Canon HF-DC1 High Power Flash for Canon Powershot Digital Cameras
by Canon
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Canon HF-DC1 High Power Flash for Canon Powershot Digital Cameras
Customer Review: Light up your pictrues
Summary: 5 Stars
Amazing little flash gun. Without it, most point & shoot cameras will allow you only 12-13 distance between you and your subject. With this, it'll go up to 30 feet. You can go even further out if you put the flash gun closer to the subject while you stand back. Can be used as a bounce flash too. Doesn't work for fill in flash in bright light, though. Most point and shoot cameras will boost its ISO to lighten the picture. Downside of that is when you blow up the picture, you'll see lots of grains. Using a flash will reduce the graininess. I would recommend setting your camera on manual to prevent the camera from selecting the ISO by itself.
The batteries can cost you around $7, so it is expensive. I bought a bunch for $2 online. I took over 400 pictures on one battery and it's still going strong. I think the instructions said you can get up to 500 pictures on a battery.
I was so happy with this flash gun that I ordered a Phoenix D92-BZS Digital Slave Flash. It's almost half the price with more power. The advantage of the HF-DC1 is its compact size. You can stick it in your pocket very easily. I'd like to get a Nikon D200 but I hate to go around carrying that heavy camera with a huge flash gun sitting on top of it. I can stick my Canon A640 in one pocket and the HF-DC1 in another. The Phoenix is quite large but more powerful.
The HF-DC1 will work with most Canons and it even runs on my Minolta.. so I guess it'll run on many different brands. It senses the multiple flashes the camera puts out and then fires on the second flash. Some cameras fire on the first or third. So caution here. The Phoenix has a selectable flash for 1st, 2nd or 3rd flash. I would guess that it'll run on almost all digital point & shoot cameras. But it's big. Can't stick it in your pocket.
Your camera has its mind and the HF-DC1 has its mind too, so sometimes they battle each other. So set your camera on manual and take an experimental shot. Make necessary adjustments and then fire away. I found that I could extend the range a bit by covering, with my finger, the sensor hole that the HF-DC1 uses to determine how bright a flash to give.
All of this may sound a bit complicated but without the flash, you will end up with too dark pictures. At my son's wedding, my relatives and I took lots of digital pictures but all the shots over 12' were dark. With the HF-DC1, I went to our club banquet and took 250 shots using the HF-DC1 and I was able to get good pictures out to 40+ feet. I did not set the camera to manual so some pictures came out too bright and some came out too grainy. But I was happy with 95% of the pictures. With digital cameras, take a lot of pictures and throw the bad ones away. Without an external flashgun, you'll throw a lot more away. Precious ones too.
Customer Review: Canon HF-DC1 Slave Flash
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an excellent add-on to the Canon series of Powershot cameras, I am using it with an A620 and it produces beautiful pictures. The flash is a "slave" in that it triggers when the camera's built-in flash fires, so there is no cord needed to connect it to the camera. It comes with a fixed bracket but you can also hand-hold it for bounce flash effects very easily. It uses a 123A lithium battery which recharges very quickly (generally less than 2-3 seconds, about 7 seconds for a maximum-brightness flash), Canon claims approximately 250 shots from a new battery. There is an adjustment for low-mid-high intensity but the flash does not, to my knowledge, focus or adjust for subject distance (the camera auto-exposure does an excellent job of that). Finally, there is a "manual" mode which only means that you have to press and hold the indicator button to enable the flash to fire, this is to attempt to avoid having the slave trigger on someone else's flash if you are in a roomful of cameras. The guide number is 18 meters at ISO 100. I have found that, for example, taking pictures of actors in a high-school play from the audience, about 30 feet away, with relatively dim stage lighting, this flash was more than powerful enough to get excellent face shots, even with the camera moderately zoomed. This is a very useful and high-performance accessory, definitely worthwhile if you do a lot of indoor shooting where you can't get close to your subject.Customer Review: Improves flash in large spaces for some Canon cameras
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this to go with my Canon SX110 IS, but because that camera automatically sets the ISO for the flash situation based on its own (not so little) flash, this flash add-on always causes overexposure. (I still need to play with this, and stop the ISO being dynamic)
So I used it with the wife's A560, and it is great. Used both in the direct mode for longer distance flash, and slightly angled to provide bounce fill-in for subjects that extend away from the camera (like a dinner table or a line of people)
Problem I have is that I cannot get the manual discharge to operate; that would be useful to relax people, who then think the picture has been taken and drop from the false "Cheese" to a more natural grin of relief.
But in the great scheme of things, not a major problem.
Glad I bought it? Yes, definitely. Recommend? Yes, if you can use a flash in a pseudo-manual mode.
More playing to do to make the flash into a useful tool.
PS Comes in a neat litle bag that keeps the mount separate from the flash.
PPS No idea about battery life; so far only used for about 30 flashes, so some time still to go.
Customer Review: PLENTY OF FLASH POWER
Summary: 5 Stars
This add-on flash is a great accessory. There are five Canon compact digital cameras in my family and this flash will work with any of them. The small flash in the camera is usually good for 6' - 10' but this little powerhouse attaches quickly, has no wires, and gives you good flash out to 30' and beyond. It has wide angle coverage to match the 28mm wide angle lenses on my Canon SD870 and SD880. I have used it for group photos of my high school class at Homecoming, wide angle shots of groups dining in rather dark restaurants, college graduation ceremonies, and pets at long distances. Most other camera makers don't even have an accessory like this. You also feel very smart and smug when others are snapping away with their digital cameras and their little flashes are going off and you KNOW their shots are going to be dark and underexposed when they view them and no software enhancing can take the place of a well lit original that you are getting. Been there, done that. Consider this an investment to help you get those precious group shots that everyone will want a copy of from you.Customer Review: A Must Have for ALL Canon Digital Camera Owners
Summary: 5 Stars
If you own one of the fantastic, compact Canon digital cameras than this is a must have.
I bought a new Canon SD880IS for Christmas and the built in flash only has a usable range of about 10-13 feet. This is very typical of compact digital cameras. This is due to the small size of the cameras and small batteries. It is all a compromise. For most shooting this is not a problem as you can usually shoot without flash or are within range. However many times you need more flash range when shooting in large rooms, museums, concerts, and public places. The HF-DC1 solves this problem by giving you more range - up to 30 feet. This flash works with many Canon models, check the Canon Website or your camera owners manual for complete details.
It is a must have for Canon digital camera owners. Highly recommended !