Buying Guide: Reportage Flashes

Buying guide: Reportage Flashes — how to choose the right one

Reportage flashes, also known as hotshoe flashes or speedlights, offer a wide range of useful features to improve the quality and light in your photos. Since there are various terms and numbers associated with using a reportage flash, our buying guide gives you all the information you need. Here you will find information about the different features, the optimal settings and how to handle varying lighting conditions.

Important terms

When selecting a flash you will encounter many different terms. But what do they all mean? In this guide we will explain a number of key characteristics.

Flash synchronisation

The operation of a flash is a fairly complex process and depends on your camera's shutter speed. The flash itself lasts only a fraction of a second (1/1000, 1/2000) and must therefore fall within the camera's shutter speed (1/100, 1/200). The shutter speed is determined by the time it takes two curtains to travel across the sensor. During the period between these two curtains moving, the image is captured — and this is where the flash must do its work. At too short a shutter speed, it is no longer possible to expose the full photo between the two curtains, creating a black shadow. To prevent this, modern reportage flashes use a pulsing flash that fires in rapid succession. The downside is that the flash power is divided over multiple pulses — with five pulses, each flash can only use 20% of the maximum power. Always check the flash duration and guide number.

Guide number

The power of a flash is expressed as its guide number — the maximum distance in metres at which the subject can be, at ISO 100. The distance depends on the aperture used. With a guide number of 50 at aperture f/1.0, the maximum distance is 50 metres. With each step in the aperture series, divide the distance by 1.4. At f/1.4 the distance is already reduced to 35.7 metres. With a higher ISO than 100 you can increase the distance by multiplying by 1.4. For portrait and product photography a guide number around 40 works fine; for nature or street photography a guide number around 60 is recommended.

The different features

A reportage flash offers many different features depending on price and model. Below we explain the most common features in more detail.

Mounting

The reportage flash attaches easily to the top of a camera and communicates with the camera via contact points. This is essential to synchronise flash and camera so the flash fires at the right moment and delivers the correct exposure.

Tiltable and rotatable head

Reportage flashes with a tiltable and/or rotatable head allow you to bounce light off walls and ceilings rather than flashing directly at a subject, avoiding harsh shadows. Using a reflector card you can also take advantage of bounced light outdoors.

Receiver

If a flash has a built-in receiver, it is possible to communicate with it wirelessly via a remote transmitter.

Ways to trigger a flash

• Internal flash: Increasingly, camera internal flashes can send a command signal to an external flash unit to trigger it.
• Infrared trigger: With an infrared trigger you can sync the flash via an infrared signal. This works accurately and syncs well with the shutter speed, but requires a clear line of sight between the flash and trigger.
• Radio transmitter: Triggering a flash via a radio signal uses a transmitter and receiver, and works well at large distances without interference.

Camera control modes

• Auto (TTL): TTL stands for Through the Lens — an exposure system that automatically provides the flash with the correct exposure. You can still adjust flash power in the settings, or switch to fully manual control.
• Manual: When using a reportage flash, you choose from your camera's programme modes (P, S, A). In Manual mode you have full control, but this requires some experience.
• Combination: Different situations call for different combinations. Camera in P + flash on Manual gives a nice fill flash. Camera in A + flash on TTL is ideal for optimal depth of field. Camera in A + flash on Manual is best for portraits. Camera in S + flash on Manual suits long shutter speeds.

Which reportage flash is right for me?

To make your choice a little easier, we have made a selection of our favourite reportage flashes below, divided from beginner to professional level. We have selected flashes suitable primarily for Canon and Nikon cameras, but variations are available for other brands too.

For the beginning photographer

For beginner photographers we have selected flashes that balance ease of use with an accessible purchase price — so you can enjoy good flash light and quickly learn to work with a flash.

For the advanced photographer

The following flashes are equipped with more features and give you more control over the settings, so you have the right flash for every situation. The possibilities are almost endless and allow you to take your photography to an even higher level.

For the professional photographer

The flashes below are among the best of all reportage flashes, with more features and better specifications. If you regularly use a flash for your work, one of these is the best choice.

Reportage flash accessories

Three commonly used accessories for reportage flashes are the bounce card, wide-angle adapter and diffuser. These are sometimes included with a flash; if not, they can be purchased separately.

• Bounce card: A bounce card slides out above the flash to enlarge the light surface, creating a more natural exposure by redirecting light.
• Wide-angle adapter: A panel that attaches in front of the flash to spread the light over a greater area.
• Diffuser: A plastic cap placed over the flash that reduces harsh light effects and creates softer shadows, more detail in bright areas and more realistic colour tones. It also widens the light for better distribution.

Accessory kits

The following kits contain one or more of the accessories mentioned above!

Practice makes perfect

Finally, with any reportage flash, sufficient practice will help you understand the influence of an external flash on your subject. By experimenting with light reflections you will naturally discover how to light it best. Make sure the reportage flash can be mounted on your type of camera — check the product information of the flash for compatibility.