Question about flash...any help will be greatly appreciated.

[BES]

I am about to go out and purchase my first external flash. I decided to go with 430xII.


Question 1):


I seem to remember that it matters which batteries I purchase with it. Could you recommend which ones?


Question2):


Also, until I get good/comfortable with it, can I use it in auto mode? Is it easy to use?


Thanks for your help.

[Benjamin]

Q1:


The 430EX II as well as the higher end 580EX II all uses AA batteries. Any alkaline or rechargeable ones are good to use, so the battery will be easy and cheap to find and buy. I use Sony 2000mAh batteries, and they're pretty long lasting. I'll only buy alkaline ones for emergency though, I normally don't carry them as they may not last very long and they become waste once consumed.


Q2:


The flash has lots of features. Read the user manual if you want to know them all. But for simple usage, just set it to TTL mode (not manual) and plug it onto your camera, it's just ready to go. It's an extremely simple flash to use which gives you lots of power, it's as easy as using your pump-up flash.


PS: I have a 430EX II and I think it's an overkill for what I'm doing. The only downside though, well two, are that the botton at the back is a little hard to push when you want to adjust settings fast and the flash unit is not weather sealed unlike the 580EX II.

[BCalkins]

It is quite easy to use. You get full auto even when bouncing or tilting...

[hotsecretary]

Sanyo Eneloops are great batteries if you don't use the flash very frequently and want to hold a charge for a long time sitting in your bag.


http://strobist.blogspot.com/ <- great site for learning more about flash photography.

[Mark Elberson]

I am about to go out and purchase my first external flash. I decided to go with 430xII.


Question 1):


I seem to remember that it matters which batteries I purchase with it. Could you recommend which ones?

I'd recommend Ni-MH batteries over Alkaline because it cuts the recycle time almost in half. Sanyo Eneloop are what I use and they also seem to be a forum favorite. The best thing about them is that they discharge very slowly so if you leave your flash in your bag for a month or two you can rest assured that you'll still have a charge when you go to use it.

Question2):


Also, until I get good/comfortable with it, can I use it in auto mode? Is it easy to use?



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Do you mean auto as in E-TTL or auto as in the program mode on your camera? To begin I would start by using E-TTL on the flash and maybe even auto program mode on your camera. If you use aperture priority the camera will meter based on ambient light and the flash will just add "fill". This may result in extremely slow shutter speeds if you're in low light. When using on-camera flash using E-TTL I tend to shoot in manual so that I can control both DoF and shutter speed. Remember that the max sync speed on your 40D is 1/250. You can also use high-speed-sync but that's a whole other topic! Digital is free (except for batteries) so try a bunch of different settings around the house and see what you come up with. For candid shots I like to set my camera to manual and set the aperture to "open" or f/2.8 most of the time and the shutter speed to 1/100. That's usually fast enough to stop action or eliminate camera shake but it's slow enough to let in a reasonable amount of ambient light which I feel makes the overall lighting look more natural.

I hope that helps! Good luck and enjoy A flash can be a game changer when it comes to your photography.

[clemmb]

until I get good/comfortable with it, can I use it in auto mode? Is it easy to use?


Thanks for your help.
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Yes, its easy. The flash its self is ETTLII out of the box. Install 4 AAs and turn it on. As others have mentioned, turn your camera to P and start shooting. After you have tried this some, turn your camera to M, set your camera to f5.6 or f8 and shutter speed to 160 or 200 and try that around the house for a while. If you want to try some outside daytime flash fill shots turn your camera to P and dial in a -1 or -2 on the flash exposure setting but leave your camera exposure compensation at 0 and play around with this some.


Enjoy.


Mark

[crosbyharbison]

here is the amazon for the eneloop:


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000IV0REA/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&amp;s=electronics


good stuff.

[lculpin]

I haven't personally used the Eneloop batteries yet but I'd probably recommend them, mostly because I would NOT recommend Duracell NiMH batteries - I recently purchased two BC-900 chargers (which I found out about in another thread) and have been "refreshing" all of my batteries due to some recent irritations I've had with them... turns out it's probably because about every one in 4 (all from different sets of 4) are about half of the rated amperage (ie they're all supposedly 2650 mAh but I have three so far that are around 1300-1400 and I'm not holding my breath on the other two groups). I do also have some Sony and Energizer ones as well (2000 or 2450 mAh respectively) and will post my thoughts on those once they've been refreshed, but I will be the first to tell you that having your freshly charged batteries not work is REALLY irritating (and I also have a giant box of no-name alkalines in my bag just in case).


As for the 430ExII, I've got one of those, a 580 and a 580II, and althought I like the original 580 the most out of all of them (audible recycle, dedicated master/slave button, couple other little things) the 430's definitely capable of working fine on auto. As mentioned, the biggest "ease of use" problem is the damned recessed buttons... not only can I not hit them accidentally, I can barely hit them on purpose half the time :P

[Don Burkett]

until I get good/comfortable with it, can I use it in auto mode? Is it easy to use?


Thanks for your help.
<div style="clear: both;"]</div>

Yes, its easy. The flash its self is ETTLII out of the box. Install 4 AAs and turn it on. As others have mentioned, turn your camera to P and start shooting. After you have tried this some, turn your camera to M, set your camera to f5.6 or f8 and shutter speed to 160 or 200 and try that around the house for a while. If you want to try some outside daytime flash fill shots turn your camera to P and dial in a -1 or -2 on the flash exposure setting but leave your camera exposure compensation at 0 and play around with this some.


Enjoy.


Mark
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This is probably as good advice as you can get for learning flash photography. Before you ever foray into the land of shutter priority or aperature priority ensure you follow the other great piece of advice and read the manual. Good Luck

[BES]

until I get good/comfortable with it, can I use it in auto mode? Is it easy to use?


Thanks for your help.
<div style="clear: both;"]</div>

Yes, its easy. The flash its self is ETTLII out of the box. Install 4 AAs and turn it on. As others have mentioned, turn your camera to P and start shooting. After you have tried this some, turn your camera to M, set your camera to f5.6 or f8 and shutter speed to 160 or 200 and try that around the house for a while. If you want to try some outside daytime flash fill shots turn your camera to P and dial in a -1 or -2 on the flash exposure setting but leave your camera exposure compensation at 0 and play around with this some.


Enjoy.


Mark
<div style="clear: both;"]</div>

This is probably as good advice as you can get for learning flash photography. Before you ever foray into the land of shutter priority or aperature priority ensure you follow the other great piece of advice and read the manual. Good Luck
<div style="clear: both;"]</div>

Thanks guys. I think I understand now...I usually shoot in Av or P or Tv, recently started to play with M but there is still a learning curve as I am fairly new to all of this. I wanted to know if the flash can be set to read automatically settings from camera or do I have to set it manually? If I understood you correctly, it will...I do not shoot in idiot settings anymore, that was in my PS times, but I want to make sure flash itself has some auto mode. Hope it does....I am so new at this, but I can see the difference lighting can make, so I am excited to try.


Thanks for advice, you guys are the best and if you think I understood you correctly, please let me know, this will make me feel better.