D60 / 550EX Combo Can it be used fully manual?

[john20]

Right now I have an ST-E2 remote and two 420EX flashes. This system

works only on E-TTL. Which can be frustrating, especially doing

weddings. I was thinking of selling the remote and getting the

550EX. Other than the fact that it is an excellent flash, what

benefits will I gain? Can I use it in full manual mode, and control

the 420s manually? Can the zoom be operated manually?

 

Thanks in advance,

John

[Ken Katz]

A 550EX can be used in full manual mode, but I do not know if it can control a 420EX in such maner. If you are looking for more consistent flash exposure doing weddings, full manual flash may not be the answer. If you set your aperture and/or flash output, to properly expose a subject 5 feet away, any variance in the actual distance to the flash will cause under or overexposure. Unlike shooting print film, overexposure is a real bad thing on a DSLR and will probably result in an unusable (unsellable) image.

 

My D60 tends to underexpose when flash is the primary source of light (seems almost dead on for fill flash). By setting FEC at +2/3 and placing the active focus sensor over a midtone area, I get reasonably consistent flash exposures (still need to watch the histogram). Photos underexposed by no more than 1 stop are easily fixed and generally produce very nice results.