Some first pics with the 580EX

[spinfire]

As of last night I am now the proud owner of a Canon 580EX II. I never used to be a fan of flash, until I had the opportunity to use a friend's 30D with the 580EX last Christmas. The ability to use a real, powerful flash with a articulated head goes so far beyond what any built in flash can offer. So, I am totally a convert to (appropriate) use of flash.

These are just a few pictures I took playing around with it.. obviously the learning curve is there and is advanced mainly via practice, but I was really impressed by how things looked "out of the box."

All of these were taken with the EF 85mm f/1.8 prime. Very slight postprocessing in Lightroom to finely adjust white balance.

http://spinfire.smugmug.com/photos/194666202-M.jpg

My wife Abby, bounced off the ceiling plus the 580EX bounce card. 1/60, f/4.0, ISO 100, Program AE.

http://spinfire.smugmug.com/photos/194665969-M.jpg

Abby again, ceiling bounce with bounce card. 1/60, f/3.5, ISO 100, Program AE.

http://spinfire.smugmug.com/photos/194666438-M.jpg

Self portrait in a mirror. Bounced from the ceiling at a slight angle. 1/100, f/3.2, ISO 100, manual settings.

http://spinfire.smugmug.com/photos/194666999-M.jpg

Katz. Ceiling bounce with the bounce card. 1/100, f/2.8, ISO 100, manual settings. You can actually see the whole room reflected in her eyes.. pretty amazing. Unfortunately there is some clear purple fringing on her whiskers and on the bounce card reflected in her eyes. I think the solution to this is to use a somewhat smaller aperture.

http://spinfire.smugmug.com/photos/194667955-M.jpg

Copper rose sculpture. Direct flash from fairly close. 1/100, f/3.2, ISO 100, manual settings. This shot was cropped.. originally it was a landscape orientation shot. I was surprised by how well it turned out despite the direct flash. However, there are some shadows. The fact that the flash head is significantly above the lens seems to make the shadow activity somewhat more pleasing to the eye.

I welcome criticism and tips! You can view the full size originals at http://spinfire.smugmug.com/.

[coldrain]

Very impressive non-obtrusive flash shots! And then to think you are totally new to using the flash... wow.

Not often one sees such good use of flash... very impressive.

[spinfire]

Yeah.. a year ago I would have ranted that flash was the best way to ruin an otherwise good shot. But with a "real" flash unit I am completely convinced that I was *totally* wrong. Of course, using the built in flash on most cameras really is the best way to ruin an otherwise good shot :)

The additional flexibility added by an external flash is enormous for indoor photography.

Here is a 100% crop of the cat eye, showing the room reflection. Again, some problems with purple fringing on the overexposed bit (which is the direct reflection of the bounce card on the 580EX). I think my mistake here was not stopping the lens down more.

http://isomerica.net/~dpn/katz_eye_crop.jpg

[Rooz]

welcome to the world of light. you will never want to shoot crappy hi-iso's again if you can possibly avoid it. a good flash in the hands of someone who knows how to use it is a tool unto itself. pro's aside who need it...hi iso is for hacks. :D

here is a link you may enjoy. :)
http://strobist.blogspot.com/

[drama]

Very impressive
I recently aquired a 430ex & my indoor shots are horrible

[spinfire]

drama,

Have you tried using an index card taped or otherwise attached to the back of the flash combined with a ceiling bounce?

[drama]

I use a home made diffuser with bounce but havent tried a bounce card, thanks for the tip :)

Made a card based on the better bounce card & tried some shots, the results are very promising
Thanks again :)