What flash to use w/ Canon XT1i in Nightclubs?

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What you describe is common with most flash units because the closer your subject is the light is concentrated there. The camera then exposes to that subject so any thing in view is darker. There's a couple of things I do to help this situation. I recently shot a large event in a room that was poorly lit for photography and I ended up with the same problem. But one thing I did to improve results was set my camera a manual with settings at 1/200 (sync speed) and f/3.5. The 1/200 helps to hold down blur from subject / camera movement and the f/3.5, though not ideal, was the largest I had available on my current lens (Canon 28-200). After the event I edited the photos for shadows, which brightens the background without substantial effect on subjects close to the camera. It works, it's not the ideal, but it does work. All this without spending any extra cash as my shoots, of this type, are volunteer events. Good Luck

If your subjects are coming out principally flash exposed, then you need to look at three things; - your shutter speed - this will control how much of the ambient light is mixed in with the flash. The higher your shutter speed (ie as it approaches max sync speed) the more you'll kill the ambient. If you want to blend in more ambient, then lower it. - flash to subject distance. If this is short, you'll get far more rapid fall off from the subject to the b/g. Back off a little to more evenly light the subject. - I presume you're setting manual flash output? Not TTL? Consider dialling it down by half a stop or so. You can get a Fong type diffuser, but bear in mind that this turns your flash into a bare bulb source - light goes everywhere. It'll bounce of walls/ceilings - this is fine if they're near and/or neutral colour but my experience in night clubs is that they'll be dark (they'll eat light) or worse, they'll be some odd colour, which will add a colour cast to reflected light. Sorry can't help with the continuous video light - not my area.

For the Best Results: Speedlite 580EX II http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/486706-USA/Canon_1946B002_Speedlite_580EX_II.html Flash Bracket http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/476277-REG/Dot_Line_RS_0420_EOS_RPS_Digital_Flash_Bracket.html LumniQuest Pocket Bouncer http://www.lumiquest.com/products/pocket-bouncer.htm Gives you the best quality in that lighting condition. I also recommended you getting a 35mm or 55mm f/1.4 or f/1.2 lens or something similar with a wide angle or a wide angle filter.