Help with Canon 600 EX-RT

[Tony61]

Hi I am new to this group and wanted some advice please. I always seem to struggle using flash and have no confidence, I have an indoor event coming up which will be low ambient light and high dark ceilings, and I wanted to ask how do I get my flash to fire multiple times to shoot say 3 or 4 rapid frames as to avoid getting photo's where eyes are closed, which seems to always happen.

If I shoot with the flash pointing at the subject it's no problem, but it gives me harsh light, so when I tilt the head straight up and use the small white bounce card in the flash, the flash will not fire 3 or 4 rapid frames, just the first frame and not the next few.

Is this normal, or is there a problem with the flash unit ? I use a Canon 5DM3.

Any help with this much appreciated.

[RobertTheFat]

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@Tony61wrote:

Hi I am new to this group and wanted some advice please. I always seem to struggle using flash and have no confidence, I have an indoor event coming up which will be low ambient light and high dark ceilings, and I wanted to ask how do I get my flash to fire multiple times to shoot say 3 or 4 rapid frames as to avoid getting photo's where eyes are closed, which seems to always happen.

If I shoot with the flash pointing at the subject it's no problem, but it gives me harsh light, so when I tilt the head straight up and use the small white bounce card in the flash, the flash will not fire 3 or 4 rapid frames, just the first frame and not the next few.

Is this normal, or is there a problem with the flash unit ? I use a Canon 5DM3.

Any help with this much appreciated.

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This is really a guess (although the underlying assumptions are correct). When you use bounce flash with high, dark ceilings, the flash is apt to have to fire at full power, which wouldn't be required with direct flash. After firing at full power, the flash unit may not be able to recycle in time to fire the next flash in the sequence. Also, firing at full power generates more heat, and the flash unit may have to slow down to avoid overheating.

[Tony61]

Thanks Bob that makes sense.

Thanks again.

[jrhoffman75]

Try using a flash diffuser like the Sto-fen or MagMod. 

[RobertTheFat]

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@jrhoffman75wrote:

Try using a flash diffuser like the Sto-fen or MagMod. 

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But also note that the 600EX-RT has a built-in diffuser that slides out and falls over the business end of the flash. See the manual for how to use it. If it works well enough for you, you won't need the add-ons that John mentioned.

[jrhoffman75 · Accepted solution]

The built-in panel is more of a lens for wider angle coverage. It probably has some diffusing capability but less so than the milk white diffusers. But it is worth a try. 

The II version of the flash does come with a diffuser.