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

In this case I think I would like to use it more for my DSLR rather than phone.

 

Yes you can BeBu.

The CPFlash 550W being a tri-function flash also has an added bonus. It can be use as a video lighting effects generator. I don't do video so I have no need for it right now, but may come handy for Vloggers who needs it for video lighting effects. Here is a YouTube showcasing its capability as a video lighting effects generator.

 

Sometime though, I overdo it that at the end of the shoot you may find the simple shot without any external flash maybe better. hahahahaha



Huawei P30, f /1.6, 1/100S, ISO400, 27mm (35mm equivalent)


Here is the diagram for the shoot.




Here is a Straight shot without the CP550W External Flashed activated. I don't know if this shoot is actually better.


Huawei P30, f/1.6, 1/40S, ISO320, 27mm (35mm equivalent)

 

I really like the first 3 shots. They look almost like paintings !

 

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

 

Thank you very much Hjoseph.

When speaking of OFF CAMERA FLASH Most people think of huge studio flashes 75" softboxes. I on the other hand prefer multiple low power flash to achieve the image that I want. Here is another image I took about 5 years ago I think. I used 7 Yongnou flashes here. The 6 where set at 1/32th power distributed among the models while the seventh was on camera and use to fill in to have front detail.

When my photography friends saw this picture they jokingly called it " The parade of the Yongnous" .


Canon EOS600D f/8, 1/125S, ISO200, 28mm(SLR Equivalent)

 

Another good one !

 

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

 

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 James, I bought it in the Innovatronix Shopify website.

Products

 

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.

 

Thanks John

 

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.

 

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.

 

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