Fill Flash With Sigma EF-530 DG Super

shiner · 03-28-2012, 02:15 PM

I am still a flash noob. This flash is not fully dedicated and I want to use it for some upcoming portraits. Simply using on AV mode (on K-5) works great for general flash photography, but fill flash outdoors eludes me. It's of course easy with the on-camera flash to fire at -1 or 2 EV, but making the EF530 do this seems problematic and I'm sure I'm missing something. Anyone have one of these flash units?

jase036 · 03-28-2012, 02:53 PM

For bright day fill what I do is use flash off camera, but this would work with the flash on camera as long as the flash and camera are on manual control. I meter for correct ambient exposure without flash (the subject may be underexposed), I initially set shutter speed at 1/125th and adjust the aperture and/or ISO to get correct exposure. Then knowing the guide number of my flash I guesstimate my flash power setting. I shoot and see if the flash is under or over powered and correct. If the flash is underpowered and is at max power then I open up aperture and set shutter speed to max sync speed (1/180th) and/or drop the ISO. Your flash fill doesn't get affected by the shutter speed (the flash lasts less than the max sync speed) but rather the aperture and ISO.

So lets say for example I'm shooting a portrait, I meter the scene and my camera settings are at 1/125th f/11 ISO 200, and my flash is set at 1/2 power but is underpowered by 1.5 stops, I would push the flash to full power and open up the aperture half a stop. now the flash fill is correct, but I am half a stop over exposed on ambient so I speed up the shutter by half a stop (1/180th) to correct ambient without affecting flash fill.

dosdan · 03-28-2012, 04:59 PM

The 1/180s max sync speed can be a problem on a bright sunny day when you're trying to fill in the shadow under a tree or the brim of a hat. You can however use high speed sync (HSS) with this flash which means you can set the camera to a faster shutter speed e.g. 1/500s.

Dan.

03-28-2012, 02:15 PM	#1
shiner Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: N GA USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,127	Fill Flash With Sigma EF-530 DG Super I am still a flash noob. This flash is not fully dedicated and I want to use it for some upcoming portraits. Simply using on AV mode (on K-5) works great for general flash photography, but fill flash outdoors eludes me. It's of course easy with the on-camera flash to fire at -1 or 2 EV, but making the EF530 do this seems problematic and I'm sure I'm missing something. Anyone have one of these flash units?

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03-28-2012, 02:53 PM	#2
jase036 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Calgary, Alberta Photos: Gallery Posts: 170	For bright day fill what I do is use flash off camera, but this would work with the flash on camera as long as the flash and camera are on manual control. I meter for correct ambient exposure without flash (the subject may be underexposed), I initially set shutter speed at 1/125th and adjust the aperture and/or ISO to get correct exposure. Then knowing the guide number of my flash I guesstimate my flash power setting. I shoot and see if the flash is under or over powered and correct. If the flash is underpowered and is at max power then I open up aperture and set shutter speed to max sync speed (1/180th) and/or drop the ISO. Your flash fill doesn't get affected by the shutter speed (the flash lasts less than the max sync speed) but rather the aperture and ISO. So lets say for example I'm shooting a portrait, I meter the scene and my camera settings are at 1/125th f/11 ISO 200, and my flash is set at 1/2 power but is underpowered by 1.5 stops, I would push the flash to full power and open up the aperture half a stop. now the flash fill is correct, but I am half a stop over exposed on ambient so I speed up the shutter by half a stop (1/180th) to correct ambient without affecting flash fill.

03-28-2012, 04:59 PM	#3
dosdan Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Brisbane, Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,741	The 1/180s max sync speed can be a problem on a bright sunny day when you're trying to fill in the shadow under a tree or the brim of a hat. You can however use high speed sync (HSS) with this flash which means you can set the camera to a faster shutter speed e.g. 1/500s. Dan.