should I bring the speedlite

[shane_o]

<p>I am trying to travel light and trying to decide what gear to take.<br>

I am taking my 30d and also my 24-105 and my tamron 17-50<br>

I have a gorillapod and my remote. I was wondering if I should be taking the speedlite. It takes up alot of room in my smaller bag and was wondering if I would use it that much. In previous trips I never had a speedlite. i wonder how much I would use it since you can not use flash in churches and other buildings that have low light anyway.<br>

I just need to make my final decision before I leave in a week. </p>

[shane_o]

<p>oh and further I am visiting Leeds, London, Venice, Florence and Paris</p>

[frank uhlig]

<p>Do you use flash a lot? Are you experienced with flash, fill-flash, balancing flash and natural light? Do you like to use flash and like the pictures you flashed? Or is it just a novelty, the "speedlight", and you are enamored with a new piece of gear you may hardly know? I, we cannot tell, can we, from your post ...</p>

<p>Then decide.</p>

[rob_wall]

<p>Stage 1: I used flash some but had trouble calculating fill flash ratios.<br>

Stage 2: I bought an F-4 (three actually) and a couple of SB-25s and found fill flash easy and used it a ton.<br>

Stage 3: I have pretty much stopped using flash for travel photography. Last several long trips I have taken an SB-800 but never took it out of the bag.</p>

[shane_o]

<p>Actually I jsut got the flash about 4 months ago. I used it alot for a wedding I did for friends but have only played with it a bit since. I should be using it more.</p>

[brucecahn]

<p>You know, apart from his fashion work, Helmut Newton used ambient light for most of his pictures. That means whatever he found where he was shooting. It makes for a more interesting and less contrived group of pictures. If you can learn to shoot at low shutter speeds, it is easy to do.</p>

[vcallaway]

<p>Sunny days can be a killer. Using a flash for fill can make all the difference in the world. When you are travelling you can't always pick when and where to take a photo. You have to make due with what you have.<br>

I have a cheap sunpak and an equally cheap ebay wireless trigger. Those live in my bag and don't really add much to weight or bulk. Even when I'm alone I can always find someone or someplace to hold a flash.<br>

Many travel photos were saved by adding a little light.</p>

[scott_ferris]

<p>Forgive me Shane, but Leeds, in with London, Venice, Florence and Paris? Made me smile. I wouldn't bother with a Speedlite for any of them except Leeds :-)</p>

[shane_o]

<p>LOL I know. Leeds is to visit family...LOL</p>

 

[ian_whitehead1]

<p>I just don't know how anyone can ever answer these for someone else??</p>

<p>Ian</p>

[anov]

<p>I would just leave it at home. If you need fill for those people picture under harsh noon light, just use the built in one on your 30D. You're gonna be in beautiful cities with beautiful lights, well except maybe, never mind, so take advantage of that. Good luck.</p>

[quanvu]

<p>Your Canon 24-105 and Tamron 17-50 none is faster than f/2.0, unless you bring a 24mm or 35mm f/1.4 or willing to bump up the ISO in low light (thus more noise), I would bring a flash just in case.</p>

[a._n.k.]

<p>I've been to these cities, London, Venice, Florence and Paris (not Leeds), as a "tourist", I never felt the need for a external flash. I took my Tamron 17-50, it works extremely well in low light, especially with my Canon 40D.<br>

Of course, it depends on your purpose for travelling to these cities, are you a tourist or photographer, will you be taking pictures of people.???<br>

1) Very few place (tourist places) that are dimly lit will even allow a flash, some don't allow cameras.<br>

2) If you need to take pics of people, does it need to be professional. The built-in on the 40D is pretty good for fill, unless you really need the long range</p>

<p>3) If you plan a lot of people/portrait work, then take a flash.</p>

 

[richard_crowe4]

<p>It depends on your style of shooting and/or expertise with a flash. Like the video commercial used to say "I never leave home without it!" But, that is just my style.<br>

I predominately utilize the flash for fill. I don't use the built-in flash for a number of reasons; primarily because I cannot use it with my 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens wearing a lens hood because the hood casts a shadow from the flash at wider apertures. I cannot shoot at shutter speeds above 1/250 second because the built-in flash is not capable of HSS. I cannot bounce the built-in flash (Sure there are some lame gizmos which purport to add bounce ability to the built-in flash but, they are worthless.)<br>

I own three flash units: 550EX, 420EX and the new and diminutive 270EX. I usually carry the 420EX while traveling but, do not always take it with me when I am shooting. I always carry the 270EX mounted on the camera which wears my 70-200mm f/4L IS lens. I just need to turn it on or off as the occasion arises.<br>

Although the 270EX cannot light the world; it does a pretty fair job bounced into a Joe Demb Flip-It Junior reflector for creative lighting of small areas. The Flip-It also allows me to use the flash without casting a lens-hood shadow and I can do a fair job of bouncing when the camera is in the vertical position.</p>

<p> </p>

[brad_bell]

<p>I would never travel anywhere without a flash. I usually take 2!</p>