I just bought a speedlite and was told by the man at the store to shoot in auto when using it. What?! He said let the camera do the work for you - that the flash will control everything and why would I want to control the settings when they are so varied at a wedding.
But...I thought once you started shooting in manual, well, that's what you do! Even with a speedlite.
I like manual, though it can be a pain I prefer having the flash as a constant when I'm working, it's just my preference...
TTL metering is pretty damn clever though, essentially it gets info from the camera about how much light's come in to the sensor while the shutter's open and turns it off when it's enough, which when you think about the time that happens in, is crazy...
Try both, see what you prefer, if you're going to be doing a lot then getting the auto metering set up just how you like would be worth the effort, since it'd save a lot of button pushing...
What is important to remember is that the manual modes of the flash and camera are separate animals. You can shoot manual with one and not the other or any combination of the two.
Like Adam mentioned, TTL technology is pretty impressive and unless you can do the flash calculations yourself in a matter of a few seconds to properly expose your subject, the flash will probably calculate it better, and more importantly, faster.
Ultimately, just like the mode you shoot with on your camera, it will depend largely on your scene and subject to determine which type of flash to use. For me, most of the time if I have the flash in the hot shoe and I'm using it for bounce flash or fill, I let it do the work in the ETTL mode. It will instantly adjust to create light very close to what I wanted. On the other hand any time I have my flash off the camera that usually means it's a studio and/or planned shot, so in this case I usually dial in the settings manually because I have the luxury of testing and shooting something over again if it doesn't come out just right.
I'm not sure if you mean auto on flash or on the camera.
When I shoot events, I have the flash on TTL and the camera on Manual. Being able to set the shutter speed manually is important because it controls your ambient light. For dark places, I use a slower shutter to take in more ambient light. If I want to darken the ambient so my subject stands out more, I use a faster shutter. Then I just let the flash do all the work to expose my subject correctly.
But if I'm shooting in a studio, I set both the flash and the camera on Manual. I'm not moving much in a studio setting so I just look for the right settings and stick with it for consistent lighting.
There's a lot to learn about flashes. Hope that helps!
TTL IS HELPFUL!!!!! =) i shoot with my speedlite in TTL mode... =) i use the manual setting when i use the speedlite for fill lighting in the studio.. =)
Thanks for all the feedback! The guy at the store said to keep my camera on auto. I decided to sign up for a lesson with professional photographer so I can figure it all out. I'm much better learning this stuff hands-on than reading about it!
Write a Reply
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.
Tweets ahoy!
Join the Group
Pin With Me
I like manual, though it can be a pain I prefer having the flash as a constant when I'm working, it's just my preference...
TTL metering is pretty damn clever though, essentially it gets info from the camera about how much light's come in to the sensor while the shutter's open and turns it off when it's enough, which when you think about the time that happens in, is crazy...
Try both, see what you prefer, if you're going to be doing a lot then getting the auto metering set up just how you like would be worth the effort, since it'd save a lot of button pushing...
Like Adam mentioned, TTL technology is pretty impressive and unless you can do the flash calculations yourself in a matter of a few seconds to properly expose your subject, the flash will probably calculate it better, and more importantly, faster.
Ultimately, just like the mode you shoot with on your camera, it will depend largely on your scene and subject to determine which type of flash to use. For me, most of the time if I have the flash in the hot shoe and I'm using it for bounce flash or fill, I let it do the work in the ETTL mode. It will instantly adjust to create light very close to what I wanted. On the other hand any time I have my flash off the camera that usually means it's a studio and/or planned shot, so in this case I usually dial in the settings manually because I have the luxury of testing and shooting something over again if it doesn't come out just right.
When I shoot events, I have the flash on TTL and the camera on Manual. Being able to set the shutter speed manually is important because it controls your ambient light. For dark places, I use a slower shutter to take in more ambient light. If I want to darken the ambient so my subject stands out more, I use a faster shutter. Then I just let the flash do all the work to expose my subject correctly.
But if I'm shooting in a studio, I set both the flash and the camera on Manual. I'm not moving much in a studio setting so I just look for the right settings and stick with it for consistent lighting.
There's a lot to learn about flashes. Hope that helps!