Can you suggest a good flash?

JohnN

JohnN

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Hi,

I have the YN-468 but although highly rated it doesn't play well with my 7D.
I use my camera primarily for family pictures, usually at high speed due to my 3 year old running around like a mad thing, but also for birding (although never successfully as mine never seems to fire in sync!), this could/would include in flight as a flash fill, but I use the 100-400 (at speeds of 1/1000 or faster at up to 7fps!) for that so I don't know how successful that would be anyway.

I understand that the 7D works very well with some models but I cannot recall which.

So which would you suggest?

Also please excuse my ignorance, although I own a few lenses I really know nothing about flashes at all!

Just one more thought, could I slave the YN-468 to what ever you suggest as a second flash?

Thanks,

John
 
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You should probably get to know a bit more about how flash works before you buy something else.

Normal flash does not work at anything above the max x-sync speed, which is 1/250sec on a 7D. Not unless you have a gun with high speed sync (Yongnuo doesn't) but that will be hopeless for birding and no way will it keep up at 7fps.

Basically, you're asking the flash to do things it cannot. And neither will any other gun do what you're asking on the birding side.

On the other hand, the Yongnuo should be as good as most for your three year old.
 
The 430ex II has been suggested and I believe that has high speed sync - I'll have to double check that.
 
JohnN said:
The 430ex II has been suggested and I believe that has high speed sync - I'll have to double check that.
Click to expand...

It does, but it won't help your birding problems.
 
Aye, from what I've now read there isn't a flash in existence that will fill at 400mm at 7fps, but apparently theres a flash booster called "Better Beamer" thats supposed to extend the range but that needs more research.

The problem I have is my current flash is just plain flaky, it seems that sometimes I take a shot and its not lit.
 
The Yongnuo doesn't fire? At 7fps? Is it mounted properly and are the contacts clean?

Anyway, putting the Yongnuo problems to one side, a Better Beamer is the way for birding, but it has to be said it's quite a specialised use. You need a powerful gun, ie Canon 580EXII, and don't expect more than one pop at a time. 430EXII isn't far behind the power of the 580 though - the main thing you're paying extra for is the master controller functions which you already have in the 7D's pop-up.

High speed sync is really useful when shooting outside in bright light, but it's very wasteful of power so range is substantially reduced and no way will it keep up at 7fps.

Most guns will manage a few very rapid frames in normal mode, but only at low power outputs - basically you can either have one full power dump, or two at half, four at a quarter and so on pretty much as fast as you like (in theory).
 
Cheers both, I'll take a look at the like later Mike (rushing off to work now) and Richard thats been very informative, thanks again.
 
Bleeding hell Mike, thats a big guide!
I'll have to come back to that when I'm more awake :)

By the way I just spotted theres soon to be a YN-565EX, any news/feelings there?
 
I had a quick squiz through that mammoth doc and the range reduction on the HSS could be a bit of a bother, so if I can live without it - which seems likely - then perhaps the 565EX may be for me (unless someone swaps the lens I have up for sale for a 580EX II)

Also I just spotted that the YN-565EX has been added to the new section of the EU site - here.

Perhaps we're actually getting close to a release.
 
Hi John

I had a 430EX (Mark 1) which I used on the hotshoe of my 30D. When I upgraded to a 7D recently, I bought a secondhand 530EXII as a second flash, and kept the 430EX. That means that I can now put the 530EXII on the hotshoe for a decent amount of power (outdoor fill, etc) and when I want to be a little more creative, I can move both the 430 and 530 off camera and trigger them with the 7D pop up, which I disable from firing during the actual exposure (and thus flattening the lighting that I am trying to achieve with off-camera flash.

I have to say that I really am not much of an expert, but I have very much enjoyed using the Canon system and bought a brilliant guide to Canon Speedlites from Syl Arena.

HTH
Neil
 
If you want to use your flash for birding, you'l have to get it closer to the birds ;)

On a more serious note, I agree with Hoppy; getting to know the workings of your flash is a great idea before splashing out on more gear. Get to know it's limitations (i.e. it wont fire at sync speeds greater than 1/200-250), and think about what you want use it for.

I'm a big advocate of learning flash in 'manual' mode. Bizarrely its much less complex than use the 'auto' setting - as you know how much light you are getting everytime you press the shutter. Then, when you're happy with that, move onto auto mode. Syl Arena, has some great advice, as does Joe McNally, David Ziser, Zack Arias and David Hobby. Check out these guys - it's always worth investing in your knowledge before investing in your gear!
 
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