Canon 430EX and rapid fire recycling

[charles_chesna]

Hope I chose the right one? I have been trying to get some good stop action

shots at indoor track meets. I am using a canon 10D and have a 28-105 1:3.5-

4.5 lens. I also have a 70-200 2.8 IS L lens in my bag. I would really like

to use the longer lens and have tried it on manual and tried pushing the iso

at 250 but the images were dark. I just acquired a canon 430EX Speedlight and

my question is will this project out far enough (about 50') to use the 70-200

lens so I can fill the frame with the runner and get good stop action. I am

understanding I should be shooting on manual by prefocusing on an object and

setting the camera on shutter speed priority. I also usually shoot in bursts

of 3 or 4 images at a time. Photo shop was not sure if this flash would

recycle fast enough. Can somebody guide me through a good work habit to shoot

this type work with the equipment I am using. Thanks......

[phoneguy]

Your flash has a guide number of 43 meters (Roughly 141 feet), so it will cover a 50' distance, but depending on the lighting, it might be at full power. Therefore, your recycle times probably will not keep up with 3-4 frames per second.

 

You need a faster ISO, 800-1600 for the indoor shots. This will help get the power used by your flash down to a lower level, and decrease the recycle time. I doubt you will be able to get 4 rapid flashes though. Maybe two.

 

Mike

[streetlevel]

You could look at a flash extender like the better beamer - which is supposed to help out at

distance.

 

You could also look at external power sources (like the quantum Bantam or Turbo) batter

packs. Those will allow for faster recycling.

 

But the simple fact is that no battery strobe I know if does under 1 second recycling -

especially not if it's trying to illuminate something at that distance (where it needs more

power to reach). So burst shooting will always be dicey.