Bill
07-13-2005, 03:35 AM
Anyone using fill flash on large owls and *not* getting red-eye? I've
found the early AM pet roosting spot for a Great Horned Owl and two of
its large chicks but it's almost directly back-lit from the only spot I
can shoot from, so I need fill flash. I can get them full frame with
700 mm (equiv to about 900 mm with the digital body I'm using) so
probably about 20 yards distance.
The problem is that I get red-eye when they're lQQking my direction and
they're not very interesting when looking to the side. I'm using a
Canon 550EX flash off-camera at - 1.67 stops with a Better Beamer
extender on a 500 mm lens and have the flash mounted several inches
above the lens with a Wimberley flash bracket. I've never had a
problem with red eye in birds before with this setup but with these
larger birds with huge eyes at this distance it's a problem.
I also tried removing the flash from the bracket and holding it to one
side about 2 ft from the body (about as far as the cord will stretch)
but still get some red-eye, so I was wondering how people avoid it. I
have a wireless flash controller (ST-E2) so I could move the flash even
further and still fire it in E-TTL mode but it's a hassle to do this.
I know how to 'fix' red-eye in Photoshop but I prefer to get it right
in the camera, partly because I may need to send in the RAW file at
some point and partly because I just prefer getting it right in-camera.
Anyone know how far off-camera the flash needs to be for this type
situation? I can post a few sample shots if anyone wants to see the
problem.
found the early AM pet roosting spot for a Great Horned Owl and two of
its large chicks but it's almost directly back-lit from the only spot I
can shoot from, so I need fill flash. I can get them full frame with
700 mm (equiv to about 900 mm with the digital body I'm using) so
probably about 20 yards distance.
The problem is that I get red-eye when they're lQQking my direction and
they're not very interesting when looking to the side. I'm using a
Canon 550EX flash off-camera at - 1.67 stops with a Better Beamer
extender on a 500 mm lens and have the flash mounted several inches
above the lens with a Wimberley flash bracket. I've never had a
problem with red eye in birds before with this setup but with these
larger birds with huge eyes at this distance it's a problem.
I also tried removing the flash from the bracket and holding it to one
side about 2 ft from the body (about as far as the cord will stretch)
but still get some red-eye, so I was wondering how people avoid it. I
have a wireless flash controller (ST-E2) so I could move the flash even
further and still fire it in E-TTL mode but it's a hassle to do this.
I know how to 'fix' red-eye in Photoshop but I prefer to get it right
in the camera, partly because I may need to send in the RAW file at
some point and partly because I just prefer getting it right in-camera.
Anyone know how far off-camera the flash needs to be for this type
situation? I can post a few sample shots if anyone wants to see the
problem.