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SECOND-CURTAIN SYNC
Instead of firing the instant the
shutter opens, second-curtain sync
fires the flash at the end of the
exposure, allowing streaks of light to
flow naturally behind the movement
of the subject. This mode opens a
door to more creative opportunities,
and is most effective when slow
shutter speeds are used in
combination with a subject that has
a light source of its own, such as the
headlights of a moving car.
STROBOSCOPIC FLASH
Stroboscopic flash is a series of
flashes fired successively during a
single exposure. With stroboscopic
flash, multiple images of a moving
subject appear in the photograph.
Using this mode, you can analyse a
golf swing or record the shattering
of a windowpane. Available with
Speedlite 550EX, Macro Ring Lite
MR-14EX and Macro Twin Lite
MT-24EX, it’s yet another way Canon
adds to your creative potential.
Choosing the Best
Shooting Mode
P – PROGRAM AE
Set your EOS camera to Program
and the camera and Speedlite
work together to create perfectly lit
exposures automatically. In daylight
or brightly lit indoor situations, the
background will always be correctly
exposed and the camera will control
the fill-flash ratio for optimum
results. Indoors or at night, the
Speedlite becomes the main source
of illumination and the shutter speed
will be kept fast enough to permit
hand-held exposures.
second-curtain sync makes light streaks appear
in the path behind the moving subjects, by firing
the flash at the end of the exposure
AV – APERTURE-PRIORITY AE
Selecting Aperture-Priority AE Mode
while shooting with flash gives you
maximum control over depth-of-field.
You choose the aperture, and the
camera will automatically set a
shutter speed according to the
ambient light level. Backgrounds will
be properly exposed, day or night. To
make sure you achieve a balanced
exposure, the shutter speed
indicator will let you know if you’ve
chosen an unusable aperture by
blinking on and off in the viewfinder
and external LCD display.
TV – SHUTTER-PRIORITY AE
Using your flash in Shutter-Priority
Mode lets you select the shutter
speed while the camera selects the
aperture based on the ambient light
consistently resulting in correctly
exposed backgrounds. In bright light,
you can select high shutter speeds
up to the camera’s maximum X-sync
speed, and even higher than that
with EX-series Speedlites and E-TTL
compatible cameras. In dark
conditions, you can set slower
speeds (up to 30 seconds) for
special effects. If you select a shutter
speed that is too fast to produce a
correct exposure of the background,
the EOS system will display a
blinking warning in the viewfinder
and external display.
M – MANUAL MODE
When you want full control of both
shutter and aperture while shooting
with flash, use the camera’s Manual
Mode. This option is important in
low-light situations when you want
to combine small apertures with
high shutter speeds. Keep in mind
that manual exposure mode on the
camera can be combined with fully
automatic flash exposure, since the
EOS camera’s metering systems for
flash and existing light are controlled
independently.
Shedding a Little Light
on Canon Speedlites
Canon offers a full range of Speedlite
flash units compatible with EOS
system cameras for a wide variety
of applications and photographers’
needs. They run the gamut from
simple, economical flashes to
high-power, highly advanced
Speedlites for professional use.
EX-SERIES SPEEDLITES
EX-series Speedlites such as the
550EX, 420EX, 220EX, and MT-24EX
and MR-14EX share several common
features including E-TTL, FE Lock,
Exposure Lock (a method of spot
metering with flash) and FP flash
mode (the ability to use flash at high
shutter speeds). E-TTL is Canon’s
most advanced flash exposure
control system to date, and requires
the use of EX-series dedicated
Speedlites such as the 550EX, 420EX,
220EX, MT-24EX or MR-14EX in
combination with a compatible
camera. (See SLR Compatibility chart
on page 21).
* An abbreviation for “Advanced Integrated
Multi-point control system”, AIM is Canon’s
original multi-point autofocusing and metering
system. It links evaluative metering, spot metering
and flash exposure control to the active focusing
point. It enables the user to concentrate on
composition and peak expression without having
to first place the subject at the centre for AF Lock.
E-TTL II
The new 30V/33V and the EOS-1D
Mark II employ an “evolved” version
of E-TTL, the E-TTL II, which
incorporates distance information
from compatible EF lenses** for more
versatile flash exposure control.
E-TTL II eliminates underexposure
that can occur with straight
reflections by ignoring sensor areas
that report abnormally high levels of
reflections from its calculation. This
feature is useful when shooting a
subject with a highly reflective
object in the background or if the
subject itself is highly reflective.
In addition, the new E-TTL Il prevents
over-exposure when photographers
lock focus and recompose the
shot by considering the flash
output level calculated according
to the distance information.
Moreover, with the EOS-1D Mark II,
the system is not dependent on
the active AF point for even more
consistent flash exposure result,
considering the numerous focusing
points. Here is how this works:
the ambient light is measured when
the shutter button is pressed.
Next, a pre-flash is fired and the
metering sensor takes readings at
the central 17 metering zones.
The ambient and pre-flash readings
are compared. The metering areas
having a small difference are
selected as the flash exposure
metering areas. Areas with very big
differences between ambient and
pre-flash readings are excluded or
down-weighted because they are
assumed to contain a highly
reflective object, or that the subject
is not in that part of the frame.
This assumption is also ensured
by the distance information, and
thealgorithm avoids chronic
under-exposure problems in
such situation.
These readings are weighted,
averaged and compared with the
ambient light reading, and the
main flash output is then set and
stored in memory.
Thus, unlike the conventional system,
EOS-1D Mark II weighs and
averages the flash metering
capturing the subject as a “plane”
and not as a “point”. As a result, the
camera can obtain consistent flash
exposures even if the subject
contains various colours and various
levels of reflections. The camera
also allows the user to select an
average metering pattern by using
its custom function settings.
**Refer to the EF Lens Specifications chart on
page 16 for E-TTL II compatible EF lenses.
WHAT IS TTL?
TTL (Through-The-Lens) is the
standard flash exposure control
mode used by the built-in flash units
that come with some EOS cameras. It
is also the only mode available with
older Canon models such as the
Speedlite 480EG, 200E, 160E and
Macro Ring Lite ML-3. Additionally,
TTL is available with Speedlite 540EZ
in all camera exposure modes except
for direct flash in Program Mode, as
shown in the Speedlite Compatibility
Chart on page 21. TTL is identical
to A-TTL in almost every way, except
there is no pre-flash. When the
camera is set to Program mode,
TTL flash sets an aperture based
on the ambient light level.
Note: A-TTL and TTL are not compatible with
digital SLRs.
Optional Settings for
Enhanced Creativity
FE LOCK
Flash Exposure Lock (FE Lock)
adds Auto Exposure Lock and
spot metering functions to flash
photography with EX-series
Speedlites and E-TTL compatible
cameras. The EX-series Speedlite’s
pre-flash fires when the camera’s
AE Lock button is depressed,
storing both flash and ambient spot
metering data for up to 16 seconds.
This provides enough time for
adjustments: Not only can the shot
be recomposed, but the ambient
exposure can also be altered for
maximum creative control. FE Lock
is extremely useful when you wish to
recompose after focus lock or to
place the main subject in a part of
the picture area that is not covered
by one of the focusing points. It can
also eliminate potential exposure
errors caused by unwanted
reflections from highly reflective
surfaces like windows or mirrors.
ADJUSTING AMBIENT
EXPOSURE IN FE LOCK
After pre-flashing the subject
with the FE Lock button, ambient
exposure can be adjusted by turning
the Quick Control Dial. The ambient
exposure level is displayed on the
exposure level scale in the viewfinder
and on the external LCD panel.
Correct ambient exposure according
to the camera’s meter is indicated
by the triangle index at the centre
of the scale.
Note: Ambient exposure cannot be adjusted
when the camera is set to Bulb Mode, or in
low-light situations when the camera is set to
Program or DEP.
FP MODE
FP (focal-plane) flash, or High-speed
Sync, enables an E-TTL-compatible
camera equipped with an EX-series
Speedlite to synchronise flash at
shutter speeds faster than the
camera’s normal maximum sync
speed. Even in bright daylight, for
example, a fast lens can be used at a
wide aperture to blur the background
and emphasise the subject. FP flash
can be combined with E-TTL or FE
Lock, and is available in all AE
modes plus Manual.
Note: Unlike conventional electronic flash,
FP flash output (guide number) decreases
according to shutter speed.
FLASH EXPOSURE
COMPENSATION
This setting adjusts the level of
illumination provided by the flash
without changing the shutter speed
or aperture. It’s a particularly
effective way to fine-tune the balance
between foreground and background
exposure during fill-in flash, but it
can also be effective to compensate
for extremely bright or dark tones in
the subject. Flash exposure
compensation can be set with most
current Speedlites, and it can also be
set with all current EOS cameras
other than the EOS 3000N, EOS 300,
EOS 300V and EOS 300D.
Perfect Flash Exposures
Make Better Pictures
Integral to Canon’s EOS system, EOS
Speedlites are the ideal light source
to provide perfect exposure and
illumination for just about any
subject. Operation is simple yet
sophisticated; the more you
understand the system, the more you
can do with it. Whether you’re a
beginner or an expert, it’s easy to
obtain professional-quality results.
Let’s take a look at the options:
The Difference between
E-TTL, E-TTL II and TTL
WHAT IS E-TTL?
Canon’s flagship flash mode,
E-TTL stands for Evaluative
Through-The-Lens flash exposure
control. In E-TTL, the meter reads
through the lens, but not off the focal
plane. Utilising a pre-flash fired after
the shutter button has been fully
depressed but before the camera’s
reflex mirror goes up, E-TTL uses the
camera’s evaluative metering sensor
to analyse and compare ambient
light exposure values with the light
reflected from the subject by the
pre-flash. This data is used to
calculate and store the flash output
required for optimum exposure of the
main subject (identified by the AIM
system*), while maintaining a subtle
balance between foreground and
background. This method provides
several extra features such as Flash
meter weighted on extreme-left focusing point
meter weighted on centre focusing point
meter weighted on extreme-right focusing point
Primary metering zone
Secondary metering zones.
Other metering zones.
E-TTL Flash System
(Cameras with 21-zone metering)
FP Flash
• EF 50mm f/1L USM lens, 1/1,000 sec. at f/2
SPEEDLITE 200E
This series includes low-power,
economy
flash units with TTL-only flash
operation. Speedlite 200E provides fully
automatic
operation with any EOS film
camera,
and is an excellent choice
for close-up
photography when used
in combination
with Off-Camera
Shoe Cord 2.
Note: Speedlite 200E is not compatible with
EOS digital SLRs.
*Defaults to TTL with EOS bodies that do
not support E-TTL.
** Defaults to TTL in all conditions
except direct flash in the camera’s
Program mode.
*** Defaults to TTL in the camera’s
Manual mode.
**** Requires EOS body that supports E-TTL.
*****
All EOS Digital SLRs (except D2000)
provide automatic E-TTL flash with EX-series
Speedlite only. TTL/A-TTL with older
Speedlite is not possible.
✝
Discontinued product, for reference only.
******
Not linked to AF point.
and FP Flash modes. These modes
provide the best overall performance
and flexibility for automatic flash
exposure control with E-TTL
compatible EOS cameras, including
wireless control of off-camera slave
units with the 550EX, MT-24EX
and MR-14EX. EX-series Speedlites
function in TTL mode when used
with earlier EOS cameras lacking
E-TTL capability.
EZ-SERIES SPEEDLITES
All EZ-series Speedlites have been
replaced with EX-series models. The
main features shared in common by
these still advanced Speedlites are
A-TTL capability and motorised zoom
control that automatically varies
flash coverage according to lens
focal length.
SPEEDLITE TECHNOLOGY
SLR Compatibility
CAMERA E-TTL E-TTL II A-TTL / TTL
EOS 620/650 ✝ No No Centre-weight
EOS 700/750/850
✝ No No Centre-weight
EOS 630/600 RT
✝ No No Centre-weight
EOS-1
✝ No No Centre-weight
EOS 1000/1000F
✝ No No Centre-weight
EOS 100
✝ No No Centre-weight
EOS 1000FN/1000S
✝ No No Centre-weight
EOS 10
✝ No No 3-zone
EOS 5
✝ No No 3-zone
EOS-1N RS
✝/1N ✝ No No 3-zone
EOS-1v/1v HS Yes No 4-point/3-zone
EOS 500
✝ /3000N No No 4-point/3-zone
EOS 5000
✝ No No 4-point/3-zone
EOS 50/50E
✝ Ye s No 4 -point/3-zone
EOS 30V/33V Yes Yes 4-point/3-zone
EOS 500N
✝ Ye s No 4 -point/3-zone
EOS IX7/IX
✝ Yes No 4 -point/3-zone
EOS-3 Yes No 4-point/3-zone
EOS 300V/300V Date/300/300 Date Yes No 4-point/3-zone
EOS D2000 (Digital)
✝ Ye sNo3-zone
EOS D30 (Digital)
✝ Ye sNoNot Possible*****
EOS 300D (Digital) Yes No Not Possible*****
EOS D60 (Digital)
✝ Ye sNoNot Possible*****
EOS 10D (Digital) Yes No Not Possible*****
EOS-1Ds/1D (Digital) Yes No Not Possible*****
EOS-1D Mark II (Digital) Yes Yes****** Not Possible*****
Speedlite Compatibility
Speedlite E-TTL**** A-TTL TTL Manual
550EX Yes**** No Yes* Yes
540EZ ✝ No Yes** Yes Ye s
480EG ✝ No No Yes Yes
430EZ ✝ No Yes Yes*** Yes
420EZ ✝ No Yes Yes*** Yes
420EX Yes**** No Yes* No
380EX ✝ Yes**** No Yes* No
300EZ ✝ No Yes Yes*** No
220EX Yes**** No Yes* No
200E No No Yes No
160E ✝ No No Yes No
ML-3 ✝ No No Yes No
MR-14EX Yes**** No Yes* Yes
MT-24EX Yes**** No Yes* Yes
2120
EOS CAMERAS
EF LENSES SPEEDLITES POWER SUPPLIES
DIGITAL
ACCESSORIES
SHOOTING
ACCESSORIES
PERIPHERALS
CASES AND STRAPS
SPEEDLITE
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