Quote Originally Posted by andnowimbroke View Post
When I first got my beamer to fill in the under side of flying Barn Swallows, I couldn't get it to work. Everything came out looking the same even after cranking up my flash power as high as it would go. Then I remembered that I never adjusted the flash to the proper angle. I was so focused on that being the issue, I forgot to dial my flash back down. The very next shot I took, the bird flew into a nearby tree trunk. I think I blinded the poor guy
Yes, I think they recommend setting the flash zoom at 50mm and the flash has to be aimed directly at your subject. It also works better with a super tele lens on a tripod if you put the flash on a bracket so it is forward and slightly higher than the camera body.

Another warning...the fresnel lens is bi-directional....don't leave it set up facing the sun...it will focus the sun on your flash and burn a hole in it!