Flash Advice

[geofftelforduk]

Guys

I currently have a Canon 380ex flash gun!! On Monday night I was at a birthday party and my uncle had his Nikon D50 (I know, we all have our problems!!!! ) and the Nikon SB800 flash gun!!! His way exceeded mine in a big way to the point where he could get a photograph and I couldnt!! The power of his flash amazed me to be honest! I thought mine was bright, but thats only when you stare straight at it from about 2 meters!!! I am using standard Duracell batteries! Would this make and difference to the power output!!??

It has not put me in the notion of upgrading my flash gun! I dont really use it that often, but I am one of these people who likes to have it "just in case!" if you know what I mean!!!

Is suppose the main question I am asking is: In the Canon range, what would be similar to the Nikon SB800?

I would appreciate your help/advice very much!

Thanks

[T0MAT01]

Duracell batteries should be better than using rechargable batteries, since they give 1.5V per cell compared to 1.2V.

I'd guess that if the SB800 is that powerful then it's equivellent is probably the Canon 580EX but that's just a guess since I don't know Nikon that well.

p.s. Your title gave me an image of someone standing in the street wearing a macintosh.

[MarkE19]

Originally Posted by T0MAT01

Duracell batteries should be better than using rechargable batteries, since they give 1.5V per cell compared to 1.2V.

Depends! NiCad rechargables are only 1.2v but NiMhd have a higher voltage than non rechargable batteries.
Personally I use NiMhd rechargables as it saves me money. The differnce in performance between different types of battery will only be down to how quickly the flash becomes ready to fire and how long the batteries last, they should make no difference to the power of the flash.

Mark.

[Nick Cartwright]

I'm sure bateries only make a difference to the recycle times, the actual bust of power comes from the charge built up between flashes. The flash will only activate one full charge is reached (hence recycle times).

I could be wrong.

[wabbitt]

Correct... the 580EX is the equivalent of the SB800.

Actually, it's just slightly brighter too.

The recharge is amazingly fast, and it can sync down to very fast shutter speeds using its high-speed sync mode. With loads of options like adjustable output in 1/3 stops, and strobe flash, rear curtain flash, etc. its an absolutely amazing flash gun.

[cuscus]

Originally Posted by wabbitt

Correct... the 580EX is the equivalent of the SB800.

Actually, it's just slightly brighter too.

The recharge is amazingly fast, and it can sync down to very fast shutter speeds using its high-speed sync mode. With loads of options like adjustable output in 1/3 stops, and strobe flash, rear curtain flash, etc. its an absolutely amazing flash gun.

Have to agree, being new to photography & having recently purchased a 30D with the 380 flash i upgraded to the 580, unbelievable how quickly it recharges & it is extremely bright & made a huge difference (in comparison to the 380ex) to my photos.

[Waveform]

Originally Posted by Nick Cartwright

I'm sure bateries only make a difference to the recycle times, the actual bust of power comes from the charge built up between flashes. The flash will only activate one full charge is reached (hence recycle times).

I could be wrong.

I think you're spot on. One thing I've noticed with rechargeables is that the higher the mAh rating the faster the recycle time - I use these good, but cheap 7dayshop ones here. They are 2600mAh Ni-Mh type and are fab plus cheap enough to get a few sets.
I would guess that a brand new set of Duracell non-rechargeable would be as fast (maybe faster) but from mid-point to the end of their life would not be as fast as a fully charged set of good rechargeable batts like the ones above.
Not a plug for 7dayshop (although I have found them good for lots of camera stuff) but you can get a set of batts plus a charger for less than £10, extra sets of 4xAA are ~£4 - for that amount I'm not sure why you would use non-rechargeables....

[Peakoverload]

It's all down to guide numbers.

The only difference batteries have is durability and refresh rate.

The 380 EX has a guide number of 38m (ISO 100) at 105mm whilst the SB800 has a guide number of 56m (1SO 100) at 105mm

Just by looking at the numbers you can see the SB800 has a much higher rating but what do the guide numbers mean?

A guide number represents the output of a flash gun so the higher the number the brighter the flash is and the guide number itself is worked out as a simple formula:

Guide Number = aperture/distance to subject

Obviously as we are dealing with an aperture setting the ISO you are using will have an affect on the final result which is why guide numbers are always given for ISO 100 so that everyone has a bench mark to work from. So a high GN number tells you how bright the flash is but it can also tell you what aperture to use so as to avoid over or underexposing your shots. To do this simply divide the guide number by the distance of the flash gun from the subject. So lets say you are standing 5 meters away from your subject:

380EX 38/5=7.6 so in other words at ISO 100 you should set f/8
SB800 56/5=11.2 so in other words at ISO 100 you should set f/11

In other words the SB800 produces 1 stop more light than the 380EX which, as you found out, can make all the difference in the world.

HTH

[geofftelforduk]

Guys

Thanks a million for all the advice so far! I really appreciate it, and whats more, I understand it!!

If anyone has anything more to add, please feel free!!

[Chunder]

@Peakoverload - wow, that's fantastic advice. I've only had a 430ex for a month or two, and not used it much.. but when I did (at a wedding) I found myself overexposing lots of shots, to the point where I turned it off.
I had played around with it in advance, but obviously not enough.

I suspect that if I'd read your advice, I'd have at least have had a clue what to do to correct the problem

[madpup]

Buy a 550EX they are quite cheap now (about £150 on fleabay)
imo a better flash, and yer get a good price for yours.