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PacAce
24th of December 2004 (Fri), 07:52
I was going to post this as a response to one of the other threads but thought that maybe it should be a discussion thread by itself.


This is not directed at anybody in particular so plesse don't anybody take it the wrong way or take offense from it. It's just an observation that I have made whenever flash topics come up. It seems as if a lot of us are gang-ho about having total control over the functions of the camera so that they can pick their own shutter speeds, aperture and ISO. The settings of choice are Av, Pv or Manual. The thought of using using any of the auto modes, especially the those settings that have those little pretty pictures of mountains, flowers, etc., would be totally unacceptable, if not repulsive. When the lighting calls for it, we'll dial in some EC value to make the exposure just right and we''ll do this without complaint or hesitation because, after all, that's what total control over the shot is all about.

When it comes to flash photography, however, we'll slap on the flash and shoot away, expecting the flash to take perfectly exposed pictures and when the pictures don't come out as we would expect, we complain about the inadequacies of ETTL.

So, why is that? Why wouldn't one want to have the same degree of control over own flash pictures as they do over their non-flash pictures? Grant it, some camera/flash combinations (namely the 300D with the 420EX) don't really give you any control but this is the only exception I can think of. Just wondering. :confused:

scottbergerphoto
24th of December 2004 (Fri), 09:00
You have a good point. We spend alot of time choosing the aperture and shutter for the ambient light exposure and expect that to be the norm. When it comes to the flash, we want the camera to get it right. I think it has alot to do with the nature of portable flash. In the studio, we take a flash meter and get the ratios and overall exposure down before starting. Our subject distance usually remains constant. When using portable flash however, we are usually moving around and the subject and subject distance changes often. We have really two choices. One is to use some form of automatic system like ETTL or auto thyristor, or Manual. To get manual flash right, you need to use a flash meter or a flash with a reliable distance scale and have a good sense of distance. It really isn't conducive to spontaneous shooting.

Happy Holidays,
Scott:)