using non-ETTL flash with DRebel

[poul]

so i have had it with ETTL that doesn't work, got rid of it and got

cheaper and more powerful flash unit, with longer zoom, sunpak 5000

af.

 

now, short of setting everything manually, are there any tips and

tricks that may minimize the pain?

[mark u]

Try reading the manual that came with the flash. Since your camera doesn't work in ordinary TTL mode for flash, you will need to work in Av mode or M, and select the Auto mode on the flash, setting your aperture and ISO on the gun.

[yakim_peled1]

I am just fine with E-TTL, sometimes need FEC or FEL but as a whole, no complaints. BTW, don't know what about you but to me, setting everything manually IS the main PITA.

 

Happy shooting ,

Yakim.

[Greg M]

I read the specs of your flash at the B&H site. Sounds like you now have non-TTL auto f-stops from f2-16, so you just need to be in manual exposure mode & make sure the f-stop you set on the flash is the same you set on the camera. The specs say TTL, but not ETTL so I'm assuming whatever TTL capabilities that flash has must be either normal TTL or A-TTL, neither of which are supported by the Digital Rebel. Maybe I'm wrong, though.

 

As long as there's enough light to give you a fast enough shutter speed you can user aperture priority if you want to balance daylight with the flash. Outdoors you can get a better balance by setting your flash to one stop larger than what is set on your camera. As an example, if you set the flash to f4 and your camera to f5.6 that gives you a good balance without having too powerful a flash. I used to do that with completely manual Rolleiflex medium format cameras all the time with great results.

 

ETTL and the Digital Rebel are more work than I ever had to worry about with the film bodies, especially if you try & do it with the 420EX where you have no ability to compensate. The problem is it is so tied to the focus point instead of being multi-segment. In doing tests with my Digital Rebel and 550EX the flash exposure is so tightly alligned with the focus point selected it's almost like having a spot flash metering system, which is difficult to deal with if you don't watch where the focus point is pointed at the time of exposure.