REVIEW! ~ Canon Speedlite 320ex

Good afternoon and welcome to the next ravimi blog post! Today I will be doing something special, not because I'm reviewing a special product (but it is special in some ways) but because I do not write many reviews on my site, unless requested (like this one).
Anyways, today I will be talking about one of Canons latest products: the Canon Speedlite 320ex. I've owned this for about 2 months now; therefore, I will only be able to give a review based off my knowledge and experience of 2 months. I would like to think my reviews as being a little unique; I personally am not a person that looks at a product and talks about the negative aspects of it (unless it's really obviously bad) but I focus on the good, and reinforce those good aspects and how they serve to your advantage. So lets get down to business!

The 320ex is a part of the Speedlite series that consists of the 220, 270 (II), 320 (yours truly), 380,420, 430, 550, 580, and 600. When I bought this flash one of the main things that caught my attention was the on-flash shutter button (shown in the picture below).

Courtesy of Google images

This flash was the very first of the canon ex series to have this accessory, which is one of its special aspects. I use it pretty often when I use the flash and it has helped a lot because now I can stay with the flash and move it where needed without having to go back to the camera to take the picture (to use this the flash has to be pointing towards the camera when pressing the button and then you have 5 seconds, or so, to move the flash back into position. The furthest I got with the flash was about 20ft and I still had the ability to use the shutter button.
Another special thing about this camera is that it has an LED light source (as shown in the image below).

Courtesy of Google images (the red arrow was my little edit)

This LED light serves for the video mode of the camera and is used during video shoots in dark locations. This was the first Flash to carry this capability when I bought it about 2 months ago. The LED is useful but it is also not very powerful because it is small; therefore, it cannot carry a large LED power source that projects a lot of light. The light does work when the subject is about 3-5ft away in total darkness, but that is the limit if you want to maintain the subject visible.

This flash has been very helpful when I needed it. It serves great as a bounce flash (using surfaces to reflect the light off) and is great as a slave flash. It cannot be used as a Master flash from my current knowledge but for a flash that is not to expensive relative to it's siblings it is a great purchase. The battery life is great: I shot about 200 pictures with full power and it always kept up to my needs (which was 1 picture every 5-15 seconds) and there was enough power left that I was able to use it for half of  another event without having to change batteries (uses 4 AA batteries). The 320ex also has a telephoto mode where the head piece (where the bulb is located) can extend about half an inch forward; this allows for images to be taken from about 5-10ft further than the normal position.

Some issues:
The only issues I had were personal preferences:
1) Lack of diffuser card (the little white card that can be popped onto the front of the bulb)
2) Cannot control the strength of the flash when in slave mode. (If someone knows how please do let me know and I will update this review.)
3) nothing, that's it, not too many complaints.

As my first Flash, I am very pleased with this product. It is very useful and inspires me to continue learning more on how to use it. I very much recommend this light as a first flash for all the reasons I talked about and because I have very little complaints for it. It is very light (weight) and easy to manipulate. If this is NOT your first flash and you own 1 or more flashes that have "slave" capabilities then I recommend buying a different flash that has "master" capabilities (ability to control "slave" flashes) I would recommend the 430ex from what I have read and seen from other users, but as a first time flash I highly recommend the 320ex.

This information is straight from the canon website and I'm sure will be of interest to those who are are interested in the specifics of the 320ex Speedlite.

Type
On-camera, E-TTL II/E-TTL autoflash Speedlite

Compatible Cameras
Type-A EOS cameras (E-TTL II/E-TTL autoflash)

Guide Number 

Flash Coverage	ISO 100 (m)	ISO 100 (ft.)
Normal (24mm)	24	78.7
Tele (50mm)	32	105

Flash Coverage
EF lens: 24mm/50mm

EF-S lens: 15mm/31.3mm

Manual switching

Number of Flashes
Approx. 180 - 1000 flashes, with fresh AA-size alkaline batteries

Recycling Time
1) Normal flash: Approx. 0.1 - 2.3 sec.

2) Quick flash: Approx. 0.1 - 1.8 sec.

Flash Range
Normal Flash

Guide No. (ISO 100)	Aperture Value
	f/1.4	f/2	f/2.8	f/4	f/5.6
24 (Normal)	56.1 ft.	39.4 ft.	28.2 ft.	19.7 ft.	17.1 ft.
32 (Tele)	75.1 ft.	52.5 ft.	37.4 ft.	26.2 ft.	18.7 ft.

Quick Flash

Guide No. (ISO 100)	Aperture Value
	f/1.4	f/2	f/2.8	f/4	f/5.6
13.8 (Normal)	32.5 ft.	22.6 ft.	16.1 ft.	11.2 ft.	8.2 ft.
18.4 (Tele)	43.0 ft.	30.2 ft.	21.7 ft.	15.1 ft.	10.8 ft.

High-speed sync (at 1/250 sec.)

Guide No. (ISO 100)	Aperture Value
	f/1.4	f/2	f/2.8	f/4	f/5.6
13.8 (Normal)	28.2 ft.	19.7 ft.	14.1 ft.	9.8 ft.	6.9 ft.
18.4 (Tele)	37.4 ft.	26.2 ft.	18.7 ft.	13.1 ft.	9.5 ft.

AF Assist Beam
Intermittent flash firing system

Effective range:

1) At center: Approx. 13.1 ft./4m

2) Periphery: Approx. 11.5 ft./3.5m

3) LED light: Approx. 13.1 ft/4 m

*Compatible with model EOS 5D Mark II and later. Available via firmware update for: EOS-1Ds Mark III, EOS-1D Mark III, EOS 40D, EOS 50D, and EOS Rebel XS.

Custom Functions
1) C.Fn-01: Auto power off (Enabled/Disabled)

2) C.Fn-06: Quick flash w/continuous shot (Disabled/ Enabled)

3) C.Fn-10: Slave auto power off timer (60 minutes/10 minutes)

4) C.Fn-11: Slave auto power off cancel (Within 8 hours/ Within 1 hour)

Power Source
1) Four size-AA/LR6 alkaline batteries are used. Ni-MH or lithium batteries can also be used.

2) This Speedlite is equipped with a power-saving function that turns off the power after 90 seconds if no operations are made.

External Power Source
External power supply accessories cannot be used.

Dimensions
Approx. 2.8 x 4.5 x 3.1 in./70.0 x 115.0 x 78.4mm

Weight
9.7 oz. / 275g

I hope this review served it's purpose and that you enjoyed it. If you have any questions, comments, or answers please write them in the comments below so others cans see them. Feel free to email me at anytime about my photography and remember to SUBSCRIBE!

Keep on Snappin',
ravimi

Photo TIPS! ~ Fill Light

Today I will be talking about Fill Light! The last post talked about "The Golden Hours" (pretty holy stuff) and I mentioned fill light when talking about the effects of the morning and evening sunlight (The Golden Hours). The light from these times of day seems to envelope the subject from multiple directs because the main light (sun light) is not so powerful as too outmatch the Fill light. Well, what is fill light?

Fill light is soft (softer than the main light) light that is used to expose the features of a subject that might be hidden by the shadows created by the main light (the main source of where the light is coming from, ex: sunlight, light bulb, etc.). In portrait photography fill light very often comes from a reflector.

This is a light reflector. It is positioned at an angle
that will help redirect the light (that is not heading towards
the subject) towards the subject. This will help light up
multiple sides of the object. 

A reflector can be many things: a wall (preferably light colored walls, dark colors absorb to much of the light unless the subject is right against the wall), a table, a ceiling, and many other surfaces that redirect light in a desired direction. 

Some photographers use flashes in order to create fill light. Flashes can be positioned in multiple angles, and some can even be shot independent of the actual camera. One example of using Flash as fill light is when I took the picture of the baby below. This picture was taken under a 10x10 beach tent at night. I did not want to much light coming from one direction to hit the babies face so I angled the flash directly upwards. By doing so, the light from the flash bounced off the tent's ceiling and so the entire tent became a huge light box. By examining the picture you will see little, too none, notable shadows that are over powering (the background is dark because I took this outside during the night and so the amount of light inside the tent drained out the visible objects in the background, and a low f/stop also helped). 

Bounce light is VERY useful, especially during portrait photography. So make sure to be aware of it's usefulness and how to best control it. Observe your surroundings for possible "reflectors" (i.e. walls, tables, flat surfaces) and be creative with light sources and when to take pictures (refer to my "The Golden Hours" post).

If you have any questions about my pictures, posts, or photography over all send me a message or comment below (comments are preferred since they may serve the purpose of answering the question for everyone with similar questions.) and remember SUBSCRIBE!

Keep Snappin',ravimi