S45 underexposure using flash

[Jong]

Is it just me or is almost every flash photo I take underexposed?

If I look at the histogram there is often nothing in the righthand 20%. I find myself manually adjusting with Photoshop. But this is not perfect of course.

A manual flash adjustment in program mode can fix but surely this shouldn't be necessary.

Is this normal or could my camera be faulty?

Thanks.

[Conk]

There are a couple variables as to why your photos come out too dark when you use your flash. What is your focal length set at? Shutter speed?

[Jong]

Thanks for the reply. First, I should have made it clear I am talking about the S45 in Auto Mode.

Looking in the Exif info for one example: Focal length 12mm, shutter speed 1/60, aperture F/3.5.

If this happened with the odd photo I'd understand but almost all flash photos seem to need a nudge up of say 2/3rds of a stop.

Any ideas very welcome!

[PeterS45]

Depends on the distance. The built-in flash of a digital camera is not very powerful, and 10-12 feet is about the maximum distance it can reach. So when your subject is further away than that...................... bummer.

[Jong]

That I could understand. But this seems to happen even with subjects 4-5 feet away and it can be fixed by upping the flash intensity in program mode. The S45 flash seems to have headroom it is just choosing to set it a little too low.

Still, its interesting no one has noticed a similar problem, maybe I'm being picky!