Canon 580EXII Review
February 22nd, 2010This weekend I had the pleasure of sharing my knowledge with another attendee of my private workshop. On the second day we went out of the studio to learn how to light at any time of day with minimal gear.
So I attach my favorite speed light, the Canon 580EXII, to the hot shoe of my Canon 5D Mark II.
It was a sunny day under a blue sky scattered with big white puffy clouds and a beautiful model sitting on a white country wood fence.
So I proceed to show Jeff, my workshop attendee, how to set up the 580EXII in order to capture the beauty of our fashion model while still maintaining details in the blue sky, puffy clouds and green grass. The model was facing the harsh sun so I had Jeff scrim her with a 60 inch shoot through umbrella. I then set the flash to ETTL and high speed sync mode, dialed up the flash exposure 3 whole stops and zoomed the flash head to 105mm. I was standing about 8 feet from the model with an 85mm lens on the camera.
Now this is the awesome part! I then set my shutter speed to 1/1250th of a second! My fstop was 4.5 and my ISO was 200. I shot away and this was the beautiful result even under a mid day sun. I LOVE this flash!
The possibilities are endless. The high speed sync mode is my favorite feature. I now am not limited to syncing at only 1/250th of a second! I can capture details in my background and control my contrast by using a very fast shutter speed.
Now, my only warning is have a good amount of double A batteries or use an external battery like a Quantum Turbo 2×2. Also very important is that you can’t shoot fast because you will end up blowing up the flash because of all the power your asking it to pump out by pushing it 3 full stops and zooming the flash head to it’s max at 105mm. Which is another great feature. Being able to zoom the flash head from 24mm all the way to 105mm gives the photographer so much control and room to play with.
The Canon 580EXII is one piece of gear that is always in my bag. 
February 22nd, 2010 at 1:39 pm
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March 10th, 2010 at 3:12 am
Great technique. I always had an impression that flash only can produce harsh light. The photo that you posted shown otherwise. The photo is very natural. Thanks for the tips Jason
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Jason Christopher Reply:
March 10th, 2010 at 8:59 pm
Hey buddy, thank you. Ya if you have that flash try it out. It’s an awesome function. And you’re very welcome. Please don’t hesitate to comment or ask questions. I encourage you to let me know if there is something you would like me to cover as well.
Cheers
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April 28th, 2010 at 3:15 pm
This is a beautiful shot and like VS says it is very natural. I ordered two 580exII in the hopes it would get me out of the studio due to its lightweight; thus its non hassle portability.
Have you found any need to use any sort of modifier with the speedlites? I’ve seen a few blogs where modifiers are being made for them such as beauty dishes and diffusers.
Any comment on modifiers?
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Jason Christopher Reply:
May 3rd, 2010 at 11:49 am
Thank you Will. I have not used any modifiers for my speed lights although I would like to try some out just to see what they do. So far I have managed to get the results I want without them. Everything is subjective so if you feel like you wanna try some modifiers out, then go for it ! You might discover something new.
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May 23rd, 2010 at 12:20 pm
iirc the EXII, unlike its predecessor, has a thermal cutout to shot you overheating it. Though that does mean it will be out of action for a bit whilst it cools off.
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Jason Christopher Reply:
May 26th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
Hi Ian,
I believe you are correct.
Thank you
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July 3rd, 2010 at 1:54 pm
But could’nt a high sync mode of 1/1250th of a second overheat the flash?
Why would one zoom a flash head
“Zooming the flash head from 24mm all the way to 105mm gives the photographer so much more control and room to play. May i ask in why would one zoom a flash head? Forgive my primitivity.
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Jason Christopher Reply:
July 3rd, 2010 at 3:23 pm
It’s not the fast shutter speed that will overheat the flash, what overheats the flash is shooting too fast and pushing the power of the flash to three full stops. This will happen with any flash you use no matter what shutter speed you use. So just make sure you don’t shoot at faster than two frames per second. That is what I would recommend.
Let’s say you are using a 24mm, 35mm lens or even a 50mm lens and you are up close to your model in order to capture more of the background. You have a choice to push the flash up to three stops or zoom your flash head all the way up to 105mm which is like moving your flash physically closer to the model without actually having to move your body closer to the model. Or if the flash is off camera on a stand you don’t have to physically move the flash closer. You don’t have to zoom it all the way to 105 but at least you know you can. I would rather zoom the flash head rather than ask the flash to use more power by pushing it 2 or 3 stops.
Thank you for your question Yaseen.
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July 3rd, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Bought an SB800. I’m worried about it overheating. Heard that if u take too many shots in a row it could overheat. Apparently I’m spose to wait 2-3mins after doing 30 shots?
Quote “Also very important is that you can’t shoot fast because you will end up blowing up the flash because of all the power your asking it to pump out by pushing it 3 full stops and zooming the flash head to it’s max at 105mm”
Sounds important ? So I’ve basically gotta be careful of zooming the flash and setting the flash’s exposure. Im trying to make as much sense as possible, i promise
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Jason Christopher Reply:
July 3rd, 2010 at 3:30 pm
Yaseen you are doing fine bro. Your questions are totally valid. You don’t have to wait 2-3 min after shooting 30 shots. Just don’t shoot faster than 2 shots per second. If you’re shooting fashion there is no reason at all to shoot that fast or faster. The photographers that blow up their flashes are the paparazzi. Yes they don’t go by the rules of electronics and actually can go thru many flashes in a single week. But if they capture that great shot of a fat Brittany Spears in a bikini, they will be able to buy many many more flashes with the amount of money they will earn from getting that one shot that our society cares so much about lol. You get my point though right ?
I mean dude, I never shoot more than 1 shot per second. I’ve never needed to. Maybe wedding shooters have to shoot faster than this but they gotta be careful.
Did I answer your question ? Do you understand this better now ? Please let me know if you still don’t understand.
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