Gadget Finder

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Canon Speedlite on LX3/DL4

I had nothing better to do today and thought of this. I tried on the Canon Speedlite 270EX and 580EXII on my Leica D-Lux 4. Guess what? It works really well. :)



Here's how the 270EX looks like on my DL4.















It's nice and compact. Just perfect for the LX3/DL4. It's nicely balanced and it even stands nicely on the camera without toppling over. Here's a series of pictures showing the different positions of the flash head.



Standard wide angle position.









Tele position.











1st bounce position











2nd bounce position.









Vertical bounce.











I installed a Sto-Fen Omnibounce on it too.









Recommended bounce position by Sto-Fen.





The Canon Speedlite 270EX works really well on my DL4. Can't use auto mode though. It'll just get totally over exposed. Due to the 270EX not having any controls on it for manual flash control, I had to use manual mode on the camera to get the exposure right.









After trying out the 270EX, I went mad and popped on the big mama 580EXII! Here's how it looks like.















The Canon Speedlite 580EXII works really well too. In fact, it is so powerful that everything turns out totally white. LOL. To get the 580EXII to work perfectly I used the manual controls on the flash itself. After turning down the power manually it was really nice for the following example pics.



Here's a pic in available light with no flash. Shutter speed was a measly 1/3 and it's already blur from handshake.







With the power turned down, flash bouncing off the ceiling, I got this shot.







Here's how it looks like with the horrible pop up flash.





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8 comments:

Kevin Ho said...

WTF???
After reading your post I went and tried my 580EXII on my LX3 also!
hahahaha

Ian Ho said...

LOL. Damn cool right? We will never be short of light now. The 270EX is especially nice as I carry that most of the time in case I need flash for my 5DMkII. Now I can pop it on the DL4/LX3 too. Hehehe. The 580EXII is like bringing the sun along with us. It's soooooooo bright!

Nemo said...

hey ian

hope all is well !
I am a new reader on your blog.
I got myself a leica a few month ago.
new to the camera & photography but is interested and want to learn. Im into art, fashion & Nightlife so having a camera with me at all times is needed.
Would you have any tricks shooting with the Leica DL4?
Im having issues mostly at the parties- Nightlife. anything would help
thanks in advance.

Geemoon

Ian Ho said...

I'd say get yourself the Leica CF22flash or the Panasonic version called FL220. Both don't have bounce capability but if you're using it at parties n clubs n stuff, I don't think there's much to bounce off anyway as most clubs have really high or even black colored ceilings. Both are full auto flashes so just point n shoot.

The only reason I use Canon Speedlites is coz I already have them.

edwar said...

i wonder does it work on Nikon Speedlite?

Ian Ho said...

I have no idea if the Nikon flash will work. I've heard that it does. Give it a try and tell us if it works. Hehe.

Anonymous said...

hye ian...

i'm following ur blog since last year while i was searching for reviews about dlux4 n Lx3..u also the one who make me very excited to grab one...and now i have my blacky DLUX4..(kempis poket)..heheh...
i;m very disappointed with popup flash..can you suggest me another external flash beside cf22n fl220...
is't canon 220ex is ok?or do suggest me to buy 270ex..looks cool
-mel-

Ian Ho said...

mel, don't buy the 270EX for your DL4 coz there's no manual control of flash power. I only did this since I have the flash for my Canon system. Hehe

You should check out the Nissin flashes that have full manual control. They're very affordable too. If budget is not a problem, I reckon you should just get the Leica CF-22 for convenience. You won't have to mess about with manual settings and all. You can also use the Canon off camera shoe cord to get the CF-22 off the camera body for more creative lighting when needed.