using a Nikon D300 and an F2.8 lens (of some description) at the time. I'm guessing this camera is more capable with higher ISO settings than my trusty old Canon 400D.

I have an entry level Jessops flash gun, and I simply could not bounce the flash to good effect. I've not seen the pro's results yet but I'm sure they will be fine. So, if I were to purchase a better flash e.g. Canon Speedlite 580EX MkII (or similar) could I expect to see better results?

Cheers guys.

TeaVR
 
Depends on the power of the flash unit... they are not all equal by any means!!
 
yep - depends on the power of the flash - the ISO and the aperture used.
 
Not to mention the distance of the ceiling you're bouncing off.
 
...and the material it's made of - shiny white ceilings will bounce back more light than matt ceiling tiles! Luckily the camera takes care of all the exposure calculations - most of the time. :)
 
However, the OP was asking if a 580ex would have made the job more possible compared to his Jessops flash... almost certainly the answer will be yes.
 
How powerful is your flash gun? What is the guide number? What model is it? The guide number is often in the model designation.

For successful bounce flash photography you need a powerful gun and a normal height white ceiling. Increasing the ISO and using a lower f/number helps enormously.

Canon 580EXMkII is an excellent gun, pretty much as powerful as you can get, and does loads of other cool E-TTL strobist stuff :thumbs: You may well be able to use it as a master unit to control your Jessops flash in a wireless remote multi flash set up.
 
FlyTVR said:
Was at a wedding the other day and the pro tog was snapping away at the reception which was inside a marquee.

Now, granted he was using a Nikon D300 and an F2.8 lens (of some description) at the time. I'm guessing this camera is more capable with higher ISO settings than my trusty old Canon 400D.

I have an entry level Jessops flash gun, and I simply could not bounce the flash to good effect. I've not seen the pro's results yet but I'm sure they will be fine. So, if I were to purchase a better flash e.g. Canon Speedlite 580EX MkII (or similar) could I expect to see better results?

Cheers guys.

TeaVR
Click to expand...

Yes - But suggest you try before you buy

Regards

Mike
 
when bouncing with your Jessops gun, what kind of power is it shooting at usually (if there is a normal situation...)? maybe give it a test (working off recycle times or similar... how many fast pops can you go in a row without waiting for it to reload?) - if it's not many, then a higher power flashgun will almost certainly help, if only to keep fps up (as does 2.8 glass and higher iso) - but if you can get 10 bounced flashes on burst mode, then a new flash probably won't help that much, as you're already chucking out as much light is needed (this is on TTL don't forget...) so a more powerful flash won't really help

however, a pro flash is a good buy and worthwhile investment :P :)
 
Bouncing flash is tricky.

Consider the inverse square law, where twice the distance, 4 TIMES the power, then think about bouncing it off a ceiling where the light is even more diffused...then you can imagine the power needed.
 
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