i have a cannon a630 digital does anyone know if it is a preflash camera or not? as i have a new ds125 strobe with manual controler that has preflash and no preflash settings and want to know what to set it on the manual does not mention preflash but i know a lot of the new cameras these days have preflash any help most appreciated ,steve :-)
- 10Posts
- 10Replies
Read-only discussion
cannon a630 preflash or no preflash?
10 posts
-
-
i have a cannon a630 digital does anyone know if it is a preflash camera or not? as i have a new ds125 strobe with manual controler that has preflash and no preflash settings and want to know what to set it on the manual does not mention preflash but i know a lot of the new cameras these days have preflash any help most appreciated ,steve :-)
I don't know whether the A630 has a preflash or not, but why don't you just try it out on land both ways and go with what works the best?
Mike
-
Steve,
This is a bit confusing, but here is the quick answer:
The Canon A series (A610, 620, 630 and 640) have NO-PREF FLASH when you shoot in "M", Manual mode where you set a shutter speed and f-stop. So set your EV controller up that way and shoot in that mode. Your DS125 strobe head also HAS TO BE ON TTL as you are over-riding it with the EV controller.
If you spin the A630 mode choice to Av, Tv or P modes the flash WILL THEN HAVE a PRE-FLASH.....So your EV controller then will not synch properly. BUt "M" mode works great a allowing you to set a shutter speed for background water color, and an f-stop for approximate srobe to subject distance. Then fine tune with the EV controller, adjusting only that one parameter until you get good color in your shot.
I'm 99% sure this is in Ikelite's EV controller information, but I found out setting up a a system for a Canon A640 shooter by leaving the EV controller little switch door open (ON THE SURFACE OF COURSE) and shooting test shots until we discovered in "M" mode ther PRE-FLASH is disabled...
In the FUNC choices you can save battery power by powering down the flash to 1/3 power since all you're trying to do is trip the EV controller.
Hope this helps!
dhaas
-
thanks for info ,it makes it a bit of a pain i use manual on the planned shots ,but would have liked to use auto with the strobe in sync with the flash on those shots where you don"t have the time to set the ap and shutter, like something unexpected cruising by which has happened every so often so if i wnat auto i have to change the ev controller to preflash and if i want manual i have to change it to no preflash which has to be done at the surface in dry clean conditions because it is behind a o ring sealed compartment why couldn"t they make it so you could switch it underwater a real pain, any ideas?Steve,This is a bit confusing, but here is the quick answer:
The Canon A series (A610, 620, 630 and 640) have NO-PREF FLASH when you shoot in "M", Manual mode where you set a shutter speed and f-stop. So set your EV controller up that way and shoot in that mode. Your DS125 strobe head also HAS TO BE ON TTL as you are over-riding it with the EV controller.
If you spin the A630 mode choice to Av, Tv or P modes the flash WILL THEN HAVE a PRE-FLASH.....So your EV controller then will not synch properly. BUt "M" mode works great a allowing you to set a shutter speed for background water color, and an f-stop for approximate srobe to subject distance. Then fine tune with the EV controller, adjusting only that one parameter until you get good color in your shot.
I'm 99% sure this is in Ikelite's EV controller information, but I found out setting up a a system for a Canon A640 shooter by leaving the EV controller little switch door open (ON THE SURFACE OF COURSE) and shooting test shots until we discovered in "M" mode ther PRE-FLASH is disabled...
In the FUNC choices you can save battery power by powering down the flash to 1/3 power since all you're trying to do is trip the EV controller.
Hope this helps!
dhaas
-
dhaas just looked on the menu of a630 and in p-tv-av and manual in the drop down menu it has flash sync function which has 1st curtin or 2nd curtin,which i asume 1st curtin means 1 flash only (flash) and 2nd curtin means 2 flashes which should mean (preflash) so if that is right then if i set the camera to 2nd curtin then the camera would have preflash on all the settings then i should be able to set the ev contrller to preflash and the strobe should fire okay in auto and manual what do you think ? and thanks for your help i ppreciate it ,steveSteve,This is a bit confusing, but here is the quick answer:
The Canon A series (A610, 620, 630 and 640) have NO-PREF FLASH when you shoot in "M", Manual mode where you set a shutter speed and f-stop. So set your EV controller up that way and shoot in that mode. Your DS125 strobe head also HAS TO BE ON TTL as you are over-riding it with the EV controller.
If you spin the A630 mode choice to Av, Tv or P modes the flash WILL THEN HAVE a PRE-FLASH.....So your EV controller then will not synch properly. BUt "M" mode works great a allowing you to set a shutter speed for background water color, and an f-stop for approximate srobe to subject distance. Then fine tune with the EV controller, adjusting only that one parameter until you get good color in your shot.
I'm 99% sure this is in Ikelite's EV controller information, but I found out setting up a a system for a Canon A640 shooter by leaving the EV controller little switch door open (ON THE SURFACE OF COURSE) and shooting test shots until we discovered in "M" mode ther PRE-FLASH is disabled...
In the FUNC choices you can save battery power by powering down the flash to 1/3 power since all you're trying to do is trip the EV controller.
Hope this helps!
dhaas
-
Steve,
Nice try, but my understanding of 1st and 2nd curtain synch is simply when the flash fires, not anything to do with pre-flashes being emitted. And I'm 99% sure the Canon A630 disables the pre-flash in MANUAL mode no matter what flash synch choice you pick.
On 2nd curtain synch the main illuminating flash fires at the END of the shutter cycle. This can be seen when doing "slow synch" shots at shutter speeds like 1/15 or slower, and you get a flash illuminated image along with an actual secondary available light image. 2nd curtain synch makes the "light or image trails" appear more natural BEHIND a moving subject....
If something fast shows up and you to want to switch to another shooting mode, simple boost the ISO and shoot in Tv after punching the flash OFF, ala' available light....Or shoot it in MANUAL mode still adjusting one parameter, the EV controller.....
If I find out anything else I'll post it here.....MANUAL mode works pretty good on the Canon A610 / 620 / 630 / 640 series
dhaas
-
i new it would be to good to be true ,wishfull thinking on my part ,what would you suggest would be a reasonable allround manual setting eg ap and shutter iso for most situation if there is any, so i can set it to, between other shots ,just in case,i am still getting us to it ,thats when i have it, first the strobe stuffed up and took 6 weeks to get repaired then stolen in transit (ended up upgrading from a ike ds 50 to a ds 125) then the ike housing shutter leaver spring stuffed up and it is back to the states for another 6 week :glare:Steve,Nice try, but my understanding of 1st and 2nd curtain synch is simply when the flash fires, not anything to do with pre-flashes being emitted. And I'm 99% sure the Canon A630 disables the pre-flash in MANUAL mode no matter what flash synch choice you pick.
On 2nd curtain synch the main illuminating flash fires at the END of the shutter cycle. This can be seen when doing "slow synch" shots at shutter speeds like 1/15 or slower, and you get a flash illuminated image along with an actual secondary available light image. 2nd curtain synch makes the "light or image trails" appear more natural BEHIND a moving subject....
If something fast shows up and you to want to switch to another shooting mode, simple boost the ISO and shoot in Tv after punching the flash OFF, ala' available light....Or shoot it in MANUAL mode still adjusting one parameter, the EV controller.....
If I find out anything else I'll post it here.....MANUAL mode works pretty good on the Canon A610 / 620 / 630 / 640 series
am going to rabaul papua new guinea on a liverboard in 7 weeks better be back before thendhaas
am off to rebual papua new guinea on a liverboard in 7 weeks it better be back before then :glare: anyway thanks for the info steve
-
Hi Steve,
More important than whether you know which mode has preflash and which doesn't, is to make sure that the strobe is synced properly with the camera. Fortunately there is an easy test for this. This test can be performed with any slave strobe that will be fired by the digi cam's internal strobe.
Assemble your slave senor and strobe and turn them on. Turn the dial on the slave sensor to either position for the pre-flash and turn the EV controller to full power. Your Ikelite strobe must be in TTL.
Turn your camera on and put it in the mode you want to use on your dive (i.e., Manual) and set the flash to always fire.
Position the slave sensor so that is pointing at the camera's internal strobe and position the underwater strobe so that it is pointing at the camera lens about 6 to 12 inches away.
Take a picture of the strobe. If you are then blinded, the Ike strobe went off. Take a look at the picture you just took on the LCD screen. If you have a picture that is totally blown out white, then your strobe is sync'd properly with the camera and you are ready to dive. If you have a clear picture of your strobe where the flash tube on the Ike strobe is not lit, but the Ike strobe did go off, the strobe is not sync'd with the camera. If this happens, turn the preflash dial on the slave the other position and repeat the test.
You should do this test for any of the modes that you plan to use underwater so you know what the correct setting is for each mode. That being said, you will get the best results shooting Manual.
On some other powershot cameras I have noticed Auto, P, Tv, and Av have preflash, while M does not. I haven’t used your camera, so I can’t confirm this is the same, but I suspect it is.
Hope this helps you get set up.
Jim
-
Hi Steve,
More important than whether you know which mode has preflash and which doesn't, is to make sure that the strobe is synced properly with the camera. Fortunately there is an easy test for this. This test can be performed with any slave strobe that will be fired by the digi cam's internal strobe.
Assemble your slave senor and strobe and turn them on. Turn the dial on the slave sensor to either position for the pre-flash and turn the EV controller to full power. Your Ikelite strobe must be in TTL.
Turn your camera on and put it in the mode you want to use on your dive (i.e., Manual) and set the flash to always fire.
Position the slave sensor so that is pointing at the camera's internal strobe and position the underwater strobe so that it is pointing at the camera lens about 6 to 12 inches away.
Take a picture of the strobe. If you are then blinded, the Ike strobe went off. Take a look at the picture you just took on the LCD screen. If you have a picture that is totally blown out white, then your strobe is sync'd properly with the camera and you are ready to dive. If you have a clear picture of your strobe where the flash tube on the Ike strobe is not lit, but the Ike strobe did go off, the strobe is not sync'd with the camera. If this happens, turn the preflash dial on the slave the other position and repeat the test.
You should do this test for any of the modes that you plan to use underwater so you know what the correct setting is for each mode. That being said, you will get the best results shooting Manual.
On some other powershot cameras I have noticed Auto, P, Tv, and Av have preflash, while M does not. I haven’t used your camera, so I can’t confirm this is the same, but I suspect it is.
Hope this helps you get set up.
Jim
that makes sense i will try that out when i get my housing back hopefully in about 3 weeks thanks for the advise steve :-)
-
well i got my housing back from the states repaired ,and now i have a ds125 strobe now ,i upgraded to the ds125 from the ds51 that went back for repair and was stolen on the way back in transit and ike were going to replace it with a new one,but i chose to upgrade to a ds125 instead,anyway this is the first time i was able to get the new strobe and housing together and i tried the test aiming the strobe in front of the camera and setting strobe to full power in ttl mode and went thru the settings(manual,av,tv,p,and auto)and surprise surprise they all are whited out so must be in sync,with each other,well it must be the old strobe that was the problem give me a reply when you can steve and tell me what you think,the camera gremlins have been at it again:-) PS:-and thanks for the tip :-)Hi Steve,More important than whether you know which mode has preflash and which doesn't, is to make sure that the strobe is synced properly with the camera. Fortunately there is an easy test for this. This test can be performed with any slave strobe that will be fired by the digi cam's internal strobe.
Assemble your slave senor and strobe and turn them on. Turn the dial on the slave sensor to either position for the pre-flash and turn the EV controller to full power. Your Ikelite strobe must be in TTL.
Turn your camera on and put it in the mode you want to use on your dive (i.e., Manual) and set the flash to always fire.
Position the slave sensor so that is pointing at the camera's internal strobe and position the underwater strobe so that it is pointing at the camera lens about 6 to 12 inches away.
Take a picture of the strobe. If you are then blinded, the Ike strobe went off. Take a look at the picture you just took on the LCD screen. If you have a picture that is totally blown out white, then your strobe is sync'd properly with the camera and you are ready to dive. If you have a clear picture of your strobe where the flash tube on the Ike strobe is not lit, but the Ike strobe did go off, the strobe is not sync'd with the camera. If this happens, turn the preflash dial on the slave the other position and repeat the test.
You should do this test for any of the modes that you plan to use underwater so you know what the correct setting is for each mode. That being said, you will get the best results shooting Manual.
On some other powershot cameras I have noticed Auto, P, Tv, and Av have preflash, while M does not. I haven’t used your camera, so I can’t confirm this is the same, but I suspect it is.
Hope this helps you get set up.
Jim
