Flash for low light racing photography

[todd_torfin]

I need a flash that I can put on a Canon 40D that will give me more reach than the

580EXII but I am not into a Norman Flash, I have seen photographers with the big

silver flash on the top of cameras and they do not seem to have the big battery

pack with them. Is there a flash that exists that will do this.

[michaelging]

There are big flashes that you can use on your camera,like the Norman 200B that you don't like. I would go with a faster lens , and not use flash at all. You do not say what kind of racing you are shooting, but if you are blasting Drivers at night with a big flash you would not be making any friends. Most flashes unless you are using large white lightnings or the kinds of flashes that we use in a basketball arena will not carry as far as you will need them. Its going to be a lot more expensive to buy a big flash than a fast lens.

 

look at the cost of these

 

http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=itemlist&cat1=Flash/Lighting&cat2=D.C.%20Packs%20%26%20Heads&cat3=System%20Outfits

[dave_holland]

You can buy inexpensive flash extenders that use a fresnel lens to give you more reach. But they are a little awkward. I would look into off camera flash with radio triggering options. The flash can be closer to the action, and you get more dramatic shadows as well. To me, the big limiting factor is sync speed, which can be a problem when you are shooting action. My 20D sync speed is 1/250s, which is pretty slow for action photography, especially if there is ambient light to contribute ghosting.

 

Dave

[photolma]

Hi Todd,

 

I shoot Street Racing in a real 1/8 mile track close to my house.

 

Equip: Canon 40D, 24-70mm f2.8 L USM and 70-200mm f2.8 L USM (no-IS).

 

ISO : 3200, 1/40 up to 1/125 depends on the light, camera his handheld and NO flash.

 

Will try to post an example of it.

 

Luis<div></div>

[todd_torfin]

I have 70-200 2.8L IS, 24-70 2.8 but sometimes need a little more reach. I saw on Tony Stewart's prelude to a Dream tonight a guy had a lens mounted to his camera. It had the big flash on top of the camera but did not seem to have a huge battery pack.

[chrisjb]

Not sure as I have not used one but a `Better beamer` on the 580 may help, tho I believe it may be designed for 300mm+. Someone may comment. I have used a tele attachment on a Metz 60 giving an effective gn120 (double), just another avenue :)<div></div>

[lee_smith2]

Hi Todd, its me again. I was at the Prelude last night and few of the guys there were shooting with Norman's normally used by the sprint car shooters. And they have a huge battery pack. The best you are going to do is look at the Quantums. I have one that I used for quite a while. If you need to you can get the large parabolic reflector for it also. As you know, I also think that your 580EX is very capable of lighting most the stuff we are trying to do. You can ssee some of the pictures I took last week with a 480EX at http://news.southjerseydirtracing.com/PhotoGallery.asp?ForumID=162&Page=1&MsgID=14621 I am still waiting for last night's pictures to be posted at the same site. Lee Smith

[lee_smith2]

Hi Todd, In the above post, I was using a 580EXII not a 480EX. Also here is a link to some last night's photos from the Prelude

http://news.southjerseydirtracing.com/PhotoGallery.asp?ForumID=162&Page=1&MsgID=14748

[alan_myers]

I'd also suggest you try a "Better Beamer" or "Flash Xtender".

 

I use a couple of them and, yes they are designed for 300mm and up. However, racked out to 200mm your zoom on your crop sensor camera is equal to 320mm on a full frame camera. So, the extenders will work fine with 200mm on a 40D. You do have to fiddle with them a little and take a few test shots to insure the flash extenders are properly aligned with your lens, but they will concentrate the output of your 580 to give you the equivalent of 2 or 3 more stops reach.

 

The most powerful Metz is GN 250, compared to your 580 at about GN 196 (approx.). The Quantum Q flash, Norman and Sunpak models with the parabolic reflectors are all rated in watt seconds, so difficult to compare, plus all use battery packs that clip on your belt or hang over your shoulder, which you seem to not want to use.

 

I gotta ask, how are you setting up the flash? If using Av or TV or Program on the camera, you are only getting fill flash, which is about -1.3 from the ambient lighting unless you dial in some compensation.

 

If you instead set the camera to M, you will get full flash, but will need to fiddle with the camera's exposure settings if you want to balance flash with ambient to some extent.

 

Are you using 1600 ISO? That also really extends your flash's reach.

 

Finally, are keeping to the 1/250 or below sync speed of your camera? If you use High Speed Sync and shutter speeds above 1/250, you quickly lose reach with the flash.

[todd_torfin]

Alan,

I am shooting in Manual mode. What mode do you use on your flash?

ETTL, Manual? What custom settings do you suggest. In Flash Control on the 40D what External flash settings do you suggest.