Can older studio strobes be used with auto exposure or TTL on a Canon 550D?
Asked 6/30/2015
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I’ve been given a pair of older studio lights with softboxes and a basic hot-shoe/radio trigger, and I want to use them with a Canon EOS 550D. The strobes fire correctly, but I’m new to studio lighting and wondering whether there’s any way to use auto exposure with this setup.
Can the camera meter the flash and automatically choose settings, or is there at least a semi-automatic workflow where I take a test shot and use that result to help set exposure? I’m thinking of something like TTL with a speedlight, or a custom-white-balance style process. If not, what starting settings should I use?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
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Sorry, there is no way to make older studio strobes automatic, or even semi-automatic. You must use Manual mode for every photo.
1/200 is the max sync speed on your camera, but when using radio triggers, there is sometimes a very slight delay introduced. To be safe start with with 1/160 f/8 ISO 100. You can then adjust the power of the strobes to get the right exposure or adjust the aperture or ISO as well. Remember that if you move the strobes, the flash to subject distance will have a large effect on the exposure.
There is no need to adjust the shutter speed as the flash duration is much faster than the shutter speed and will freeze any movement. Just don't use a slow shutter speed like 1/30 or 1/60 as this might allow too much ambient light into the scene. 1/125 or 1/160 should work just fine.
For white balance use the "Flash" setting.
With some trial and error, and lots of practice, you will be a master in no time.
Originally by user39427. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user39427
11y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
With older manual studio strobes and a basic trigger, no—there’s no TTL or camera-controlled auto exposure. You’ll need to shoot in Manual mode and set exposure yourself.
A good starting point on the 550D is around 1/160 sec, f/8, ISO 100. Stay at or below your camera’s sync speed (about 1/200 sec, though triggers can add slight delay, so 1/160 is safer).
Then adjust exposure by changing:
- strobe power
- aperture
- ISO
- light-to-subject distance
Shutter speed usually isn’t used to control flash exposure here, because the flash burst is much shorter than the shutter time. Keep shutter speed reasonably fast (for example 1/125–1/160) so ambient light doesn’t affect the shot too much.
If you move the lights, exposure changes significantly because distance matters a lot. The normal workflow is: set manual camera settings, take a test shot, then refine power/aperture/ISO until it looks right.
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