i'm going to shoot some portraits and there are two problem facing me:the build-in flash of my rebel 2000 is not powerful enough ,but i have a second-hand SUNPAK 5000AF and i'm concerned about the exposure accuracy,could it execute ETTL ?If not,i have to choose canon flash.The 420EX has horizontal swivel and high output,which i wanted,but those functions like wireless slave are useless to me.I do not want to pay for something that i will never use.How should i choose? Also,is a f/1.8 50mm lens or a f/4-5.6 75-300mm more suitable for portrait?

-- William (mcmug716@hotmail.com), November 27, 2001

Answers

The Sunpak 5000AF is not capable of E-TTL, but it is capable of regular TTL with the Rebel 2000. At least the ones that are dedicated to the Canon EOS system are.

E-TTL metering is a bit better in difficult situations. It also adds extra features like high speed sync and Flash Exposure Lock, but TTL metering with the 5000AF should be fine for most situations. E-TTL is a nice addition, but it certainly isn't needed to take good flash pictures.

The 420EX is a very good, well built flash that does offer stuff you don't think you need, but it's still a good flash to buy. The Sigma EF500 Super is another option if buying third party equipment is acceptable to you. It does have E-TTL and all the bells & whistles that go with it. It also has more features and power than the 420EX, for less money. It's a little more than the Sunpak though.

Other things you may want to add in the future are a flash bracket that keeps the flash on top when you turn the camera vertical (portrait mode). And then you'll need an Canon's Off Camera Shoe Cord 2. Both together will cost you about $100 & will do more for your flash pictures than the difference between TTL and E-TTL.

The 50mm and the 75-300mm are both suitable for portraits, but neither are ideal. For full body shots the 50mm is fine but for tight head & shoulder shots you will have to get in close and you will start to see some perspective distortion. (the nose will look bigger, etc.) The longer zoom will work okay for the tight shots but it's maximum aperture is not very large so it will not be as easy to blur the background. Usually people prefer portrait lenses in the 85- 135mm range with a fast aperture (f/1.4-2.8), but there is a lot of people who like other lens lengths as well.

-- Jim Strutz (j.strutz@gci.net), November 27, 2001.