How to replicate 'Night Snapshot/Night Scene'?

[nniemik]

Hi, I'd like to know how to replicate the night scene and night snap shot mode on the Canon A series using the P-mode or manual... I like how in that mode, the flash seems to be the same color as the surroundings and captures the background as well. I could never replicate it on the P-mode. I suppose it uses a higher ISO to capture the background... but how does the flash come out to be a natural color?

Say in P-mode, if i use the flash indoors, whatever in the foreground in the flash's range will be white... then the background is underexposed and very dark. But in the night scene mode, whatever's in the flash's range will come out in the same color as the lights in the room and you can see the background.

[Jon]

You might be able to use Av mode and some - Flash Exposure Compensation; that way the available light will do more of the work; you'll want to use a higher ISO for that. But that's just a guess at what they've done - I don't think they've actually ever said what camera settings go into any of those configurations.

[stupot]

im not familiar with the a series, but on my ixus i have fill flash. i enable it by pressing the flash button (lightning bolt) and cycling through the options until a symbol appears, i think its a person with a star next to them! dont have my camera here to find out..! give that a try if you have it.

[sfaust]

You can probably do it in manual mode. You want to set the manual exposure so that the background is exposed properly without the flash. Then turn on the flash and it should exposure the subject properly based on the focus distance and any pre-flashes it does. The background should also expose properly since you set that in manual mode. I can easily duplicate it with my digital SLR's, and my Sony Cybershot. It should work the same way on the Canon A series unless they did something funky with it.

[frs]

You could also try turning on the slow synchro setting. The shutter speed is slower so background is better exposed, while flash lights up foreground.

[nniemik]

You could also try turning on the slow synchro setting. The shutter speed is slower so background is better exposed, while flash lights up foreground.


Awsome, that was it! it works! thanks so much! Thanks everybody :) I always wondered what they slow syncro does, it just seems to slow the 2 flashes.

[sfaust]

Awsome, that was it! it works! thanks so much! Thanks everybody :) I always wondered what they slow syncro does, it just seems to slow the 2 flashes.

What it does is allow the camera to use a slower shutter speed to balance the amibient lighting with the flash. Normally, when your camera uses the flash, it uses a shutter speed within a defined range, typically around 1/60th of a second up to the maximum shutter sync speed (usually 1/1125 or 1/250 on P&S cameras). This is done to prevent blurry photos from camera movement at slower shutter speeds since the shutter speed can go as low as a few seconds or longer, and camera shake would be an issue.

When you select slow syncro, you are telling the camera that its ok to use a slower shutter speed to balance the background lighting, and not to worry about blurring or camera shake. It will then select the best exposure for the background lighting, and then balance the flash for the foreground lighting.