Looking into getting a flash

[thestrangebrew1]

Just got my first dslr (t5i) and I've been playing around with it alot. I'm learning alot about the triangle, aperture, shutter speed and iso and playing with the different settings and also set the camera up per curious mike's recommendations a few threads down. I just have the kit lens, 18-55mm IS STM and a 55-250 f/4-5.6 is lens. I'm having a blast messing around with it but I'm a little disappointed with the on-board flash. Subsequently, I've been a bit of research and decided to get a 50mm f/1.8 lense and I'm considering getting this flash:

http://www.amazon.com/Neewer®-Speed...p/B00E3K94T6/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8

I'm not familiar with the brand, but I've seen it in my research. It's got good reviews but I'm wondering if anyone has experience with this flash or brand. For the price, it seems like a great deal, but obviously you get what you pay for. Thoughts?

 

[CuriousMike]

What is the on-board flash not doing?
I want to make sure the issue is the flash, not other camera setup related problems. i.e., you might think the on-board flash is poor because your photos look too-bright ; you could be controlling that by setting the onboard flash power.

The Neewer flash you linked looks fine; probably a re-branded Yongnuo. Or vice-versa. I have two of the Yongnuo's that I've played with ( and a wireless commander.)

Two nice things about the flash you linked
a) You can "bounce" it off the ceiling/wall, giving you a softer light. You'll dig that.
b) You can have it off the camera, separating the flash position from the cameras position. With an inexpensive stand for the flash ($20), and an inexpensive umbrella ($15), you can start to get some really nice portraits.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

That's basically it. The shots come out too bright or too dark. I can't seem to find a satisfactory medium with the different settings. I didn't realize you could adjust the on board flash power lol. Just thought it was static setting. I'll look at the manual to see how to adjust it.

I also think I'll hold off on the flash to see how the 50mm will do indoors and take it from there.

 

[CuriousMike]

The 50 will help indoors, but you'll want to be using the Aperture priority mode.

That will allow you to control how big the aperture is ... how big the hole is that's letting light in.

Be aware that as that hole gets bigger, your depth of field ( how much is in focus ) gets smaller.

If your friend is 5 ft away from you, and you shoot with the 50mm at f1/.8 you'll have an area of 1.2 inches in focus!

With the website below, you can get an idea of how aperture and distance to subject are related into the overall depth-of-field ( area fore/aft that's in focus.)
http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

 

[thestrangebrew1]

Awesome thanks for the info! I'll check out the site. At $60, I might just get the flash so I'll have something else to play with and learn how to use.

 

[whoiswes]

If you can afford it, I'd say get one - learn how to bounce the flash (both with and without a bounce card), and also look into a diffuser. With a little bit of practice you can take some very nice looking photos in crap light.

I ended up shooting my stepsister's wedding (was only supposed to DJ, but the photog she hired showed up with a P&S and sat at her table the entire night) with a D90/35mm F/1.8 and a SB-600. The room was effectively lit with candlelight and I would have never gotten 90% of the shots I did without the flash.

Probably not the best example, or even useful, but figured I'd add what little I could.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

Thanks for the advice. I've only had the camera since last Thursday and there's so much to learn!

 

[ControlD]

That 50mm lens is one that pretty much every Canon owner has in their bag at one time or another. It is a good cheap lens to play around with, but on a 1.6 crop sensor camera it is a little long for indoor use (it is like using a 80mm lens on a full fame camera in terms of length). Not discouraging your choice to buy it, but you might find that you use the kit lens more inside than the 50. If that is the case a good flash will be your best friend.

And thanks for the link by the way! My Sigma flash finally gave up the ghost earlier this year and I have been looking for a replacement. For that price I might just give this flash a try myself.

 

[NAC]

I got a 50mm 1.8 prior to getting a flash. If you get into photography, you'll eventually want both. I guess I don't know what I'd recommend getting first. The 50mm is better to learn about and take portraits. The flash is probably better for indoors use because 50mm is just too much zoom for indoor use.

For general indoors use, I would recommend something wider: The 24mm STM is inexpensive and a good first step - but only 2.8 aperture. Sigma has a 30mm 1.4 which is good, and the Sigma 18-35 f/1.8 is expensive and simply stellar. I have that one - it rarely comes off my camera when indoors. But buying your first $800 is a big step... you probably aren't there yet.

And once you have taken that step, you start to think that a $8000 lens for birding or sports is really not that big of a deal, lol.

 

[ControlD]

^^^

All good points. I have the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 that NAC mentioned. For the money it makes a GREAT indoor lens. With my 70D I can get a lot of natural light photos using that lens, which really opens up a bunch of photo opportunities for those times when you just don't want to or can't use a flash.

I would love to try that 18-35 f/1.8 sometime but I think for me a good quality outdoor zoom is the next big ticket lens I will be buying.

OP, this hobby can get expensive in a hurry!

 

[thestrangebrew1]

Thanks all! Yes indeed this little hobby is getting expensive really quick. I always knew glass was expensive, but never really looked into them till I decided to get this dslr. I started looking into some teles for sports shots (son's in football) and I'm not ready to shell out $1200, let alone $8k lol.

 

[CuriousMike]

You will get good results with ( for example ) the Tamron 70-300, and that can be found refurbished for ~ $300.

 

[finbarqs]

flash photography is a whole new skill in itself... not a difficult one, but it's a separate skill. It forces you to look into lighting and ambient lighting.

 

[Paladin3]

I'd rather have your kit lenses and a good flash than try to shoot everything available light, even with a fast lens like the 50mm. 50mm on a 1.6x crop body is a short telephoto anyway, not really a general purpose lens like the kit wide.

Bouncing flash is the way to go. I pretty much use my flash in one of two ways:

1. Bounced off of a wall or wall/ceiling combo. I do this when I can get the subject close enough to a light colored surface I can bounce the light off of. Don't be afraid to use walls, side lighting can be very nice. This gives me a nice, defused light because of the huge area the flash is bouncing off of, and can be accomplished simply with just a single bounce/swivel flash unit.

When I use this method I make sure no light is going directly from the flash to the subject, just the soft bounced light. You will need a fairly powerful flash to light up a room this way, and a lot depends on weather you are trying to light up a room to f2.8 @ ISO 1000 vs f8 @ iso 100.



This is a single flash bounced up and over my left shoulder as I shoot. It's reflecting off a mostly white wall and ceiling. It allows me to shoot handheld and move around, adjusting the flash angle as I go. I'm shooting at f5.6 @ ISO 400 in a fairly dark room, but the light is soft, wraps around the young lady and doesn't leave any hard shadows. The fluorescent room lights are turned off (horrid green color) and it's only lit by various Christmas lights. I'm shooting at 1/60th so I can get some of the Christmas lights to glow more. When the room lighting is on, I shoot at 1/250th so I am a few stops above the ambient to not pick up a green cast in the subjects hair, but then I loose the Christmas lights.

2. If I'm inside, but the wall and ceiling bounce isn't an option, I go back to basically direct flash, but with an omni-bounce style defuser over the flash head. This simulates a bare bulb and sends lights in all directions. I use the flash tilted up at about a 45 degree angle this way. This is basically direct flash, which can be harsh, but some light may bounce back from walls/ceilings to help fill in. Having the flash tilted up gets it that much higher and helps reduce red-eye, too.

I only shoot this way if I can't do a real, full bounce. I will combine it with a second slaved flash to get a more pleasant effect if I can. I might also drag my shutter speed to try and pick up as much of the available light (depending on the color temperature) as I can to help fill in the otherwise harsh flash. If I don't have an omni-bounce to put over my flash head I sometimes use a bounce card to direct a portion of the light forward too. This will simulate two lights, the one bouncing off the ceiling and the one coming directly off the bounce card straight at the subject.

TL;DR: Use the Flash, Luke!

 

[thestrangebrew1]

Awesome info! Flash comes today, as well as the 50mm so I can play around with all of it this weekend if I get some time.