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Outdoor night shooting?

S

Sireal

Weaksauce
Joined
Sep 4, 2006
Messages
98
What is required to shoot objects up to 50 yards away at night with reasonable success? I have a feeling it would require some serious lighting beyond camera mounted flash units but figured it was worth asking anyway. What I would like to do is be able to take pictures of wildlife on the fly without having to set up a ton of equipment beforehand. I'm new to prosumer grade equipment and want to make sure I'm not just wasting my time trying to do something impossible.
 
Flash output is specified by the guide number, which represents the distance from a subject multiplied by the aperture at ISO 100: GN = distance x f number

The 580EX has a guide number of 58 at full zoom (105mm), so for a subject at a distance of 58 meters, an aperture of f/1 is required if you're shooting ISO 100 and your equivalent focal length is 105mm or longer. If you bump the ISO by 4 stops to 1600, you can shoot at f/4 and illuminate the subject.

So yeah, you could use a handheld flash and make it work, but you're on the very edge of the flash useful range. If you used light modifiers that contain the beam, you can get a more focused spot if you're shooting at a longer focal length which might let you get more distance.
 
Thanks Fugu, at least I now know it's possible. Any recommendations on a site that sells these? I assume they are triggered off of the camera somehow?
 
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