PhotonHog Loc: Annapolis

Good topic. I still have my Olympus E420 that does have a pop-up flash. Very handy at times. Like in tight spaces, on a small boat for example. Having the flash right above the lens can be an issue - uneven lighting and harsh shadows. But convenient - YES. Always there WHEN you need it.

I have 2 external flashes - a Vivitar 285 with pivoting head (nice) and a smaller but useful Vivitar 2600-D. Oldies but goodies.

I am looking for new FULL FRAME DSLR and having a built-in flash is not a requirement. In fact built in flash in the higher end cameras is a thing of the past. The newer sensors are so much better now, and in most (not all) cases a built-in flash really is not needed.

MrPhotog

My cell phone uses the built in flashlight for both a prefocus and added light on the scene. I’m surprised to not see more LED lighting (as a single flash or a longer duration light) built in. The power drain is small, as would be the size. With high ISO capability a very small light could still be useful—particularly in totally dark areas

Spirit Vision Photography Loc: Behind a Camera.

I concur.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

I suppose it coud be handy, as others here have stated and shown in successful pictures. It all depends on if you understand its advantages and limitations as to the aesthetics of lighting. Even a Speedlight, mound on the hot shoe directly above and in close proximity to the lens is far from producing ideal aesthetically pleasing and natural-looking lighting unless modified or bounced and even so, that does not substitute for advanced flash techniques and off camer lighting. I might have on an old body with a popup flash but I can't remember ever using that feature.

Years ago, Braun came out with the Hoodwinker, a modified Speedlight with extremely low power, 6- watt-seconds or thereabout, to serve as a fill for very low light and window light portraiture. It is mounted on the lens hood of the Hasselblad lens shade equipped with a shoe mount and was set so your shop shoots at f/2.8 or f/4 and this unit will fill in an around f/.05 or lower- just a wink. I could see using the pop-up flash in that manner with ample ND and diffusion over the small plastic lens over the flash tube.

It is also the od story where folks give a bad rap to flas usage because they never learned to tame or utilize it effectively. Falt lighting aside, the inverse square law can be your friend or your enemy- is a matter of understanding it and using it to your advantage. Financially speaking, folks spend thousands of dollars on a good camer and hundred of a full-featured Speedlight but won't invest a few extra bucks on and/or investigate the advantages decent flash bracket, an extension cable and a simple modifier, all of which can help make an enormous improvement in their flash photography.

sabfish

I still like having it. When there is not a pandemic around, I love travel photography, and am too old to carry a lot of weight. The built in flash has come in handy when I find something in a dark church, old castle, etc. that needs a little extra lighting.

IDguy Loc: Idaho

I agree. One reason I tend to use my Z50 more than my Z6.

It is also helpful to trigger my SB700 off camera but they kind of messed that up compared to my D5600.

I rarely need the flash on my Z6 because of its high ISO facility. But still useful at times with fill flash.

IDguy Loc: Idaho

The main reason they give for deleting it is to aid wetherproofing.

Vroger Loc: CA

When I use an older DSLR, I will still use the built-in for fill outdoors. These days I don't even know if they are part of the mirrorless bunch. My Canon doesn't have one. Which, by the way, brings me to an irritant. Are people so enchanted by mirrorless that they no longer even consider a great camera like the EOS 5D mark (whatever). These are great cameras guys and compared to the original price they will eventually go for a song.

Vroger Loc: CA

Will an old Vivitar like that work for digital cameras? I can't use my old 283.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Personally I would call built-in flashes "nearly useless". I try to avoid using them because they are...

1. In the worst possible place for problems with redeye and ugly shadow effects. Too close to the lens axis.
2. Weak and slow to recycle.
3. A heavy drain on the camera's battery.
4. Also may be partially blocked by lens and/or lens hood.

An accessory flash can solve all those problems.

I might use a built-in flash on very rare occasions, if I don't have an accessory flash with me. Can't remember the last time that happened. In fact, the built-in flash on one of my cameras was stuck closed and I didn't know it for several years... then only discovered it was stuck by accidentally pressing the button that opens it and getting a warning message.

I really don't care very much if a camera doesn't have a built-in flash. My full frame doesn't (most FF don't). My APS-C cameras have them and I haven't used them. None of my film cameras have ever had a built-in flash, either.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Actually you probably can use it.

The problem with some cameras was an extremely low tolerance for flash trigger voltage. As cameras became more and more electronic, they got less and less able to handle that voltage. My EOS-3 film cameras, for example, were rated for something like 6 volts... Yet some older flashes from the 1960s, 70s and early 80s had as high as 200V, 300V, 400V and even higher trigger voltage!

The early Vivitar 283 often had 190V to 260V, a few even higher than that. From 1987 onward "Made in China" Vivitar 283 have tested to only have 9C or 10V trigger voltage. Even that would have been too much for my EOS-3 and a lot of other cameras being sold in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Most digital cameras made since 2004/2005 time frame are designed to tolerate 250 volts. There was a call for all the manufacturers to solve the flash problem and standardize on 24V, but most went much farther. I know for certain that all Canon and Nikon made since 2005 are safe to 250V.

Even if a flash has too high a trigger voltage, there are various ways to still use them. A Wein Safe Sync is an accessory that goes between the flash and the hot shoe to reduce the trigger voltage. There also are ways to modify the flash itself, as well as other devices that can trigger them safely. An optical trigger on the flash and the camera's on board flash (set low power and manual only) can fire the flash wirelessly, so there is no concern.

A Voltage Ohm Meter can be used to test a flash's trigger voltage, to determine if it's safe. Inexpensive VOM are available at many hardware stores. Ideally it would be one that can freeze and record peak voltage (not just display it momentarily).

Ed48 Loc: Superior, Wisconsin

You mentioned a light that produced just a wink.....that reminded me of what I remember as a "wink-lite" I can't remember anything else about it. I don't know if this was made by a camera manufacturer or a company that makes "speedlights" or even a Polariod. Can anyone else remember this and fill me in on it? Thanks

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

I like having one. Comes in handy many times.

Beenthere

When I started to get into photography back in the 60s, I also became enamored of "Available Light" techniques, and that's where I stayed over the years. Maybe this was an artistic decision.., or just laziness. I did, however, when shooting an immovable subject indoors, sometimes use a soft light, or two, aimed at the ceiling, or a wall, to diffuse the light a bit. On the other hand, ike you, every attempt at trying to use a flash, just made me unhappy with the results. In a word "unnatural."

11bravo

Agreed. Don't use it a lot but does come in handy on occasion. Prefer that solution rather than having to carry a separate flash that I'd rarely use.

The only downside is, with my SLR, back in the day, in a "flash prohibited" area (think museum), I could simply say, "Look, no flash".