Any Photographers here?

[deronsizemore]

Curious if anyone has experience with the Sigma EF-530 DG Super flash?

I'm a novice photographer, at best. With the recent birth of my first child, I bought the Canon T1i and 50mm/f1.8 lens and am loving the setup for my hobbyist needs, but I needed a decent flash and based on reviews and price point, the Sigma 530 Super seemed to be it. Placed the order tonight and it should be here Thursday.

The only cons I had read about the flash are that it could be faster and it's a little on the large side, but beggars can't be choosers. I needed something for my limited photography budget and at only $190 bucks, I can live with the "cons." The Canon comparable model is nearly $500, and I just couldn't afford that. Maybe one day down the road if photography starts paying some bills, but not now.

[Gary]

Hi there, I am a freelance photographer, but I shoot Nikon.

From my experience, I think it's better for you to shoot infant photos without flash. Why? Because external flash will destroy the ambient "warm" feeling, plus you have a f/1.8 and you are good to go within ISO 800 - 1600. Try using natural lighting, you will surprise how awesome your 50mm f/1.8 is. And I am not sure if the flash light is good for your baby's eyes. Of course you won't point the flash right at your baby; always point it at the ceiling when you're indoor and use a bounce card.

Regarding the flash, it is always good to purchase the same brand. You won't get wrong with Canon flash. I am not sure about Sigma, but it's always safer to get Canon flash if you have a Canon DSLR, because soon you will realize there's so much more to do other than TTL mode. Try getting older models, not sure about Canon, but an older Nikon flash (SB-600) is about $200 brand new. Strobe lights are like golf clubs... you can never get enough. I have 3 flash lights and they are still not enough for my shoots sometimes.

Let me know if you any questions.

[newtogolf]

Canon has two external flash units, the 430 and 580, the 430 is around $225, but supports all the Canon modes. I use both, the 580 mounted and the 430 as a slave. I'd also suggest you get the Canon over the Sigma, it's a better long term investment

I also agree with Gary, best to skip the flash if you can. If you must use the flash get a good diffuser or at least bounce it so you don't get the harsh lighting on the subject.

[deronsizemore]

Thanks for the advice/thoughts, guys. It's appreciated. I've tried to reply individually to all points below.

From my experience, I think it's better for you to shoot infant photos without flash. Why? Because external flash will destroy the ambient "warm" feeling, plus you have a f/1.8 and you are good to go within ISO 800 - 1600. Try using natural lighting, you will surprise how awesome your 50mm f/1.8 is. And I am not sure if the flash light is good for your baby's eyes. Of course you won't point the flash right at your baby; always point it at the ceiling when you're indoor and use a bounce card.

Well, my infant is now going on six months old.

I did take her infant pictures using only natural light and I was quite pleased with the results given it was my first time using a DSLR. I've done my research and feel like I know what all of the settings (or most of them) on the camera do, it's just difficult for me to gauge the lighting in the room and get the settings right in the first pic or two. Sometimes I find myself taking a pic, it turns out under exposed, I adjust and then repeat multiple times until I get the right combination of settings. The flash actually came in today and I've been doing some testing. Yeah, all of my shots came out better when bouncing the flash. Way to harsh when pointed directly at the subject/object. Also, if there's not a lot of light, when I bump the ISO up to 800+, I start to get noise in the photo. Not any red/green noise, but more of a grainy texture. The reason I even got started looking into flashes was because at family gatherings this past week for Thanksgiving, I took a lot of pictures and majority of them turned out too dark. I can edit them in LightRoom, but then the more processed they are, the more grain they tend to get. I hate to use the built in flash because it makes the photos look horrible. If I open up the aperture to 1.8 I get a lot of bokeh effect in areas that I don't want it; like it's taking over the photo. Seems that I have to be fairly close to the subject to get the picture to turn out right. Could just be my inexperience. What should my settings be when I've got the f stop down to 1.8 so that my pictures turn out? Also, if I set a slower shutter speed, then I introduce some blur from camera shake, so it's like I can't win. lol

Regarding the flash, it is always good to purchase the same brand. You won't get wrong with Canon flash. I am not sure about Sigma, but it's always safer to get Canon flash if you have a Canon DSLR, because soon you will realize there's so much more to do other than TTL mode. Try getting older models, not sure about Canon, but an older Nikon flash (SB-600) is about $200 brand new.

Yeah, I'm usually a "all the same brand" kind of person, but in this case I made an exception based on price and reviews. Everything I read about the Sigma flash indicated that it had even more features than the equivalent Canon 530EX II and it was less than half the price. I could have went with a cheaper Canon flash, but then I wouldn't have had the slave features, etc., that the Sigma has. Here's the link to the flash if you're interested:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...per_Flash.html From what I've read/heard from other photogs, Sigma makes quality products. All reviews on their products are typically good. I've already noticed there's much more than TTL mode; I just don't know what all of the modes are or what they do, yet. I was looking through the manual tonight and was thoroughly confused.

Strobe lights are like golf clubs... you can never get enough. I have 3 flash lights and they are still not enough for my shoots sometimes.

You'll have to excuse my ignorance with lighting, I haven't gotten too much into that area yet. What are "strobes" and "flash lights." Are they just a type of light in which you can use an umbrella or soft box with?

Canon has two external flash units, the 430 and 580, the 430 is around $225, but supports all the Canon modes. I use both, the 580 mounted and the 430 as a slave. I'd also suggest you get the Canon over the Sigma, it's a better long term investment

I would say going forward I'll definitely buy all Canon, but being that I'm not a professional and am just getting started with all of this, I figured I could learn with this one and move up later if I get into photography more. Plus, from what I understand, even though it's obviously cheaper made, the Sigma one is supposed to be decent.

You say you use the 580 mounted with the 430 as a slave. I may be confused, but I thought the 430 only had slave features with certain camera bodies? Also, it says a "wireless" slave meaning I thought you had to have a wireless transmitter for it to work? With the Sigma flash that I purchased, I can make it a slave and fire the slave flash using the built in flash on the camera without wireless devices.

I also agree with Gary, best to skip the flash if you can. If you must use the flash get a good diffuser or at least bounce it so you don't get the harsh lighting on the subject.

Yes, do plan to get a diffuser to try out. Right now I've just been bouncing the flash off of the ceiling/walls and it seems to work well.

[Gary]

Use f/1.8 only when you are low light condition which you have no choice.

Usually the widest open aperture won't give you the sharpest photo.

For example, on my Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8, usually I go one to two stops down to get the sharpest pic (e.g. f/4)

You don't need to go beyond ISO 800 when you have an external flash. For what I do - I shoot with Shutter Priority Mode, at about ISO 200, ignore the light meter and let my photo underexpose. Because the flash light will compensate the underexposure. Try different shutter speed to get the best pic.

I don't use Manual Mode. I stick with TTL and Commander Mode. Commander Mode allows you to use your external flash light remotely and create harsh shadows.

Yes. Strobes = flash lights. Soon you will find yourself spending a lot of money on soft box, diffuser, umbrellas, light stands, backdrop...

Have fun!

I learned a lot from this site when I was a beginner, check it out.
http://www.digital-photography-school.com/

[deronsizemore]

Use f/1.8 only when you are low light condition which you have no choice.

Thanks for the information. Yes, I've been to digital photography school a lot actually. Good site.

Yeah, I'm seeing that this could be expensive. I've already been looking into getting a light kit with some softboxes and stuff. Not sure what's better though, softbox or umbrellas? Or is there much difference? When you say "commander" mode, is that the same as "slave?"

[zeg]

Use f/1.8 only when you are low light condition which you have no choice.

In addition to inherent lens sharpness, often the actual limit is missed focus at that extreme an aperture. The plane that's in focus is very thin, so unless you're paying very close attention to the autofocus indicators or using an old-fashioned ground glass viewfinder that actually shows focus clearly, it's very easy to ruin a shot by autofocusing on a shoulder instead of the eyes or similar. A couple stops down will give you a little forgiveness on focus, in addition to improving the optical performance of the lens.

[deronsizemore]

In addition to inherent lens sharpness, often the actual limit is missed focus at that extreme an aperture. The plane that's in focus is very thin, so unless you're paying very close attention to the autofocus indicators or using an old-fashioned ground glass viewfinder that actually shows focus clearly, it's very easy to ruin a shot by autofocusing on a shoulder instead of the eyes or similar. A couple stops down will give you a little forgiveness on focus, in addition to improving the optical performance of the lens.

Thanks for the input. I'm definitely finding this very thing out via trial and error. :)

[Danattherock]

Hi there, I am a freelance photographer, but I shoot Nikon.

I agree. The 50 1.8 will allow you to get some great indoor shots without flash. Especially if you can take advantage of some ambient light or window light. I mostly shoot landscapes, but when it comes to babies and children, I will take natural light any day of the week. B&H; has a cool book about photographing babies you might be interested in.

Check out this forum (all Canon) Photography on the net http://photography-on-the.net/forum/ -Dan

[Gary]

Thanks for the information. Yes, I've been to digital photography school a lot actually. Good site.

Soft box points directly at the person/object you are shooting, whereas umbrellas are placed side by side to the person/object.

I don't have a soft box, but my friend does, because he needs powerful lighting for outdoor shoots (he would put two flashes inside the softbox to achieve max power). Yea commander mode = your flash(es) are "slaves" which you use a radio device or your internal flash to trigger. It's freaken cool. You should try. Any photos of your lovely baby to share with us?

[Danattherock]

Yeah man, post some pics. Here is one with some good old fashioned window light..

[iacas]

I do almost all of my work exclusively with natural light. The most I do sometimes is to bounce window light back as a soft fill light.

Then again, the other parents get annoyed when you try to set up a scrim and a few bounce reflectors around second base just so you can get a perfectly lit action shot of your kid playing softball...

[deronsizemore]

Soft box points directly at the person/object you are shooting, whereas umbrellas are placed side by side to the person/object.

I actually had tried it the first night I got the flash. I knew what "slave" was, just never heard the "commander" reference. I used the camera's built in flash to trigger the slave flash. Yes, extremely cool. Will definitely be using it more in the future. The only thing I don't like about this flash (as I'm sure with most flashes) is that I just don't understand what a lot of the settings means/do. The manual doesn't really tell you much, so it's going to take some playing around to get them figured out. I can't see myself really shooting anything other than TTL mode right now though. Bought a diffuser for the flash that should be in today, so we'll see how that does.

Yeah man, post some pics. Here is one with some good old fashioned window light..

Great looking shot! I'll post one or two that I've taken tonight when I get the chance.

Thanks for the link to the Canon forum as well. I need a good photography forum to join to ask all my noob questions.

Then again, the other parents get annoyed when you try to set up a scrim and a few bounce reflectors around second base just so you can get a perfectly lit action shot of your kid playing softball...

[newtogolf]

Also a good idea to shoot using RAW format so you can make adjustments to white balance and exposure, especially if shoot with natural or room lighting only.

Another good photography forum is www.dpreview.com , they have manufacturer and model specific forums, image editing, professionals, and printing techniques forums as well.

[deronsizemore]

Also a good idea to shoot using RAW format so you can make adjustments to white balance and exposure, especially if shoot with natural or room lighting only.

Yeah, I always shoot in RAW. Thanks for the dpreview link as well. I knew that site was good for comparisons and such, but didn't realize they had forums.

Here's a recent one of my little girl:

[Danattherock]

Beautiful baby man. Must be hard to go to the golf course.


-Dan

[deronsizemore]

Thank you.

It's definitely difficult to go to the course. Although, being that it's currently 7 degrees outside, that decision is pretty much made for me.