red eye w/G3

[goldrush28]

I have the red eye setting correct yet on indoor shots with flash I still get it most of the time. Suggestions? Thanks in advance.

[Ken Fong]

The red eye setting on any camera usually has limited results. The main thing is to get the flash farther away from the lens or have the subjects not look directly at the lens...but who wants that? (The source of light reflects the rear of the eye back to the lens, like when you drive up to a cat or deer at night with your headlights. As you move the source of light farther from the lens, the effect is minimized.) You can purchase a small flash to mount on top of your camera...this will probably help a lot. But the best way is to get the flash off the camera through something like a stroboframe mount....folks on this forum made this recommendation and I can already see the benefits. I'm not sure if these were intended for compact cameras...but then again, you will no longer have something that is compact.

Oh yes, the other simpler method...take out the red eye in Photoshop or whatever editing tool you have.

[stopbath]

Originally Posted by goldrush28

I have the red eye setting correct yet on indoor shots with flash I still get it most of the time. Suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Notice that the mode name is something like "Red-eye reduction" not "Red-eye eliminator"

There is absolutely no method that will always eliminate red eye.

The red eye is from light reflecting off the back of the eye. In humans this is red, but in dogs and other animals it can be other colours like blue or green... The light need not be from the flash, though it usually is.

You could close down the iris (which is what the red-eye reduction mode tries), you could have the subject look away from the camera. You could move in closer (increasing the angle between the lens and flash), you could also move the flash further from the lens. You could also redirect the flash (bounce). You could lower the flash output by raising the ISO (oops which gains more noise) or room light...

Also, blue eyes seem to be more prone to red-eye. Children have natually wider pupils. Alcohol opens up the pupils. Being excited opens up the pupils. Oh, and pupils open up in the dark too.

And yes, lastly you could labouriously paint out the red eye...

[maderito]

Originally Posted by stopbath

And yes, lastly you could labouriously paint out the red eye...

... for example, by using the sponge tool and setting the mode to desaturate with 50% flow. Actually, it can be done quickly and is good enough for most non-critical work.