Question on using flash with a large format lens via a dedicated Canon 540ez flash with a pc cord to hotshoe adapter.

[peter_chipman]

hi, everyone.

 

I'm interested in purchasing a pc cord to hotshoe adapter to hook up

a Canon 540ez flash to my Fujinon and Rodenstock lenses.

 

Has anyone done this? Is there anything I should be aware of? Are

all the manual controls on the 540ez sufficient to adjust the light

output to the way I want it? Any other suggestions to doing

something different if you think this is an unwise choice of setup?

I quite often like to add a touch of light to my forground when doing

landscape, but have not tried it yet with my large format equipment.

 

Also, I know this question on dedicated flashes may have been

addressed before in the forum, but I've found that you can't search

the large format forum by itself with the Google advanced search

feature which lets you simple type in the forum link to do a

selective search of the forum only (instead of all of photo.net!).

It would be great if the moderators at photo.net could resolve this

issue, as it would cut down greatly on repeatitive questions.

 

Thanks,

 

Pete.

 

Thanks,

 

Pete.

[wayne_crider4]

Try Porter's, at I believe porters.com. They should have it.

[peter_chipman]

Thanks, Wayne. But my question is not about where to get the adapter. Please read my question.

 

Thanks,

 

Pete.

[jennifer_waak]

Peter, I have done it using the 550EX. Not pretty. <A HREF="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0035M2">Here is a link to the problems I was having</A>. I ended up buying real strobes because the power output was just too low and I needed a ton of pops and had a REALLY tough time getting it exposed properly.

<P>

Note, I was trying to do this for studio lighting, not as a bit of fill flash. Read my thread. But, I still think you will find it underpowered.<P>

-Jen

[peter_chipman]

Thanks, Jennifer.

 

Good link. And yes, I primarily do fill flash outdoors, but the link was useful.

 

So, tell me what I'm missing here...I take a meter reading of the scene, program the 540ez for shutter speed and f-stop, and then the Canon will fire the right amount of light by just releasing the shutter (connected to flash via pc adapter cord) or pushing the "test-fire" button on the flash during the exposure? I know these sound like simple questions, but I'm so used to a 35mm camera body interacting with the flash to come up with desired result, and then just modifying it a bit myself by dialing in a 1.5 stops or so undercompensation. I'm not familiar with a dedicated flash being able to fire the right amount of light independent of the camera, but from what I'm reading, I guess that's what the flash can do. Am I missing something here, or is it that easy...the shutter sends a signal for the sole purpose of tripping the flash (no other information sent), and then the flash, manually set, fires the right amount of light.

 

Thanks, Pete.

[mark_blackman1]

Pete,

I understand your problem, but IMHO there are two options.

 

1. Treat your landscape as you would a studio shot, invest in 'portable' strobes, lug the lot around to your shot, set it all up, compose, pack-up cos the suns gone in. return the next day & repeat ad naseum. Unless you are lucky and can get complete control of the situation, you'll always be disapointed.

 

2. Carry your LF gear around as normal, but include a simple but reasonably powerful flash unit (50 asa ?). Compose as normal but use the flash for selective fill-in (use of polaroid film is useful here).

 

Unless your landscapes are quite small and close up, I think you'll have more success with option 2. A radio link is also very useful for lighting interiors of buildings etc if they are PART of yout shots.

 

Good luck.

[jennifer_waak]

Pete, I'm not sure I'm going to be much help past what I gave you already, but I'll give it a go. I always used the flash at max power because a single pop was never sufficient for me (much less dialing it down). But, I think you are right when you want to just dial in the level you want and just use the sync cables to tell it when to fire.

 

It's almost 1am here, but if you can wait until tomorrow I can test it out for you since I have pretty close to the exact setup you are looking for. I'll just try dialing in a a few different numbers and see what my flash meter gives me for results. Since I'll be indoors (and hence with consistent light) the results should be accurate.

 

-Jen

[peter_chipman]

Thanks, Jen.

 

Mark, I'm usually just holding a flash above something of interest in the foreground, with the flash toned down from what the default camera/flash combo usually tries to put out for skin tones. I like to have just enough light to bring out color in flowers, and bring out detail in driftwood from the shadows. I find that even with an f-stop of 22, I get enough light with my 35mm setup to do this, the result being that I've got a little more color and detail without anyone recognizing too much the use of flash. But, I do like what I'm learning here. It's giving me some ideas to experiment with.

 

Pete.

[peter_chipman]

Mark, it's WAY to early in the morning...of course option 2. Sorry, just swallowed a big lump in my throat and replied to option 1 before reading option 2.

 

Thanks,

 

Pete.

[tom_percival1]

Pete,

 

I have done what you are describing. I was using a Vivtar 385hv, but the results should be similar. I was photographing a landscape for an architect and the shot I needed put a patch of flowers in the foreground that were directly under a tree on a sunny day. The background was in full sun and I wanted to add a little more light to the foreground.

 

I used the movements of the camera to get the greatest depth-of-field with the smallest aperture. This way I could get the greatest amount of fill from the flash. Obviously, that is the biggest problem with this set-up is to make sure that you have enough light coming from the flash to make a visible difference in the scene.

 

If I remember right I had an aperture of about f/22 which under the conditions, and the flash set at full power, the foreground ended up being about one stop under exposed from the rest of the scene. Which was perfect, brining out just enough color of the flowers to make them more visible.

 

You are correct in your guess about the relationship between the camera and the flash. The snych cord will only signal the flash when to fire in this set-up. The flash will make the rest of the adjustments if set to auto. However, to make sure that the entire power of the unit is fired you may want to set it to manual. Also beaware that the flash will probably not have a usable range of more than 5-7 feet in this situation. Good luck, hope this was useful.

 

Tom

[peter_chipman]

Thanks, Tom!

[jennifer_waak]

Pete, it just occurred to me that I haven't run this test yet for you. I got swamped at work and then completely forgot. Let me know if my test will still help and I'll go downstairs and do it.

 

-Jen

[peter_chipman]

Thanks, Jen.

 

Just whenever you get a chance.

 

Pete.