Pink

[molucca]

Nothing but problems with shooting pink. The shots were always overexposed. I shot in manual and tried various f stops.

Rich

[raynerj1]

Did you try underexposing em? My camera does reds real bright but pinks read pretty good. The problem is the light meters do not read flat. There are hot spots and cold spots. Finding them, and then figgering out how to offset is the tough part... different light sources causes the spots to shift... It can be a real pain.

[molucca]

John,

This was manual exposure at 125, F11 and ETTL flash assist to start. I think the camera was compensating the flash too much. I chose to increase the F stop to offset the flash and increase the DOF at the same time.

We have been without power due to a forest fire over the mountain. We didn't expect to get power back for a long time.

Rich

[raynerj1]

I wouldn't use a flash with a closeup zoom... You are gonna definently get it too bright. It is better to go with a longer exposure and eliminate the flash.

[molucca]

John,

I need to compensate for me holding the camera, and shorted times are required.

Rich

[raynerj1]

Grab a tripod the next time you are in Wally-mart... walmart.com - tripodYou can get a short one for about $25. (which is fine for flowers... for shots over the head, it is better to invest in a taller tripod... Unless you are under 5'3"...)

if you really want to do it right... get a cable release or a remote control. Then you can take perfectly clear bulb shots without a timer...

[molucca]

John,

I have a carbon fiber tripod and an aluminum monopod. I have a couple more for holding subjects. Also have a remote cable. Mostly use these when very high F stops. Butterflys usually move about too much for a tripod. I need a remote swith to keep my vibrations isolated form the camera. So, hand held shots have shorter times to overcome vibration.

Rich

[raynerj1]

There are macro flash units... They look like those magnifying worklamps... without the magifying glass. That might work... Unless you are using a very long zoom.

[molucca]

John,

I looked at ring flash units, but they were too specific. I have a 580EX and an off camera cable as well. I made a fixture for it that lets me hold things easily.

Another flash shot with higher F stops.

Rich

[raynerj1]

Still really saturated in the reds... don't get me wrong, it looks good, but the pros would tear it apart... I think we are both looking to take shots better than the pros.

How about shuting the flash off for the flowers, and turn it on for the birds and the bees...

Have you tried using the flash as a remote slave and moving it further away? My camera/flash is supposed to have the ability but I haven't played around with it enough to figure out how to make it work.