Bridge Camera + External Flash + Better Beamer: Advice & Techniques? (2 Viewers)

Anyone here have experience using superzoom bridge cameras with an external (hotshoe) flash and a flash extender like the Better Beamer?

I'm looking for advice on settings that might be a good starting point for my experiments. I know there is lots of DSLR advice on the subject, and I will start there lacking any other info, but wondered if anyone had advice specific to superzoom (1000+mm equivalent focal length) bridge (small sensor) cameras. "Tricks" that aren't covered in the DSLR tutorials are the most needed.

For my part, this specifically will be a Canon SX60 HS + Canon Speedlite 430EX II + FX-5 Better Beamer.

For example:
One trick with the SX60 without a flash is to use shutter priority to force the camera to shutter speeds I need (1/800 to 1/1250), keep ISO at 400 or less, and to always run -1/3 to -2/3 EV to prevent the highlights from blowing out (ETTL).

So how will this formula be affected by using flash? Aside from bringing more light to shots that would otherwise be impossible, that is.

I freely admit to an amateur understanding of the mechanics of photography at times, and have learned by experimentation...so apologies for any naïeveté.

CalvinFold said:

Anyone here have experience using superzoom bridge cameras with an external (hotshoe) flash and a flash extender like the Better Beamer?

Click to expand...

Posted a similar question in another forum and no answers also. Suspect extenders not too popular.

Might be a bias against using flash too, which I totally understand.

If you do a search on beamer you will come up with several threads in the Cameras forum on this site.

I have done fill in flash on a robin with the bird totally ignoring me, on the other hand many kilojoules of focussed light may have fried its eyes so I suspect that common sense is needed. Whilst not having used a Better Beamer a different flash focussing attachment I owned could have an 'adverse affect' on humans if not used with care, I can understand why there may be a bit of prejudice against them.

I get that, and I only use the Beamer on long-range subjects past the 50m mark. Or at least that's the intent, because now that I have one of course I haven't spotted birds that far out. || I can shoot flash photos without the beamer at shorter ranges, and keep flash use to a minimum in any case.