flash and manual mode: can someone explain how i use manual mode with on camera flash. surely the camera cannot take account of the flash as it hasnt happened yet and in manual mode...

billozz Loc: Birmingham, England

can someone explain how i use manual mode with on camera flash. surely the camera cannot take account of the flash as it hasnt happened yet and in manual mode you would set your shutter and aperture to get the right exposure without the flash albeit that the shutter might be a little slower than you would like, how then do you factor in the flash. hope i have made myself clear.
thanks
Bill

MagicMark

billozz wrote:

can someone explain how i use manual mode with on camera flash. surely the camera cannot take account of the flash as it hasnt happened yet and in manual mode you would set your shutter and aperture to get the right exposure without the flash albeit that the shutter might be a little slower than you would like, how then do you factor in the flash. hope i have made myself clear.
thanks
Bill

Bill,

I always set my shutter to the highest sync speed possible (with most cameras that's around 1/200 or 1/250 of a second). Then I set my aperture. Usually I can guess pretty close what this will be (around f/5.6 to f/8) then I take a test shot and check my image to see if I need more or less light. Then I adjust the aperture accordingly. The shutter speed will effect the ambient light levels and the aperture will effect the flash light levels.

Hope this helps. :)

JR1 Loc: Tavistock, Devon, UK

billozz wrote:

can someone explain how i use manual mode with on camera flash. surely the camera cannot take account of the flash as it hasnt happened yet and in manual mode you would set your shutter and aperture to get the right exposure without the flash albeit that the shutter might be a little slower than you would like, how then do you factor in the flash. hope i have made myself clear.
thanks
Bill

What camera ?

JR1 Loc: Tavistock, Devon, UK

This is the only link Canon owners will ever need

http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/index.html

billozz Loc: Birmingham, England

JR1 wrote:

What camera ?

450d

MagicMark

billozz wrote:

450d

I used to own that camera 450 (XSi in the States). That camera's highest sync speed is 1/200th of a second.

Great camera. :thumbup:

JR1 Loc: Tavistock, Devon, UK

billozz wrote:

450d

Check the link for Canon flash

JR1 Loc: Tavistock, Devon, UK

MagicMark wrote:

I used to own that camera 450 (XSi in the States). That camera's highest sync speed is 1/200th of a second.

Great camera. :thumbup:

Or get a flash that allows HSS

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

billozz wrote:

can someone explain how i use manual mode with on camera flash. surely the camera cannot take account of the flash as it hasnt happened yet and in manual mode you would set your shutter and aperture to get the right exposure without the flash albeit that the shutter might be a little slower than you would like, how then do you factor in the flash. hope i have made myself clear.
thanks
Bill

You need to know the maximum sync speed of your shutter. Knowing that, you can use a lower shutter speed and small aperture to increase depth of field (although you won't increase light depth) or to show motion). For example, if your maximum sync speed is 1/200 and you calculate f/4 to shoot an ice skater as she come past you, you might want to back off 3 stops to 1/25 and stop down to f/11 to catch the maximum rotation on that triple salchow right in front of you. Don't forget to pan...

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

billozz wrote:

can someone explain how i use manual mode with on camera flash. surely the camera cannot take account of the flash as it hasnt happened yet and in manual mode you would set your shutter and aperture to get the right exposure without the flash albeit that the shutter might be a little slower than you would like, how then do you factor in the flash. hope i have made myself clear.
thanks
Bill

I get what you are saying...what exposure do you set your camera at when you want to include flash?

I know it's weird at first but the answer is: it depends.

If the flash is on TTL (even though the camera is on manual) then the flash decides how flash to add to the exposure...and your question is answered for the most part.

If the flash is on manual mode, then you set both.

The question is: what are you trying to accomplish?

Are you trying to add just a slight bit of fill to a properly exposed scene?

Will the flash be responsible for "most" of the exposure in the scene?

What you are trying to do determines the answer to your question.

Remember, you are making TWO exposures when you use flash....one flash exposure, and one ambient light exposure...and they are treated separately.

So..what's your intent?

Singing Swan

So, what ya'll are saying is that even in manual, your camera still adjusts the amount of flash it puts out?? I was just wondering about this particular question the other day and these answers just confused me a little......just a little.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

Singing Swan wrote:

So, what ya'll are saying is that even in manual, your camera still adjusts the amount of flash it puts out?? I was just wondering about this particular question the other day and these answers just confused me a little......just a little.

You are mixing things....manual camera mode (where you adjust the aperture, ISO and SS) is completely separate from how much power the flash puts out.

TTL and manual camera mode can Co-exist. All TTL does is flash a "preflash" to see how far away you are from your intended subject and adjust the flash power accordingly to get a good exposure.

Singing Swan

rpavich wrote:

You are mixing things....manual camera mode (where you adjust the aperture, ISO and SS) is completely separate from how much power the flash puts out.

TTL and manual camera mode can Co-exist. All TTL does is flash a "preflash" to see how far away you are from your intended subject and adjust the flash power accordingly to get a good exposure.

Oh.....thanks

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

MagicMark wrote:

Bill,

I always set my shutter to the highest sync speed possible (with most cameras that's around 1/200 or 1/250 of a second). Then I set my aperture. Usually I can guess pretty close what this will be (around f/5.6 to f/8) then I take a test shot and check my image to see if I need more or less light. Then I adjust the aperture accordingly. The shutter speed will effect the ambient light levels and the aperture will effect the flash light levels.

Hope this helps. :)

Depends on the situation.
If I used the highest normal sync setting for my photos, I would lose the background. This was shot with the camera in manual, ttl on the flash-bounced. 1/40 sec f/4.5 ISO 1000.
Had I used 1/250th, the people would look like they were shot in a cave.

billozz Loc: Birmingham, England

GoofyNewfie wrote:

Depends on the situation.
If I used the highest normal sync setting for my photos, I would lose the background. This was shot with the camera in manual, ttl on the flash-bounced. 1/40 sec f/4.5 ISO 1000.
Had I used 1/250th, the people would look like they were shot in a cave.

is that whats known as "dragging the shutter" ? if i understand correctly your background is well lit by the abient light and the subjects have been lit with the flash.