So I do not do much TTL work with my flash. I normally have my flash on manual and set my own power and camera on manual. When using TTL, should I still stick to manual on my camera or can I move to Av mode? Which tech when I shoot on manual my shutter is normally at 1/160=1/250. So I guess I could leave it in M. All subjects will be static, no motion or anything.
Honestly AV mode doesn't ad value in my opinion, you will see many flash photographers living in manual mode on both camera and flash to ensure control and minimize variation in the output. If you use TTL and AV and the lighting is poor you may end up with a slow shutter or high ISO when you really do not want either. Shutter speed controls ambient light and plays a lot less of a role in the image as you expect it to, it is nice for certain effects like making it look dark during the middle of the day, but the flash is doing most of freezing the action in the image and it is much faster than your 1/60 or 1/250 shutter speed.
The main reason I wanted to try out TTL is my vision is bad and to keep changing the power on my flash I have to get my phone and use the camera on it to read the flash LCD. Figure if I do TTL then I can worry more about shutter and aperture. I did play around with TTL and M mode on the M50 and it seemed to do pretty well on my test shots. Now I am wondering about HSS and using it for shallower DOF and to darken up the background of flower pictures to make them less distracting. But I would need a flash that supports HSS, which mine does not.
Well, after getting my little TTL setup going today I find it works well for some things. I am using a Speedlight softbox to diffuse the light. With that aimed at my subject (my mom), very blown out but bounced off the ceiling it was very nice. For macro, it did not work well for me at all. So I guess I will use Manual for macro and decide if I want TTL or Manual for other things. Waiting for my HSS flash to come in next week. I am hoping the 2,4Ghz triggers I got will work in close proximity. Be nice to change the power setting from the trigger rather than going to the flash each time.
Yup if you are diffusing you will be better off to dial the flash in manual, or use exposure compensation to dial it back. The TTL shoots a pre flash and reads off the the scene so the TTL will try to compensate for the diffusing and over power what is needed. Hope the triggers work out well, not sure which you got, but the yongnuo ones are great value for the money if they work with your mirror-less camera, ( i know the 622c and its transmitter work with the DSLR line). They work with my 5d like a champ and have HSS, they have surprisingly durable and reliable at a fraction of the cost of pocket wizards.
I will try sp,e w/p the diffuser and see how turns out. I went with Neewer. I have used Neewer and Yongnuo in the past with 0 issues. I had a Sigma flash and it gave up the ghost one day. Smelly and lotta smoke. I have a flip bracelet with a small ball head for my flash so I can position it somewhat closer to objects. Putting on a diffuser is like second nature for me. I didn';t think about the pre-flash at all. Thanks for saying that.
Well, that did not go to well on testing with no diffuser. Hot spot amd harsh shadows. I did make it work will diffusers on TTL, just needed to do a little post-work with brightness and contrast. I was going to try flash comp, but the submenu on my camera for external flash settings will not allow me to it. I will mess with it more tomorrow when I am out cooking and have less reflective surfaces all around me.
I typically bounce or shoot into an umbrella, but again I have the ability with my yongnuo transmitter to dial back the compensation if TTL is too string when I use it. Manual everything is nice as there is no variation once dialed in.
Well, taking a nightstand and umbrella out to say a public garden is not practical. I need something easy to get around with since when I go out I need a wheelchair. I had some ideas last night when I was trying to go to sleep that I will be trying out this week. I am just going to have to Frankenstein a setup for portable use. I found my Yongnuo ring flash setup that I put away last year. I still need to look at it and find a way to diffuse the flash some on it and test it. But I got 4-5 ideas of things I want to try between that and my reg flash units. My new flash setup will have a transmitter U can change flash settings on also. I hope by next weekend I get a good idea of what will work.
