Using Off Camera Flash on my Huawei P30 and iPhone 11 Pro

Wow! I never knew that smartphone can capture photos like that. What camera apps are you using, by the way?

hello James, I just use the built in Camera App of the Huawei P30 Pro. I like to use the native built in camera App because it takes advantage of all the computational photography features of the native camera app.

But I do suggest that you use a camera app that has manual controls of the shutter speed, and ISO and focusing distance or with a focus lock feature. It will make controlling the image much much easier. If your native built-in camera app has no manual controls like the iphones, you can always download another camera app like the LightRoom, which can be downloaded for free for both Androids and Ios phones.

The nice thing about the Innovatronix CPFlash 550W is that it is compatible with any Camera App for Android or IOS phones. and they claim that it works for all brands and models of smartphones . Its basically a floating app, working on top of whatever camera App you have. :)

hello James, I just use the built in Camera App of the Huawei P30 Pro. I like to use the native built in camera App because it takes advantage of all the computational photography features of the native camera app.

 

But I do suggest that you use a camera app that has manual controls of the shutter speed, and ISO and focusing distance or with a focus lock feature. It will make controlling the image much much easier. If your native built-in camera app has no manual controls like the iphones, you can always download another camera app like the LightRoom, which can be downloaded for free for both Androids and Ios phones.

 

The nice thing about the Innovatronix CPFlash 550W is that it is compatible with any Camera App for Android or IOS phones. and they claim that it works for all brands and models of smartphones . Its basically a floating app, working on top of whatever camera App you have. :)

Oooohh. great ! I just researched about the light you used. And tried downloading the app, I can say that it is user friendly. Do you have the link where I can buy it? I might get one soon :)

Oooohh. great ! I just researched about the light you used. And tried downloading the app, I can say that it is user friendly. Do you have the link where I can buy it? I might get one soon :)

Hello James, I bought it in the Innovatronix Shopify website. :)

Products

Hi John

 

do you think this flash would be a good purchase for the Ricoh GR 3. I would like to use the flash off camera.

Thanks

Hello Ludmilla,

The Ricoh GR III is a very cute and powerful camera. I almost bought one because I really wanted a small camera with off camera capabilities flash capabilities.

Using an Off Camera Flash will definitely expand your photographic horizon. There are some shots that are just not possible without an off camera flash. The CPFlash 550W kit comes with a hot shoe trigger and is universally compatible because it only has a center pin. You would still need your smartphone to control the power out put of the flash though. But sometimes when I am too lazy, I just use the cpflash and my Canon EOS600D APS-C DSLR and just move the flash nearer or farther to control the brightness.

Yes I would recommend the CPFLash, for versatility. You can use it with your GR III, you can use it for your smartphone and your kids could even use it for video effects when they Vlog. :)

Hello Ludmilla,

Here is a sample image of what you can do with a single Off camera Flash. You cannot achieve an image with a lighting effect like this without an Off Camera Flash. I took this shot last year with my Canon EOS600D DSLR and a Yongnou Speedlight. I placed the speedlight inside a hollow Kerosene lantern container. :)

Canon EOS600D , f/6.3, 1/125 S , ISO800 , 32mm (35mm equivalent)

Hello Ludmilla,

This how you connect a CPFlash 550W with your Ricoh GR III.

1. On top of your Ricoh GR III is a hot shoe.

2. The CPFlash comes with a hot shoe trigger.

3. If you flip the Hot Shoe Trigger . This is what you see at the bottom.

4. The red rectangle contains the dip switches. dip switch number 1 is for master/slave selection and for your hot shoe trigger should be set to on.

This dip switches actually will allow up to 8 photographers select 8 master channels and 8 slave channels to work on a confined space without having to false trigger other photographers flash.

For your case just set your master channel and your hot shoe trigger to zero just like what is shown in the picture above.

5. Attached the hot shoe trigger to your GR III camera. Turn on the CPFlash and bingo you now have a working Off Camera Flash . You need to open the CPFlash 550W App in your smartphone if you want to adjust power levels, or you just move the flash farther or nearer the subject if you have too much power or too little power. :)

Last week, I tried testing the CPFlash 550W at a shutter speed much higher than the synch speed of my trusty DSLR.

Here is what I found out.

1. The provided hot shoe trigger that comes with the CPFlash can only reliably sync at 1/250 Second.

2. There is an easy work around to get much higher shutter speed. Which is to set the Flash duration to its maximum of 500ms and take a picture.

the 500ms (1/2 second) of high energy burst from the CPFlash is easy to time and shoot with. :)

Canon EOS 600D f/4, 1/1000 Second, ISO400 28mm (35mm equivalent) CPFlash at 50% power with included magnetic yellow filter attached

I also took shots with my smartphone with the included camera trigger and I have no problem with the sync speed.

Huawei P30 f/1.6, ISO 50, 1/2000 second 37mm (35mm equivalent) with CPFlash at 50% power and yellow filter attached.

Here is the same shot taken seconds apart with no CPFlash.

Huawei P30, f/1.6, 1/2000 second, ISO 50, 37mm (35mm equivalent) CPFlash disabled.

Hello James, I bought it in the Innovatronix Shopify website. :)

 

Products

Thank you John. :)

John,

Can the mobile phone, eg P30 pro, be used with the flash as fill flash ,in portrait mode, to give a blurry background? Thanks.

John,

Can the mobile phone, eg P30 pro, be used with the flash as fill flash ,in portrait mode, to give a blurry background? Thanks.

Hello Alan, yes you can. I actually experimented with the Aperture mode of the Huawei P30 Pro. And you can use the CPFlash I think in all the modes available. But in automatic mode you have to long press with your finger on the face of your subject to achieve AF/AE lock, so that the camera wont change your exposure.

Here is a side lighted image I experimented in Aperture mode. I pressed AF/AE lock, then I intentionally placed an included yellow magnetic filter in front of the flash to see the effect on the image. Then I adjusted the aperture slider to simulate a 1.0mm focal lenght. Smartphone lenses with its very wide depth won't be able to achieve this without computational photography. :)

Huawei P30 Pro f/1.0(simulated-via computational photography) , 1/832 , ISO50, 42mm (35mm equivalent)

Here is another shot with the real aperture of the huawei P30 Lense and without the CPFlash enabled.

Huawei P30 Pro, f/1.6, 1/4000 second, ISO 400, 38mm ( 35mm equivalent focal length)

I think with regular practice, this can be perfected to simulate a lens costing 3-4X the cost of the Huawei P30 pro and CPFlash combined. :)

I did some photography last week end. here are is a sneak peek of my shots. :)

This is a straight shot taken with my smartphone.

Huawei P30 Pro 1/40 sec. f/1.6 5.56mm ISO 320

Here is a shot that is virtually impossible to take without external flashes. :)

Huawei P30 Pro 1/250 sec. f/1.6 5.56mm ISO 100

Of course you can also use the CPFLash 550W with your DSLR. :)

Canon 1500D 1/160 sec. f/5.6 24mm ISO800

As promised here are some pictures of my shoot last week. :)

Huawei P30 Pro 1/250 sec. f/1.6 5.56mm (27mm 35mm equivalent) ISO100 with 4 CPFlash units

The master CPFlash struggled with softbox because the sun was still shining brightly since I am shooting wide angle, I need to position the cpflash so not it wont be visible on the picture. So I remove the softbox and shoot with a parabolic reflector bowl and shoot at full power. The CPFlash slave 1 was set at 30% power output Slave 2 and 3 were set at 10% power. :)

Here is another set up in a barn

Huawei P30 Pro 1/200 sec. f/1.6 5.56mm (27mm 35mm equivalent) ISO100 with CPFlash 550W off camera flash

Here is a related shot in the same setting. :)

Huawei P30 Pro 1/200 sec. f/1.6 5.56mm (27mm 35mm equivalent) ISO100 with CPFlash 550W off camera flash

now I'm thinking of buying Huawei P30 Pro too :)

This are really great photos. Do you have any tips about positioning of your lights? like where do I need to put the lights to create dramatic effects like your photos.

Thank you for creating this thread John. really really helpful

now I'm thinking of buying Huawei P30 Pro too :)

This are really great photos. Do you have any tips about positioning of your lights? like where do I need to put the lights to create dramatic effects like your photos.

 

Thank you for creating this thread John. really really helpful

James, Its not actually hard. Its just like following a template. :)

If you have been following this thread, it would be obvious by now, that there are some type of photography that you just can't achieve without off camera flash not unless you are a computer expert and spend days or weeks editing the photo too look like it was taken with an off camera flash.

One of the basic shot that I usually do with a high degree of acceptable images is to position a main flash and place multiple off camera flashes behind or beside the model . Its actually a template formula shot.

Usually this multiple off camera flash, is set at low power. Of course you have to experiment on the power output levels that you eventually like.

The app of the CPFlash 550W allows you to set the flash duration and output levels of your main flash and your slave flashes without getting out of the camera app. All of these are done via radio, making it very convenient and fast to do so.

You should try it James , if you have some off camera flash Speedlight's, its not actually hard, and using small off camera flashes will add some drama in the image, that a straight camera shot without flashes would not be able to achieve. Its even much easier to achieve with your smartphone and the CPFlash. I suggest that you try it with your DSLR/Mirrorless or a smartphone. An off camera flash like the CPFlash 550W for your smartphone/DSLR/Mirrorless or a Canon/Nikon/Godox/Yongnou Speedlight for your DSLR/Mirrorless camera (Xenon Flash won't work with your phone camera).

You will probably be amazed with the results and would probably be addicted to it. The nice thing about the CPFlash 550W is it comes with many extras like 6 magnetic filters and DSLR hot shoe trigger and Phone Camera trigger.

Here is another example of a shot based on a proven template. :)

Huawei P30 , 1/100 sec. f/1.6 5.56mm (27mm 35mm equivalent) ISO400

As promised here are some pictures of my shoot last week. :)

 

 

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Huawei P30 Pro 1/250 sec. f/1.6 5.56mm (27mm 35mm equivalent) ISO100 with 4 CPFlash units

 

[ATTACH=full]1373415[/ATTACH]

 

The master CPFlash struggled with softbox because the sun was still shining brightly since I am shooting wide angle, I need to position the cpflash so not it wont be visible on the picture. So I remove the softbox and shoot with a parabolic reflector bowl and shoot at full power. The CPFlash slave 1 was set at 30% power output Slave 2 and 3 were set at 10% power. :)

The diagrams are outstanding and very helpful. Thank you for including them.

With the CPFlash, you can control all 4 of them with the just the app? That would make taking photos really easy and convenient. If we use a lot and have them positioned far from each other it will be very tiring to change the power because you need to go to each of them and if you're using a lightstand you need to lower it then raise it again. Using an app is a very brilliant idea!

The diagrams are outstanding and very helpful. Thank you for including them.

With the CPFlash, you can control all 4 of them with the just the app? That would make taking photos really easy and convenient. If we use a lot and have them positioned far from each other it will be very tiring to change the power because you need to go to each of them and if you're using a lightstand you need to lower it then raise it again. Using an app is a very brilliant idea!

Yes gogoshane you can control all the flash power output level and flash duration from from your smartphone. Makes it fast and easy and convenient. :)

I took a screen shot of the flash duration and power controls. You don't need to go out of the native camera app to be able to adjust controls. This is with android with iOS its different but workable too. :)

John, those schematics are excellent and very helpful. It’s generous of you to include them.

You are welcome Ludmilla. I really like to teach and my measure of success in teaching is when people knows how to do it and they can do it better that I can. I am looking at teaching for free when I retire 5 years from now. I think I have saved enough in y 401K for me and my wife to survive until we are age 100 years old. :)

You can actually try off camera flash photography. Your Ricoh is a very capable camera and you can try its features. You have a choice of using xenon bulb flash or the CPFlash 550W, both ways you should be able to achieve the same results.

The shots are formulatic and follows a basic template and you can experiment on your own . The results are .. at the very least different and cannot be achieve with any camera without the off camera flashes. Not unless you spend days or weeks editing your photo to achieve the same results.

Here is another formula shot. following the basic template. :)

Huawei P30 smartphone 1/250 sec. f/1.6 5.56mm (27mm 35mm equivalent ) ISO 100

Here is the photodiagram. The correct location of the main flash should be in the left of the model. :)

BTW I made a mistake in the diagram. The main flash should be on the left side of the model. I just noticed it right now. :)

3 weeks ago I had an opportunity to take some action shots with a ballerina. :)

Huawei P30 , 1/1600 sec. f/1.6 5.56mm (27mm 35mm equivalent) ISO200

Huawei P30 , 1/1600 sec. f/1.6 5.56mm (27mm 35mm equivalent) ISO200

Lighting set-up is basically the same for the shoot. 2 CPFlash 550W on the left and on the right of the model at full power located about 15 feet away from the model. :)

Finally I found time to shoot after a 2 months hiatus. I will be updating this thread in the next few days. I will prepare the tutorial and explanation for the shots I took.

here is a teaser. Would anybody dare to guess how many CPFlash 550W I used to achieve this shot? :)

Okay As promised I will discussed the shot above and how it was taken. So here is the shot. The concept that I want to convey in this Shot is about a girl discovering a horde or treasure from Grandma's Treasure Chest in the stock room. :)

This shot was taken with all artificial lights. No natural light was utilized in this shot. Here is a shot without triggering the CPFlash, It was almost completely dark.

And here is the photo diagram of the shoot. The exposure details are also included in the photo diagram.

From the diagram you can see that I used 4 CPFlash 550W. The master CPFlash located at the left side of the photo was used to light the hair of the model. because a snoot drastically reduces the power output of any speedlight connected to it, I have to increase the power of the CPFlash to 50%. The snoot also makes the output limited to a very small portion, if i don't use the snoot, it will light up the whole image. The snoot makes selective lighting possible.

Slave number 1 is placed inside the treasure chest and to emphasize the subject and light the face of the model. :)

It is set at 10% power. anything from 5% to 15% would have been acceptable and depends on the photographer.

Slave number 2 was positioned outside the window and add mood the photo. The use of a double blue filter reduced the output a little bit but it increased the mood and the color of the photo. It also conveys the message that it is night time. I have to increased the power of this light to 100% or full power.

Slave number 3 was added to put front detail as there was almost no detail on the pile of junk on the right side which sends the message that this might be an old stockroom with a lot of household junk. It also give detail to the legs of the model as it was very dark it that area. It ws set at very little power of 2% just to give a minute amount of light on the photo.

BTW If you have any questions on off camera flash photography, not necessarily with a smartphone, I will be very happy to answer it to the best of my ability. :)

I do not recommend the CPFlash 550W if you are using it to overpower a bright sunny day. It has similar power rating as a standard speedlight like the Canon 600 EX or the Nikon SB900 or equivalent from Sony, Godox and Yongnou which is not adequate for a bright hot sunny day. It can be used for fill in flash applications but under a bright sun, I recommend locating the CPFLash 550W about 1.5 meters away or less. But in shaded area or indoors the CPFLash is perfect for on location shooting because of its portability and power that is more than enough.

Here is a photo taken under shade of a screened barn during a bright sunny day. :)

The photo was intentionally under exposed by my estimate by more than 4 stops or else the background will all be wash out. To get details in the foreground specially the chickens, I placed a cpflash in front and set its power to just 2 % . Just to get the detail of the chickens. Here is the photo diagram of the picture. :)

wow. this thread has been updated a lot since my last visit.

the photo diagram is very much helpful for us, thank you for this John. I also noticed that you added your camera settings to the diagram, another excellent and very helpful idea!

how do you trigger your CPFlash using a DSLR camera?