When I use strobe assist, I throttle down its effects by several stops, lowering its output power to provide a slight shadow fill only. Using a strobe extender I would need to do the same, so it was time to test out the extender to find the sweet spot in its use. The test subject was 30’ away, shot at 500mm. The photo bracketing was taken from 1/1 power down to 1/128th power. The image shot at 1/128th power has the same effect as not using a strobe at all.
Verdict: My personal preference is 1/16th power, no more than 1/8th power
- 5D MkII, 1/125th @ f/6.3, ISO 100
- Tamron AF 200-500mm f/5-6.3 @ 500mm
- Canon Speedlite 580EX
- Better Beamer FX-3 flash extender
