G3 & 420 flash pics. Really dissapointed....

[rangersvtsplash]

http://images.fotopic.net/?id=2240814&outx=600&oq=0
file Name
128_2874.JPG
Camera Model Name
Canon PowerShot G3
Shooting Date/Time
31/12/2003 10:12:30 PM
Shooting Mode
Auto
Photo Effect Mode
Off
Tv( Shutter Speed )
1/60
Av( Aperture Value )
2.0
Metering Mode
Evaluative
Exposure Compensation
0
ISO Speed
Auto
Lens
7.2 - 28.8mm
Focal Length
7.2mm
Digital Zoom
None
Image Size
2272x1704
Image Quality
Superfine
Flash
On
Flash Type
External E-TTL
Flash Exposure Compensation
0
Shutter curtain sync
1st-curtain sync
White Balance
Auto
AF Mode
Continuous AF
File Size
1330KB
Drive Mode
Single-frame shooting
Owner's Name
Luis Mateus

[phili1]

Why are you dissapointed in the Exif info.

I am kidding , if its a phot you forgot to post it.

[rangersvtsplash]

ya i was setting it up. i have the pics that i took in a banquite hall and they pretty much came dark like this that caint see people in the back round and some came out but the pics seemed to be yellowish even with use of the flash. please help i need to get more experienced with the camera. ive just been disappointed from the start.

[jpmccormac]

In the lighting shown (fairly dark) 1/60 sec. at f/2 is not going to capture the background scene. Did you use a tripod? I didn't think so. You'd need to shoot this scene at a much slower shutter speed and narrower aperture to include the background also. You need to decide what part of the scene is most important; you can't have it both ways with hand held exposures (1/60 and faster). I also suspect that the flash and/or meter was fooled by the white table cloth and didn't properly expose the scene the way YOU wanted it to. Meters are stupid machines and you need to know how to work with/around them. Check out this site: http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/index2.html#confusion (note: not all info. (esp. Manual mode flash photography) applies to the G3)

You mentioned that the color balance was off and kind of yellow. This indicates that the camera mode in use (Tv?) is exposing for the ambient light and using the flash as fill only, therefore the flash was unable to overcome the ambient lighting in the room.

[roanjohn]

He probably has it on P mode............Should he have used the slow sync auto mode?? Or maybe a smaller aperture w/ slow sync on?? Or maybe at ISO 200....??

Or maybe the hyperfocal distance mode w/ slow sync on??

This would confuse me too!!! And theres probably no place to bounce the falsh cuz the ceilings are too high. Is there a portable bouncer?? Should he have used a diffuser??

Ro1

[roanjohn]

He has it on AUTO!!! For the experienced photographers out there......How would you have handled this scene..........????

[4walls]

When shooting handheld, use 2nd curtain sync and shoot at 1/30. Experiment with different ISO settings, but I don't like much above 100 because of the extra noise.

This will give you the effect of slightly blurring the background (which receives less light than the subject) while keeping the subject sharp as most of the light received by the sensor will come from the moment the flash fires.

[phili1]

When doing a wedding you have thre different shooting situations.

1- House small rooms low ceiling, so camera settings will do very well.

2- Church. Some have very high ceilings and and eat a stop and a half of light, so you have to compensate. It is called light fall off.

3 - Reception room. Some are large some are small. If small, the camera will do the job but a 1/2 stop open wont hurt. If the room is large then you will need to open it a full stop. This should work, if its not enough open it up more.

The way you can do this is to adjust the flash ev setting in your function set up.

[paladin]

How do you get your name in the "Owner's Name" Field?

[4walls]

How do you get your name in the "Owner's Name" Field?

You have to modify the "MY CAMERA" settings from the Canon software in order to get the OWNER'S NAME. It seems to me that the name will only show up on RAW files, at least I have never noticed it on JPG files.

[rangersvtsplash]

yes he got it i was using auto cause i am a novice at using this camera and have no idea what to do in the other settings. i have a omni bounce. should i have had used it? set the flash to fire more? i was placing the box to green up on the persons face. shold i have i gone higher? pics looked good on lcd but not on computer. can photoshop 7 do anything to fix the backround being dark? like lighten it up.

[phili1]

First never use auto always use program mode and set youe white balance & ISO manually.

You can use levels to adjust them to some dergree, but if there is no detail it wont help. If there is detail Photoshop can help bring it up.

[roanjohn]

I don't think photoshop will truly help...........I could be wrong. You can lighten the background but only to a degree...........

So the best approach would be:

TV mode: set to 1/30
ISO: 100
White Balance: Manual
Slow Sync: ON
Flash: 2nd Curtain

This is for dark reception................Agree?? Any other suggestions??

Ro1

[phili1]

You can use slow sync but all you have to do is open up with your flash exposure compensation + 1 or 2 stops. If you use slow sync you open your self up to ghosting in your pictures. It is really ment to be used when you are shooting pictures lighted city scapes or the like and flash for forground subjects, not moving.

The problem is even thought the subject seems properly lighted they are underexposed. Large rooms eat up lights. The 420ex according to canon can be used on manual mode using the cameras internal settings to adjust light out put, intv mode you can set adustment for 1 to 2 stops more light.

[jglisson73]

I would have used the omni-bounce on this shot. Probably would have set the flash bounce at about 60 degrees and cranked it up. I also would have set the shutter speed to about 1/30 to pick up more ambient light.

I agree with everyone else about not using Auto mode. Stick to P mode. Don't be intimidated by it. It is exactly the same as Auto in that it sets the exposure (shutter / aperture) for you. But, you get control over tons of other important features - ISO, and flash adjustment being the most important in my opinion.

John

[mpoole]

Don't forget to use Flash Exposure Lock as described in the manual. Place the focus point on what you want properly exposed (usually skin tones for this type of shot) and hit the * button. A preflash will fire. This tells the camera specifically what you want properly exposed. In this picture the background would have been brought up somewhat. Set the WB to flash. If you use a slow shutter speed I've found that the white balance can be quite strange as it is a combo of flash and ambient.
Most of all, experiment at home before your next event.

[pradeep1]

I used the 420EX for the first time recently and here is a shot taken using the bounce flash of a group of party people yelling at the drop of the New Years Ball. It is bounced off a ceiling that is almost 15 feet high. The bounch angle was pretty much straight up, or it may have had a slight bend, but not much.

I thought it came out very well. What impressed me was the depth of field. Almost the entire scene is in focus.

Maybe you can use the same settings on your next pictures:

http://sprakash.home.att.net/photos/newyear.jpg

I had the camera on 'P' mode and the flash on the green dot, nothing more.

Here is the pertinent EXIF info:

Shutter speed: 1/60 sec
Aperture: 2.0
Exposure mode: Program
Flash: External E-TTL
Flash EF guide number: 3.72
Metering mode: Evaluative
Drive mode: Single frame shooting
ISO: Auto
Lens: 7.0 to 28.0 mm
Focal length: 7.0mm
Subject distance: 3.44 m
AF mode: Continuous AF
Image size: 2272 x 1704
Rotation: none
Image quality: Superfine
White balance: Auto