brian hanson Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 I have a T-90 and a 300TL flash. I have been using it in a studio type situation with the Flash on a light stand and with a small soft box. It is connected with the proper off-camera adapters and cables. The camera\flash always sets the lens wide open, but I want greater depth of field, so I have set the camera to AV and choose about f 8. My problem is now that the camera sets a long shutter speed based on the ambient light, which has been causing some motion blur. How can I get the camera to use a normal synch speed, like around 90, and also have a good aperture setting like 8 or 11, while keeping the A-TTL capabilities? I am very capable of doing this manually, but I would like to use A-TTL if possible. Thanks so much for any help. Brian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awahlster Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 Brian you may not have enough light for that exposure level. Have you read the manaul and the speedlite guide Canon USA did to try to help use use this flash? If not you can find both here: http://www.canonfd.com/choose.htm But I'm thinking you just don't have enough power for your soft box and distance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian hanson Posted January 2, 2005 Author Share Posted January 2, 2005 Mark, thanks for trying to help me out, maybe I need to explain a little more. My negatives have good density; there is plenty of light. In fact, the flash was cycling very quickly and was not putting out nearly its full potential. The T-90 controls A-TTL exposure by controlling the duration of the flash, and that is working properly. My problem is that I do not have enough depth of field or my shutter speed is too slow, in this case both is true. I understand that normally there is a trade off between shutter speed and aperture, but in this case it need not be that way because it is actually the duration of the flash output controlling exposure. When I set the camera to AV and the aperture to f 8, it came up with a shutter speed of about 1 second, this caused motion blur. The little lighting bolt was lit up in the viewfinder, so the camera knew it was on a flash and that a 1 second shutter speed was not necessary. It does this to balance the background with the foreground in landscape shots, but I want to override this. So my question is, what setting should I use to get good depth of field and maintain a normal synch speed? It may not be possible, but it is a major shortcoming of the T-90 if it cannot be done. Thanks again, Brian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian hanson Posted January 2, 2005 Author Share Posted January 2, 2005 By the way, I have all of the manuals, but they only touch on all of the many things that a T-90 can do, and do not get into any depth about anything. It basiclly exspects you to set the camera and flash to program and take what you get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awahlster Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 I had simular problem when trying to figure out my T90 and 300TL I finally gave up and went to a flash meter to see what the combo was doing. Are you saying you have good density when you manually set F8 and say 1/90th or that you are getting good negs when the camera is selecting the shutter speed and as you say using a a long shutter speed. What happens when you try a TV mode? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_swartz Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 Brian,<br><br> A-TTL is <i>only</i> an automatic fill flash mode. No matter what you try to set, you are going to get fill, which in a dark room means a long ambient light exposure chosen by the camera, and a short burst of fill from the flash.<br><br> Also, if you are using the flash on a stand and are using the Hot Shoe Adapter/Connecting Cord/Off Camera Shoe Adapter combo, A-TTL is disabled. A-TTL is preserved off-camera only by using the coiled Off Camera Shoe Cord (the one-piece unit).<br><br> If you are using flash for primary illumination, the best solution is to use what Canon calls TTL Auto (the similarity in terminology is unfortunate). TTL Auto works thusly: set the T90 to Tv mode and choose your shutter speed. Set the lens aperture ring to your desired aperture. The camera/lens are now in manual mode, but the TTL sensor in the T90 will <i>automatically calculate</i> the flash exposure.<br><br> This is a neat approach. I use it with stands and umbrellas for portraits and such. I choose my DOF with aperture and let the camera handle the flash exposure. Any shutter speed between 30 seconds and 1/250 is usable; shutter speed controls your ambient exposure, so you can take advantage of ambient if you wish, or use 1/250 indoors and eliminate it.<br><br> If I understand your question correctly, this will provide exactly what you want--automatic flash exposure with a choice of apertures and shutter speeds.<br><br> Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pensacolaphoto Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 Alan, Thanks for reminding us about the TTL mode. I seem to have been using the 300TL mainly with A-TTL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian hanson Posted January 2, 2005 Author Share Posted January 2, 2005 Thanks Everyone for your help. I will try this out next time I get a chance. Brian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott_vogt1 Posted January 3, 2005 Share Posted January 3, 2005 This is a follow up question that fits in with this thread (IMO). So, would you still have the flash button set on A-ttl? I have used the t-90 and 300 tl combo for bird photography. I usually have the camera set on shutter priority and the aperature selected manually on the lens and do not have any of the buttons selected/pressed on the flash. To decrease the output of the flash I'll change the asa rating on the camera (e.g. for 100 film set the asa at 200 or 400 or whatever). However when I have tested this there does not appear to be any difference between the exposures at the different asa ratings. Am I doing something wrong? Scott Vogt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_ross2 Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 The best thing for bird shots with FILL is to set the T90 to Av, and the 300TL to FEL and flash spot meter off the bird, you can use the feedback in the viewfinder to adjust the amount of fill with the control dial and adjust bachground with highlight shadow buttons if you want, though you often don't have time. Regarding A-TTL, if you are using the off camera adapters from Canon, the only mode you can use is TTL Auto, as the camera detects the battery powered adapter that allows you to attach cords to take your flash off camera and disables the A-TTL and FEL functions. If you are using some other adapter which will allow use of A-TTL and FEL with the 300TL off camera, I'd like to know what it is as I could make use of that capability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christopher_holden Posted February 5, 2005 Share Posted February 5, 2005 Chris, You're looking for the OCSC-2 (Off Camera Shoe Cord). As I understand it, this one piece unit retains full function between the T90 and 300TL. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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