recharge rate in ext flash


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zod

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Mar 30, 2003
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what type of batt u guys use to reduce the recharge time in canon ex flashes?
 

an EXTERNAL battery pack... like either the canon's original compact battery pack or higher end - Quantum battery pack affects the recharge rate.

the batteries (no matter what batts you use) IN the flash itself WILL NOT reduce the recharge rate unless you pop in fresh batts every 100 flashes
 

what abt comparing using alkaline AA and rechargeable nimh AA
from what i recall, the nimh can last longer. does it have faster recharge rate too?
 

yeah... NiMH last longer due to it's chemical components as well as it's Amps. holding.

but in terms of faster recharge rate..... they last more shots than normal alkaline batts before you start noticing a lag in the flash recharging.
 

SniperD said:
the batteries (no matter what batts you use) IN the flash itself WILL NOT reduce the recharge rate unless you pop in fresh batts every 100 flashes

Actually NiMh and NiCd can shave roughly 20% off the full recycle time compared to alkalines.

zodnm, there is little reason to use anything other than NiMh for flashes. If you are using high iso film, there is little chance of you requiring more than a extra set of batteries, even if you use 6 rolls or more.
 

oh, cos i now using a 420ex flash borrowed frm ntu pvs. thanks to kenneth choo. then i was using 4AA IMM yellow batts(very cheap. 10 for $4.50) and i noticed the recharge rate very slow.
today was shooting at srt, stage. using high iso flim and a 50mm 1.8, courtesy of kenneth :) so i din use flash
but tomorrow will need to use flash, cos will be shooting vips and such
and thinking that the recharge time might cause me to miss some shots
 

Try to balance your flash. Use high ISO film so that your flash will be performing a fill-in role instead of mainlight. That will greatly reduce your recycle times. Can also try to get a 2 sets of freshly charged NiMh from someone.
 

btw, i used a self made diffuser
took a piece of plain A4 white paper and half fold it twice and covered my flash
meaning 4 pieces of paper. with this, any idea how much power is cut? will it still be too strong for direct?
 

and also, the 500n i using cannot set flash exposure
so my flash always firing at full power
 

Personally I think that was a bad idea. You are wasting the flash power and causing the slow recycle times. Using a big bounce card will give better results and less light loss than covering the flash head. A larger light source is a diffuse light source, you don't necessarily get a more diffused light if the emitting area is still the same.

Personally I either use bouncecard or fire direct.
 

zodnm said:
and also, the 500n i using cannot set flash exposure
so my flash always firing at full power

? Can't it do TTL with the 420EX?
 

I think the TTL on the EOS500 is not as good compared to a EOS 88 or 30/33

I think bounce flash should be safe. Get a white hard cardboard (a VHS videotape white cover is good) and fashion a bounce card.
 

SniperD said:
I think the TTL on the EOS500 is not as good compared to a EOS 88 or 30/33
Shouldn't be too bad. On film and for reportage purposes it should more than suffice. I know someone who covers events for Zaobao with just a 500N.

I think bounce flash should be safe. Get a white hard cardboard (a VHS videotape white cover is good) and fashion a bounce card.
Yep, something like this.;)
bouncecardf.jpg

bouncecardm.jpg
 

steady
i will go try it now
 

how large an area should i cut it?
i mean the area above the flash
 

As big as your embrassment tolerence level is as high. :)
There is no set size and you will need to take into consideration portability/storage. However, the bigger the card, the more diffused it is and will use up more flash power for every trigger.
 

finish making a bounce card
so since now that the power is reduced, does it mean that i have to over expose my shots when taking with flash?
or will 500n ttl take care of that?
if i have to over expose my shots, is 1 ev enough?
 

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