When the feeders are in the shade the flash really accentuates the colors on these tiny creatures.--charliezap

[eaglem]

Beautiful colouring in these birds................TFS

[mcgregni]

Yes, that flash has bought them to life for sure ... even the little catchlight on the 2nd makes a difference. What flash and type of mode / settings did you use ?

[AussieTrev]

And I thought you had some issue with your flash, but no just great shots.

[charliezap]

Yes, that flash has bought them to life for sure ... even the little catchlight on the 2nd makes a difference. What flash and type of mode / settings did you use ?

I'm from the old school. For flash I use a non dedicated Vivitar 285HV Thyristor that sells for around $90.It has plenty of power and many settings as to the power of the flash.I usually use the red mode-the yellow mode has the shortest flash duration of around 1/30,000 sec- the red is a tad slower but provides more light.--charliezap

[mcgregni]

Thanks! I've not used a Vivitar, but have heard so much about them, widely used and reliable.

[Des]

Good examples Charlie.

I never thought about using flash for wildlife shots until I read about it on this forum a couple of years ago. I'm a convert. For the benefit of users who haven't tried this, the thing that is most surprising is that it can freeze movement at a much slower shutter speed than you would normally use with a telephoto lens.

(Warning: Flash experts like @mcgregni might want to look away now. My idiot level explanation coming.)

Unless you use a High Speed Sync (HSS) flash, your shutter is limited to the maximum speed for flash (1/180th second on most APS-C cameras, 1/200th second on the K-1). But if the flash adds just a reasonable amount of lighting (say, just 2EV), the very very short burst of light will serve to "freeze" movement in the captured image. I don't completely understand how this works, but it does.

Something to concentrate the beam of light from the flash really helps - a flash extender does wonders. Even the popup flash on the K-3 with the cheap and lightweight Rogue Safari flash extender can give excellent results. (Note that that Rogue produces bandings on my K-30 and I wouldn't recommend it with that camera.)

I just set the camera to X-mode (which locks the shutter at 1/180th second), and set the aperture and ISO manually. In P-ttl mode (e.g. with the popup flash) the flash responds with the amount of light required to meet those settings. The more demanding the settings (e.g. f8 and ISO 100, rather than f5.6 and ISO 800), the more light it puts out. If I want the lighting to be more like the background, I set the aperture and ISO to be only a stop or two from exposure required for the background. I can also adjust the flash output in the camera - I usually set it between -1EV and -2EV unless the subject is more than about 10m away. This works OK for me - the only frustration is the delay while the P-TTL meters. I could deal with that by using an external flash and manual power settings, but the convenience and portability of the popup with the Rogue Safari are invaluable.

[jpzk]

Rogue Safari flash extender

From what I read this is not "compatible" with Pentax ... ?
Obviously, you've had better results. How?

[Des]

From what I read this is not "compatible" with Pentax ... ?
Obviously, you've had better results. How?

You are right that Rogue don't claim that any Pentax cameras are supported, but one intrepid member, @AdrianM, tried it on his K-3 and it worked well:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/22-pentax-camera-field-accessories/256288...-extender.html
My experience is the same with the K-3. For $A25, I'm delighted with it. (I'll post some shots eventually.)

The mount is a very very tight fit in the flash shoe at first. I actually had to tap it in with the back of a heavy cook's knife the first couple of times (gentle taps with a small hammer might be better). But the plastic compacts a little after about 6-8 times and then it's fine. That's what Rogue say too. The plastic is pretty strong and it can cope with some force. There is talk in the thread above about cutting the plastic, but I wouldn't recommend that.

You will see in that thread that @Crewl1 tested the Safari on a K-5 and a K-30 but got banding with each. I also got heavy banding when I tried it on the K-30. It seems the K-5 and K-30 have a different lens on the front of the popup flash from that on the K-3. Larry managed to reduce the banding on the K-5 by adjusting the position of the Safari. I should try that on the K-30.

Incidentally, one problem with on-camera flash is the "steel-eye" effect if the flash is reflected from the eyes. I've tried fixing it with the "dust removal" tool in DxO Optics Pro (which is the PP program I use), with mediocre results. I don't have Photoshop or Elements. Any tips welcome.

[mcgregni]

Des, I didn't look away once .... I found your explanation perfectly 'expert' enough, and you raise the interesting point about how flash power is actually controlled, which can be tricky to grasp. The natural way we might think is by actual power supply control, sort of like a light dimmer dial. But that's for a continuous light source. With flash it's the amount of time it is on for that determines how much brightness is recorded, so as you say, the very shortest (low 'power') settings help to freeze action ..... The problem with it is that it's a small amount of light, so as you say also, works best when mixed and just filling in with the main ambient exposure.

This is the explanation for why HSS does not freeze action well, despite many people new to flash thinking that it might .... The light source for HSS is effectively a continuous burst, in rapid pulses, and so its duration is fairly long compared to normal flash bursts. Even at exposure times of say, 1/4000 - 1/8000 secs it's effect is diminished by the high power loss during HSS at such speeds.

I use the Gary Fong Powesnoot to bring back lost output during these more extreme HSS ' moments', but its perhaps more suited to closer subjects than wildlife.

[Heinrich Lohmann]

Very nice images Charlie, flash worked well.

[Des]

I always learn something from your posts Nigel. Your recent discussion with @Class A about P-TTL v manual flash controls was like reading a dialogue between Socrates and Plato.

I guess the theory with HSS for photographing wildlife is that you are hoping to reduce the effect of subject movement (and camera/lens movement) by a faster shutter speed, as you would for a non-flash shot, rather than by relying on a shorter flash duration. Obviously when shooting without a flash, using a 300mm lens at say 1/640th second would be more likely to reduce motion blur than shooting at 1/180th second. If I understand you correctly, when you shoot with a flash in HSS mode, the flash fires a series of rapid pulses, so the subject is illuminated for a higher proportion of the exposure times than it would be if you were using normal flash mode and restricted to 1/180th second. So the irony is that the use of HSS with a faster shutter speed (say 1/640th second) produces a longer period of illumination than using normal flash mode with a longer exposure. Using @Charliezap 's hummingbirds as an example, might you have a better shot at freezing wing movement with normal flash mode (whether manual or P-TTL or whatever) in low ambient light using a shutter speed of 1/180th second than using HSS at say 1/640th second? That's the part that a novice would find counter-intuitive. Is the explanation that the duration of the flash when used in non-HSS mode is amazingly short, like 1/2000th second or something (even at full power, and less at "low power")? So the light captured by the camera's sensor is overwhelmingly what is reflected from the subject during that really really short period of illumination, even though the shutter is open for a whole 1/180th second?

[mcgregni]

I think that is right Des. Shoot at 1/1000 of a second with HSS flash, and that provides a continuous burst of pulses for that entire 1/1000th period of time.A single flash pulse at an exposure time of 1/180th might last 1/10,000th sec, 10 times less!

I think the key to the actual result is the balance of light between ambient and flash. If it's mostly ambient then the 'long' flash HSS burst will have less impart, and so the subject will freeze more .... If the flash is the dominant light then that relatively 'slow' continuous pulse will cause more movements to be recorded.

Glad you've been enjoying the P-TTL vs manual debates!

[Des]

Characteristically crystal clear and very informative, @mcgregni.

An article about using flash for wildlife photography with Pentax would be very useful, if someone has the time and inclination to write it. Flash units, flash extenders, mounting brackets, all about HSS, P-TTL v manual or auto, diffusers, off-camera options, choosing the mode on the camera, exposure settings, white balance adjustment, FEC, correcting steel-eye and redeye, etc etc. (Not only does my ignorance disqualify me, but alas I have mountains of paid work.)

[mcgregni]

Sounds like an ideal topic for a Forum Article. Probably the sort of thing that would benefit from photos of the gear and some results as well. Unfortunately, wildlife is not my thing ..... I'd probably enjoy all the flash and extenders part of it .... Just not so much the actual animals/birds, staking out in the wilds etc bits!

I wonder if the forum has a way of taking article suggestions? There are bound to be a number of good qualified candidates who may enjoy putting something together.