SHOE FLASH FOR CANON ? Options ?

[David]

As I read it, the fill flash on the Canon 400D has limited distance effect capacity. I want then a shoe flash that can cover a landscape area up to 20 feet or more perhaps from the camera *eg waterfall and rainforest images* where you use the focal lock to expose for the background to the main subject and let the flash expose the main subject.

I am wondering if such a shoe flash exists and what you have to pay for one that can cover 20-30 feet away from the camera. I suppose A you can get one but B it would cost me as much are the camera, lol.

I saw a Canon 28O something for a couple of hundred dollars and the Canon 580 something for alot more than that.

What do I want it for... landscapes in rainforests including waterfalls that most times have uneven light and shadows, half dark half light images ....want to get more even exposures so the shaded or darker parts of the image are not lost in darkness and the whiter parts of the images (like the water of a waterfall) are not blown out to all buggery.

Ive read up on the tricks you can do with camera with and without the fill-flash option but I want by pass all that crap and whack on a flash on the shoe, set the metering off the neutral area of the image (in between white and black), focal lock the sucker, recompose and shoot leaving the shoe flash to expose the subject and the focal lock method to expose the background better. Or have I got all that back to front when a shoe flash is used instead of the onboard fill flash the camera comes with.

Suggestions, thoughts and ideas within a 400 dollar price range most welcome

DAVID

[Cris]

Hi David,
The first that sprang to my mind would have been a 430 ex or a 580, given your budget constraint maybe a 430 would be best, you might like to test drive one first as dealing with the types of light you are talking about isn't the easiest thing to do. I see you have suggested a waterfall outing in the meet up thread, I am hoping to go depending on the date and will quite happily bring along my flashes for you to try out if you like.

Cris

[David]

Thanks Cris, I will take u up on having a test run on your old flashes if you are kind enough to bring them with you

David.

[enduro]

I`ve used fill a bit here and there and the 530/580 might be what you are looking for distance wise, the 430 is what I have and it works well.

For landscape I imagine a off shoe cord might be what you should use or a budget blowing wireless unit plus second tripod to mount it on. Fireign the flash mounted on camera may not fill the field with the light and shadows you want you want and create an unnatural image.

[David]

Thank You Enduro

I want to create a natural image and cover some ground too with the flash.. might have to work on other techniques and go with the cheaper end flash for now cause the money to get what I want is beyond my amateur interest level budget at the moment.