350d problem

[fergalsharky]

hi folks im new to the forum so hello ,ive just broke into the digital slr world and blimey is a big old world lol ,well my problem is i have been finding it hard to take pics outside at night when i try to take a picture my flash flashes very fast repeatedly but doesnt take a photo do i need to go buy a larger flash like i said i really dont have a clue and stabbing in the dark any help would be great and also great forum thanks

mark

[stupot]

Welcome to potn!

the flash fires like that because your lens is trying to lock focus. cameras have trouble focusing in the dark.

solutions...?

if you slide the switch on the lens to manual focus you will now see that you can take a picture, but you will also have trouble manual focusing in the dark. but you can try.

or, look for a point of light, or a lighter area near your subject, half press the shutter to focus on it, then recompose and take a photo of your subject.

or, buy faster glass, the more light a lens transmits the easier your camera will be able to focus (not always true...).

or..! if you do buy an external flash (eg canon speedlight 430ex or 580ex) they have a focus assist beam that helps focusing at night quite a bit. I recommend getting an external flash unit anyway as it gives you much better quality photos using flash compared to the pop up flash of your camera.

[fergalsharky]

excellent stuff matey thanks alot ,will this be the same with lightning as i couldnt take pics of that either

[Tee Why]

either manual focus or find a spot that is bright and contrasty and focus on that and recompose, assuming that's the distance you want focused. If you are doing landscape type shots, focusing on the infinity mark on the lens may work as well.

[Mark_Cohran]

Here's a thread on lightning that might interest you. Also, the search function can help you pull up a quite a few threads on various subjects you might like to learn about.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=212612&highlight=Lightning

Mark

[fergalsharky]

thanks mark ill try that might take me a while to figure it out