Question about shutter speed.

[Ogrt48]

I haven't been able to figure this out for weeks. When I don't use a flash theres te bar that tells me how to adjust the shutter for a good picture.. it works great. But if I use a flash the time doesn't change, for example it'll sat 1.3 seconds with flash and without it. Any help? I use M mode. thanks

[Tshoe]

I think it is because the internal meter is giving you the exposure for non flash because the camera meter is not a flash meter. (just a thought) :lol:

[Volatile]

I'm probably wrong about this, but I think in M mode the camera assumes the flash will be a fill flash, and thus the exposure meter shows exposure for ambient light. I also think the same is true for Av and Tv modes.

[photoguynorth]

Depending on the mode your camera is in, it will calculate the exposure for ambient light, then adjust the flash output (determined by a preflash) to expose the main subject properly. That way the background and subject are both exposed properly - avoiding the 'bright subject against a black background' look. Try putting the camera in P mode - I believe it will go to 1/60 sec by default there.

[scottbergerphoto]

I haven't been able to figure this out for weeks. When I don't use a flash theres te bar that tells me how to adjust the shutter for a good picture.. it works great. But if I use a flash the time doesn't change, for example it'll sat 1.3 seconds with flash and without it. Any help? I use M mode. thanks
Regardless of what mode you are in P, Auto, Tv, Av or Manual, the camera meter is always telling you the correct standard exposure for ambient light. This is true whether you have a flash attached or not. The flash exposure is controlled by ETTL or the flash in Manual flash mode. It's helpful to view flash pictures as 2 exposures superimposed on each other. The first being the ambient light controlled by shutter and aperture and the second, the flash being controlled as far as distance, by the aperture.
When you take a flash picture in Manual mode, you adjust the aperture and shutter to suit the ambient lighting or you can set the shutter speed to a speed that allows for some ambient light, 1/60, and an aperture to give you the depth of field you want. This way you don't need a tripod in low ambient light. That is what happens in P mode. The camera tries to expose the ambient light properly but won't go lower then 1/60 shutter speed to prevent a blurry hand held picture.
Regards,
Scott