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Any Tips or Tricks for fill flash and a 300/4? (1 Viewer)

Mainmast2

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I have a D7000/Sigma EF 530 Super (SB800 equiv <>). With that setup, I can sync up to 320 in FP mode or 250 in regular I-TTL. Working with a strobe is new territory for me. Quite often the subject is a good distance away with the sun on the other side. I have problems with proper exposure on the first few shots and adjust the ISO to correct it. Is there are better way? Is there an accessory that would help? Shaky hands get me every time and the vr of the 55-200 seems to help. Currently I am looking at adding a 70-300 vr to my bag to help in these situations.

Thanks in advance
 
I'm not familiar with the Sigma EF 530, but have used the SB800 with the D7000 and the 300 f/4 AFS.

I generally like to use a Better Beamer / Flash Extender to get a little more reach on my flash.

I use iTTL metering and let the camera control everything. The flash is set for -1 to -1.7 stops depending on the background and subject. I want a catchlight and some light fill - but not so much that you notice the flash. I use matrix metering - or center weighted. Normally I use Aperture Priority mode, but if the subject is flying across different backgrounds causing exposure changes, I'll switch to Manual.

Generally I am looking to have a shutter speed that is relatively fast - 1/800 sec or more. That means I need to use 1/320 Auto FP synch. I'm also using Rear Curtain synch to help expose for ambient light of the background.

Hope this helps.
 
I agree with Eric.

I get best results when I use the flash for a little fill and a catchlight in the eye. If the flash is providing most of the illumination, the harsh shadows and 'steel eye' make for pretty uninteresting photographs. Setting the flash for -1 or more as Eric suggests keeps things looking more lifelike. iTTL does a good job, but you need to be thinking about your exposure before adding on the flash component, to figure out how the camera is going to sort it out.

The other advantage of not overpowering the scene with the flash is that your backgrounds look more natural.

The Better Beamer setup will help with the steel eye, (same thing as redeye with human subjects), since it raises the flash off the axis of the lens, but it makes the whole rig a little more cumbersome. (edit: actually, the Better Beamer itself is the fresnel focus setup-- what helps with the steeleye is a flash bracket to raise the flash, and then you put the Better Beamer on to get more light on your distant subject)

Jim
 
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Jim makes a good point. There are some animals that have eyes that light up like a steel bearing with light. Deer are terrible. Dogs can be a real problem. Some animals just do not work with flash. There are no set rules - just a lot of trial and error.
 
I have a D7000/Sigma EF 530 Super (SB800 equiv <>). With that setup, I can sync up to 320 in FP mode or 250 in regular I-TTL.


I use the very Sigma flash and in FP mode you can sync camera and flash with speeds much faster than 1/320s. In theory up to the camera's fastest shutter speed of 1/8000s, but the range (light output) of the flash decreases exponentially with faster shutter speeds. A better beamer is a good way to boost flash range, but even without one 1/640s is still quite usable for fill flash purpose with decent flash range. However, using a Better Beamer with shorter lenses (I think 300mm is the limit) you will get vignetting in the corners of the image due to the focused flash beam.

My other settings for fill flash purpose: Camera in full manual; time, f-stop and ISO to get exposure on the subject close to OK without flash use (~1 f stop underexposed, max. 2. More will take you from fill flash to flash as the main light source); flash set to TTLBL in FP mode (or just TTL, seems not to make much of a difference, as far as I understand TTLBL gives ambient light more consideration), spot metering on the subject and flash compensation ~-1 to start with. The required flash compensation depends on the situation, as the TTL system is just as easily fooled by dark or bright surroundings as the cameras metering system. Depending on conditions I have used settings for flash compensation from -3 to +3 and got good, i.e. natural looking results. The already mentioned -1 - -1.7 seems to do the trick in most "normal" light settings.

Bottom line: experience matters here the most as there is no fool proof recipe how to do it. Most people that start using fill flash in wildlife photography suffer initially from to high expectations what the flash can do for them. There is a fine line between natural looking fill flash and a proper exposed but "flashed" image.


Ulli
 
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