topic Re: Faster 320EX recycle times? in Speedlite Flashes

Faster 320EX recycle times?

PajamaGuy — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 11:58:02 GMT

I recently shot grandkids playing on a Bouncy-Slide and could sometimes get 2 flashes in the set of 6 continuous shutter triggered. Is there a way (external power source?) to shorten the recycle time so I can get 3 flashes/sec, or do I need to buy another falsh - and if so, any recomendations?

Re: Faster 320EX recycle times?

Skirball — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 14:43:48 GMT

@PajamaGuy wrote:
I recently shot grandkids playing on a Bouncy-Slide and could sometimes get 2 flashes in the set of 6 continuous shutter triggered. Is there a way (external power source?) to shorten the recycle time so I can get 3 flashes/sec, or do I need to buy another falsh - and if so, any recomendations?

The best way would be to raise your ISO or open your aperture so that the flash can use lower power. Lower power means quicker flashes. You could also add a second flash, and cut your power in half - but it's getting pretty cumbersome at that point.

An external power source will also speed things up, but I don't think the 320 has an external input? Canon has traditionally been very frugal in their speedlites, trying to upsell everyone into buying the most expensive flashes by not putting simple features on lower models. I believe the 580 is the 'lowest' ranking flash with external power input.

There are third party models. Plenty of cheap ones if you're using manual, but the price goes up if you're using eTTL. Personally, I use third party flashes for all my manual flash work, but Canon for eTTL. Luckily for me I rarely shoot eTTL.

Re: Faster 320EX recycle times?

RobertTheFat — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 20:27:48 GMT

@Skirball wrote:

An external power source will also speed things up, but I don't think the 320 has an external input? Canon has traditionally been very frugal in their speedlites, trying to upsell everyone into buying the most expensive flashes by not putting simple features on lower models. I believe the 580 is the 'lowest' ranking flash with external power input.

You can fry a flash with external power if you're not careful. Canon's top-of-the-line models have some protection, in that they give themselves a timeout if they get too hot. Maybe the cheaper models don't have that ability and can't be trusted with external power.

The timeouts, which can last 10 or 15 minutes, always occur at the most inconvenient times, BTW. Always carry a spare!

Re: Faster 320EX recycle times?

TCampbell — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 03:00:27 GMT

The batteries in the flash charge capacitors and it's actually those capacitors that fire the flash. That means if the flash doesn't use all the power stored in the capacitors it can flash again immediately. Once it does fire, the batteries get to work recharging the power stored in the capacitors so that it's ready to fire again.

The amount of power needed will depend on the distance that the flash is from the subject, the ISO setting, and the f-stop setting (but not the shutter speed.)

That means there are some things you can change as a photographer to perhaps get an extra burst of flash (or two) before you have to get more elaborate.

And if you do have to get more elaborate... Canon's higher end flashes are faster. The 600EX-RT (being the flagship model) has more power, bigger capacitors, and not only has a faster recycle time, it ALSO has the option of taking an external battery pack (which holds 8 batteries instead of 4) for even faster recycling times.

It turns out that if this isn't fast enough, you can "cluster" Canon Speelites so they work together as a team. You can get mounting brackets that hold a cluster of three flashes (instead of one) and it literraly takes 1/3rd the power from each to pump out the same amount of light. This means you get three times as many flashes before they need to recycle. You can cluster up to 15 speelites.

Re: Faster 320EX recycle times?

Skirball — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 16:43:58 GMT

@RobertTheFat wrote:
@Skirball wrote:

An external power source will also speed things up, but I don't think the 320 has an external input? Canon has traditionally been very frugal in their speedlites, trying to upsell everyone into buying the most expensive flashes by not putting simple features on lower models. I believe the 580 is the 'lowest' ranking flash with external power input.

You can fry a flash with external power if you're not careful. Canon's top-of-the-line models have some protection, in that they give themselves a timeout if they get too hot. Maybe the cheaper models don't have that ability and can't be trusted with external power.

The timeouts, which can last 10 or 15 minutes, always occur at the most inconvenient times, BTW. Always carry a spare!

Sure, but most likely that's only going to happen if you're using your flast at or near full power. In which case you're never going to get anywhere close to a couple of pops per second, as the OP is trying to do. You're only going to get that at low power, which is why I suggested raising your ISO, opening your aperture, and/or using a second flash.

Re: Faster 320EX recycle times?

RobertTheFat — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 21:48:20 GMT

@Skirball wrote:
@RobertTheFat wrote:
You can fry a flash with external power if you're not careful. Canon's top-of-the-line models have some protection, in that they give themselves a timeout if they get too hot. Maybe the cheaper models don't have that ability and can't be trusted with external power.

The timeouts, which can last 10 or 15 minutes, always occur at the most inconvenient times, BTW. Always carry a spare!
Sure, but most likely that's only going to happen if you're using your flast at or near full power. In which case you're never going to get anywhere close to a couple of pops per second, as the OP is trying to do. You're only going to get that at low power, which is why I suggested raising your ISO, opening your aperture, and/or using a second flash.

When I photograph events, I use an external battery pack, which provides a quick recycle under all conditions. I let the ETTL program determine the correct power level and have no problem getting off two or three shots a second. The catch is that my flashes (a 600EX-RT and both models of the 580EX) will shut down to cool off if I keep that up for long. After a couple of embarrassing incidents where I've had to swap in another flash, I've gotten a lot more careful.

I don't consider a second flash to be a feasible option. Two cameras, each with one flash, is all I can handle.