Yongnou YN565EX

Recently I traded in my Canon 550D for the Canon 650D for the built in wireless control.  When I tried out the wireless flash control with my Canon 430EX and Canon 550EX flash guns and I was very impressed.  I love to be able to use ETTL flash and full manual control wirelessly.  After that I wanted a third flash gun with wireless flash control, but do want to pay the high cost of a Canon EX flash gun.  I’ve seen a few reports of an ETTL compatible flash gun from Younnuo called YN565EX.   It is the same physical size and power of the Canon 580EX but similar control interface of the Canon 430EX.  It cannot act as a wireless commander and cannot do high speed flash sync.  After some investigation on various online forums, I decided to order one.

Delivery was quick from an eBay seller.  Inside the package there is the flash gun, a Chinese/English instruction, a pouch and plastic stand for mounting on a tripod.  All I can say is it works perfectly.  I tested it mounted on the camera and off camera as a wireless slave, both in ETTL and manual modes.  When I checked the power, it has a full stop more power than my Canon 550EX flash gun.  I am very happy with this purchase and can’t wait to test it on a photo shoot coming up.

I was able to use the flash on a shoot a few days after receiving it.  The occasion was the celebration of a 50th wedding anniversary family gathering.  It was held at the Ritz Hotel in London.  I was given 30 minutes in an area of the hotel to photography the family.  With the time constrain, I decided against using my Strobeam DL4 and shot wireless TTL using my Canon 650D  as the commander.  As well as the YN565EX, I had a Canon 550EX also in slave mode.  Both flashes were mounted in an umbrella bracket with shoot through umbrellas.  It all went to plan and the results were very good.  Shooting wireless TTL enabled me to work a lot faster.  Overall I am very happy with the results.  Here are a photo from this shoot.

Update 24th April 2013: Recently I had the chance to test my YN-565EX with a Phottix Odin wireless trigger system and can confirm they are not compatible with each other.  When mounted on the receiver, the zoom can be controlled and when the test button is pressed, the flash does fire.  How ever, the flash does not fire, in both ETTL or manual mode, when the shutter button was pressed.  That was a disappointment as I was hoping they will work together as I would like to purchase a set of Odin soon.

Christmas Party Images With E-PM1 & Panasonic 20mm F1.7

Just had a Christmas night out with my work mates.  It was at The Roadhouse in Convent Garden in London.  The venue is a bar/night club where we had a meal, some dancing and live band.  The place was very dark.  The camera auto white balance normally work very well, but on this occasion, it just did not work well.  I had to set up a custom white balance and set the ISO to 2000 and lens wide open at F1.7.  I decided not to use flash as it would be difficult to balance the flash with ambient lighting.  The Panasonic 20mm F1.7 lens did struggle to focus sometimes in the dark condition.

Here are some of the shots.  There is noise, but it did remarkably well and  I am very happy.  All images were shot on RAW and converted using Olympus Viewer 2 and then down sized for web.

Olympus FL-50R Vs Metz 44 AF-1

I had the chance to borrow an Olympus FL-50R flash gun so I can compare it against my Metz 44 AF-1.   The comparison is not a fair one as they belong to different segments.  The FL-50R is five times the cost of the Metz 44.  The last time I checked, the FL-50R is £499 at WEX Photographic and I got the 44 AF-1 for £99 from Amazon.  If you've not done so, please read my Metz 44 AF-1 review first.

FL-50R with its' pouch and stofen diffuser

The FL-50R comes with a pouch, a stand and a stofen diffuser.  The FL-50R can be operated in manual, auto, RC and RC manual modes.  It is a substantial unit operated by four AA batteries and is much heavier the the Metz 44.  With twin dials at the back, it is very easy to use.  I was disappointed to find the FL-50R does not have a built in white card reflector.  It is a useful feature found on the Metz 44 and are common place with high end Canon and Nikon flash guns.

The FL-50R compared to the Metz 44 AF-1

The first thing I did was to compare the power of the flash guns.  Just for information, I also compared the power of my Canon 540EZ as it is a flash I use for off camera work a lot.  Since I can not zoom the head of the Metz, I mounted it on my E-PM1 with the Panasonic 20mm F1.7 lens and removed it so I can be sure the zoom position and set the others the same way.  I set them all at full power and zoomed the head as close to 40mm as possible.  Then I fired them off manually and used my Sekonic L-308B flash meter at 1m away to measure the F-Stop to give the correct exposure.  Here are the results:

Olympus FL-50R  - F32.8
Canon 540EZ       - F22.8
Metz 44 AF-1       - F16.7

As you can see, the FL-50R has two stops more power than the Metz.  Interestingly it has a full stop more power than my Canon 540EZ.  I was expecting them to be very similar.

FL-50R on the left, Metz 44 AF-1 on the right

How does it compare to the Metz?  In term of control, there is no comparison, the FL-50R can be set up as you want it.  You can zoom the head manually, which is what I miss the most on the Metz.  In manual mode, the power can be set over a wide range, rather than four power settings.  Most importantly, having two stops more power than the Metz is invaluable when using it for off camera flash work, especially when mounted in a light modifier.  When mounted on a small camera like the E-PM1, it does feel unbalanced.

How does it perform in RC mode?  I found the FL-50R to work well indoor without any problem, same as the Metz.  However, when I was shooting outdoor on a cloudy day, the Metz 44 AF-1 did not consistently picked up the flash signal from the pop up flash of the E-PM1.  I found the FL-50R to have the same problem outdoor.  This is a common problem found with optical triggering systems.

At an event hosted by Olympus UK recently, I was able to try out a few cameras and lenses at a studio with models.  I took the FL-50R along and shot a number of images in RC mode.  I did not have any light modifiers with me at the time, so the lighting was quite hard.  A shoot through umbrella would have made the light a lot softer.  Here are a few examples, all images were shot using an OMD E-5 with Panasonic 20mm F1.7 lens, processed and converted using Olympus Viewer 2.

I really like the FL-50R, except the cost.  It is a power house and will come in very useful in bright condition.    For me, it would be hard to justify the cost.  For off camera location work, I have a Strobeam DL4 portable light which I use in manual mode, it has much higher output then the FL-50R.  Of course the FL-50R is much smaller and portable, but I would consider the Metz 58 AF-2, at half the cost, before the FL-50R.  If you want to stay with Olympus and can justify the cost, then this is a wonderful flash gun for Olympus MFT users, especially if you shoot with flash off camera.  For Panasonic users, it make less sense as they can not make us of the RC flash mode.

Liverpool City Visit with Olympus E-PM1

I spent the last couple of days in Liverpool and I had my Olympus E-PM1 with me for this trip.  During this trip I managed to visit Tatton Park in Cheshire, Museum of Liverpool and Walker Art Gallery.

It was unfortunate the mansion house at Tatton Park was closed during the low season and I was only able to see the grounds and gardens.  The Gardens are not at its best in November.  If I was to return, I would want to make sure it is in the summer.

Olympus E-PM1 with 40-150mm IIR

Olympus E-PM1 with 45mm F1.8

Museum of Liverpool is a new museum that opened in 2011.  The last time I was in Liverpool was two years ago and the museum was under construction.  Although the museum is open to the public, the outside is still being finished.  It has interesting architecture full of sharp corners.  The company responsible for it is a Danish Company called 3XN.  Sitting on the Liverpool water front next to Albert Dock, if they wanted an eye catching building, they have certainly succeed.

Olympus E-PM1 with Panasonic 20mm F1.7

Olympus E-PM1 with Panasonic 20mm F1.7

The interior of the museum is equally interesting with a large central spiral stairs going up to 2nd and 3rd floors.  The museum contain a lot of history of Liverpool with it people and shipping background.

Olympus E-PM1 with Panasonic 20mm F1.7

Olympus E-PM1 with Panasonic 20mm F1.7

I found the museum very interesting and has a lot of opportunities for photographers to take some interesting photos.  The photos you see here are my first take of this place.  If I had a wide angle or fish eye lens, I am sure I could find more interesting view points.

Olympus E-PM1 with Panasonic 20mm F1.7

Olympus E-PM1 with Panasonic 20mm F1.7

Olympus E-PM1 with Panasonic 20mm F1.7

Walker Art Gallery is an art museum right in the centre of Liverpool near Liverpool Lime Station.  I houses a large collection of traditional art that is very different to Tate Liverpool.  It is definitely worth a visit if you are in Liverpool.

Olympus E-PM1 with Panasonic 20mm F1.7

Olympus E-PM1 with Panasonic 20mm F1.7

I mainly used my Panasonic 20mm F1.7 lens during this trip.  The only time I used other lenses was when I was at Tatton Park and want some shallow DOF images.  Through out the time I was in Liverpool, I used the Panasonic F1.7 lens.  It was refreshing not needing to use flash for the whole trip.  The combination of high ISO up to 1250 with F1.7 lens, I was able not to use flash at all.  The only problem I can see with this lens is the amount of distortion is large for a prime lens.

Olympus E-PM1 with Panasonic 20mm F1.7

Olympus E-PM1 with Panasonic 20mm F1.7

Olympus RM-UC1 Compatible Remote Control

When I had an Olympus E-PL1 I was annoyed you cannot use remote shutter release with it.  Now with my E-PM1 I am able to use the Olympus RM-UC1 as a remote shutter release.  That was until I looked at the price of it.  The cheapest place I found in the UK was £49!  I mean it is just a small switch with a cable, how can it be that expensive?  When I bought my Canon RS-6E remote release, it was only £18.  I was prepared to pay that for original part.  But £49 was over the top.  That was when I decided to look online for alternatives.

I managed to see there are many alternatives on Amazon from as little as £2.99.  That will give you a simple switch to trip your shutter.  However, I found some multi-function switch that can be used as:

Shutter release with bulb function

Timer delay

Exposure time

Interval shutter release

Number of shots

Since I like to shoot stop motion videos I decided to buy the switch for £9.99 from an Amazon seller.  The switch arrived within a week and I am happy to say it does everything it says it will do.  The build quality is not up to OEM standard and you will need to supply two AAA batteries to power it.  The only negative I have to say is it does not have an on/off switch, so I take the batteries out when I am not using it.  So far, I’ve used it as a remote shutter release and interval function and it worked flawlessly.  It is highly recommended.  Even if I am photography professional and use it every day, I would buy two and keep one as spare in my bag.  On the other hand if you only want a simple remote release, buy one for £2.99.  If the Olympus remote release is priced more like £15, I will not have any problem paying, but £49 is another matter.

Here are a couple of firework photos taken with my E-PM1 with this remote release on a tripod.

Canon Demi Half Frame Camera

The Canon Demi (Demi is French for half) is a camera I’ve owned for over ten years.  I was shooting with a number of 35mm rangefinder cameras from the 60’s when I heard about half frame cameras.  The Canon Demi was a response to the Olympus Pen half frame cameras.  In the 60’s colour films were very expensive to shoot and process.  When Olympus introduced the Pen series of cameras, enabling users to shoot 72 photos from a 36 exposure 35mm roll of film, it was an instant hit.  Other manufacturers quickly introduced half frame cameras also.

My Demi was purchased from eBay and listed as not working.  Since these cameras were all mechanical I was sure I could repair it.  The shutter was stuck due to lubricate drying up and the light seal on the back of the camera turning into gunk.   I took the shutter assembly out, cleaned it and put it back.  Then I removed all traces of the light seal on the back of the camera and replaced with new material.  It was all very simple but time consuming work.  I shot with it for a while and happy with the result I got.  I love the retro design and must be quite modern at the time.  It is all metal and is quite solid.

The camera itself is very simple to operate as it is automatic.  First thing you would do after loading the film is to set the ISO which goes from 10-400.  I think in the 60’s 100 ISO is considered a fast film.  You would focus by zone as indicated on the back of the camera by turning the lens to the correct position.  It works well enough, but do not expect absolute 100% accurate focusing all the time, although it works well for landscape photos.  Do remember it was designed in the 60’s when expectation was much lower than now.  After focusing, you then adjust the shutter speed so the dial needle on the top of the camera is in the middle and shoot.  The selenium light sensor on my camera still works after all these years and got some reasonable exposure out of it.  The lens on this camera is a 28mm F2.8 which is equivalent to a 56mm lens on a 35mm camera.

Unfortunately, the negatives I shot with are in a big box in my loft and I do not have time to scan example images shot with this camera.  There is no shoe for mounting a flash, although a separate bracket is available for purchase so you can mount a flash gun.  When I did shoot with flash, I just held it with my left hand.

Thing have come full circle now in the current digital age.  Micro Four Third cameras are now very well received and rapidly gaining acceptance.  It is interesting the MFT sensor is the same size as the half frame image.  In fact the size of the Demi is very similar to my Olympus E-PM1.  The E-PM1 has many advance features and the image quality is far in advance of the half frame cameras.  It is interesting to see how photographic technologies have developed in 50 years.

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Metz 44 AF-1 for Olympus MFT Cameras

I am writing this because when I was looking for a flash for my Olympus E-PM1 there were not much information out there.  I based my purchase decision from a couple of user reviews on Amazon.  What I wanted was a low cost (but not low performance) external flash gun that is compatible with the Olympus remote flash control system with a head that can be bounced and swiveled.  My choices from Olympus are FL-300R (GN=20, £152), FL-50R (GN=50, £499) and FL-600R (GN=50, £299).  FL-300R is a nonstarter due to its low power and it inability to be bounced or swivel.  The other two are just too expensive.  That was when I started looking at third party flash guns and started looking at Metz and Nissin.  My choice went to Metz because I was able to find a lot more information for Metz and got one at a great price on Amazon for £99 delivered.  Other retailers sell it for £129 normally.

The flash gun is well built but you can see it is a budget model as there are no fancy stuff included.  Something I like to have is a flash stand so I can mount the flash gun on a tripod stand.  That is not a major issue as I have a few of them knocking around.  There are only 5 buttons on the back with no LCD display.  Here is a summary of the flash gun:

·         Max guide number = 44m
·         Swivel and bounce head
·         Built in white reflector
·         Auto zoom head for lens from 24-105mm
·         Built in diffusor for lens down to 12mm
·         Uses 4 AA batteries
·         Compatible with TTL flash mode
·         Compatible with Olympus RC mode
·         1^st or 2^nd curtain flash if your camera support it
·         Manual power @ 1/64, 1/8, 1/2 and 1/1
·         Recharge time at full power is 3-4s
·         USB socket for firmware update

Once switched on you have the option of using TTL, manual or slave mode.  For TTL all the controls are on the camera.  Features like flash compensation, red eye reduction, 1^st /2^nd curtain sync are all controlled via the flash control menu. The zoom head moves with the lens and works well.  One problem is sometimes you want to zoom the head to a position that is different to the lens setting.  This is not possible with this flash gun.  The “Flash” goes green once the flash gun is ready.  After firing, the “Flash” symbol also goes green to indicate a correct TTL exposure.

Pressing the “SL” button switch the flash to slave mode, the Olympus RC flash control.  For my E-PM1, I must mount the supplied flash on the camera and raise the flash for it to work.  Also, I had to enable RC flash mode on the set up menu.  Once enabled, I can control the flash to TTL, Super FP RC (high speed sync) and manual flash control.  First of all, Super FP RC Mode does not work with this flash gun.  For that you need to buy the Metz 50 AF-1 which I do not want to spend money on.  The reason is because I have two Canon EX flash guns for my Canon DSLR and I do not remember using FP Flash at all.  I worked around it by fit ND/polarising filter on the lens to reduce the light level so I can shoot at a lower shutter speed.

Enabling RC Mode

I can report the wireless remote feature works well indoor.  All the features work as far as I can see.  One thing I’ve noticed is when switched to RC manual power control, you can control the power in very small increment, much finer than the normal flash menu.  The only negative of this flash gun is that it can only be used in Group A in RC mode.  My E-PM1 can control three groups (A, B and C) independently.  This mean I can not use three 44 AF-1 to create complex lighting.  As a strobist I love the flexibility of using multiple flash guns and control them separately.  In future I will have to think about adding other flash guns if I want to explore Olympus RC flash further.

Setting flash compensation in RC TTL mode

In summary I am very happy with the Metz 44 AF-1 and it works well with my E-PM1 and is vastly more powerful than the supplied flash.  I would love to have an Olympus flash gun to compare with, but I’ve no access to one.  For the price, I can’t complain about the flash gun.  Two features I like to have is the ability to control the position of the zoom head and change the group for RC mode.  The flash is so much bigger than my camera, it can be a little unbalance, but that is not the fault of the flash itself.  For the money it is excellent value for money.  If you want Super FP mode, then go for Metz 50 AF-1 for a little more money.

Update: 23rd October 2012

I've used the flash now for about two weeks and actually used the wireless flash function for real, I've found the flash tended to under expose images.  I was using RC TTL mode and had to dial in +2/3 flash compensation to correct this error.  When the flash gun is mounted on the camera flash exposure works much better.  I'll try to borrow a Olympus flash gun and compare results if I can find one.

Update: 2rd November 2012

I've just tried to use the wireless flash outdoor and it was not very successful.  Even in the shade it was difficult to trigger the flash.  I had the receiver facing the camera but the success rate was very poor, maybe one in ten.  I don't know if an Olympus would be better.  Used indoor, it was 100% reliable.  In future, I will use radio trigger in manual mode if I am shooting outdoor.

Comparison with Olympus FL-50R

I have done a comparison between the Metz 44 AF-1 to the Olympus FL-50R.  Click on the link to read

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Boxers of Lions Boxing and Fitness

James

James

These are the portraits of boxers taken at Lions Boxing and Fitness.  For James and Thomas, I remove clutter behind him so you only look at the boxers.  To achieve that, I shot with my 50mm F1.8 lens fully open and used a Nikon SB800 behind to provide rim light.  In post I increase saturation and contrast to add drama.

James

Thomas

With Dan, I want to emphasis him so moved the light higher up pointing down.  With a grid fitted, the light drop off is much more defined so the surrounding is much darker.  Again I increase saturation and contrast after.  The bruising on the left eye is courtesy of our makeup artist Charli.

Dan

Dan

The final boxer was Alistair.  I wanted some action shots of him punching a punch bag.  In my mind I’ve already settled for a black and white image and used bare flashes to light him.  I wanted dark ambient light level to achieve that.

Alistair

Alistair

I converted to 97% mono in Photoshop, so it is not completely black and white.  I thoroughly enjoyed shooting with the boxers.  They were really friendly.  I would like to thank all the boxers that day, some of them I did not have time to work with.  Finally I would like to thank Danny who runs the gym for letting use shoot there and arrange for the boxers.

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