-= T2i / 550D users UNITE! (4) =-

Mitch.A wrote in post #14762050
Forgot to post these :

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/mitch88/7626406​226/
Lines , shapes and shadows by Michel-A., on Flickr

like this first one Mitch.

Marm , Monkey and Jamg : Thanks .

As i've already mentioned , yesterday was one the heaviest rainy days i've ever seen , i managed to get a couple of decent shots .

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/mitch88/7637780​602/

jamganz wrote in post #14762185
nice series, DT

Thanks jamganz

haven't had a chance to shoot much lately so i'm posting landscapes from costa rica that i think are worthwhile. sorry. must get out soon.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/78326219@N05/7​539118548/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/78326219@N05/7​501922920/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/78326219@N05/7​501567756/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/78326219@N05/7​501652314/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/78326219@N05/7​502164470/

Mitch.A: that looks like a Texas rain (the kind they write songs about). I like the shutter speed (rain drop length). Interesting how panning through the rain always makes it look like a headwind...
jamganz: great colors in that flower

Nice horse series DT. You definitely picked out the best one to post. I prefer your outdoor stuff to your indoor stuff.

Btw people, I know this is a bit of a newbie question but I never use the flash.
What do you do when you need to take a picture in a very dark situation?
If you switch on the onboard flash it limits the ISO to 400 which then slows down your shutter speed so much that you get camera shake.
Taking it without the flash would require an ISO of 12,800 which would be pretty unusable.
Can you bypass this automatic 400 ISO thing....?

Inchpractice wrote in post #14762918
Nice horse series DT. You definitely picked out the best one to post. I prefer your outdoor stuff to your indoor stuff.

Btw people, I know this is a bit of a newbie question but I never use the flash.
What do you do when you need to take a picture in a very dark situation?
If you switch on the onboard flash it limits the ISO to 400 which then slows down your shutter speed so much that you get camera shake.
Taking it without the flash would require an ISO of 12,800 which would be pretty unusable.
Can you bypass this automatic 400 ISO thing....?

If you need faster shutter speeds with flash, you need an external flash that supports high speed sync (HSS). Basically, the shutter curtains travel over the sensor with a certain separation to support your shutter speed. Since flash can only sustain its brightness for a short period of time, you need a shutter speed slow enough that the flash will fire and hit the whole sensor. If you could override the 1/200 (not 1/400 on the T2i), then you would see dark strips in your flashed images.

External flash with HSS allows a powerful flash unit to pulse multiple times in a shot, ensuring that even a very fast shutter speed allows flash light to hit the entire sensor. Because of the pulsing, the power is much lower, so the flash is less effective.

For indoor shooting with low light and a pop-up flash, you're going to have to learn to hold the camera so it doesn't show shake at 1/200. You can also get a very fast prime lens to help (a lot). You also might give that ISO 12,800 a shot. Using the HAMSTTR over-exposing technique in RAW, as long as you don't blow out highlights, you can bring the exposure back with DPP or LR4 and have a lot less noise than even ISO 3200 shot properly exposed.

waterrockets wrote in post #14763021
If you need faster shutter speeds with flash, you need an external flash that supports high speed sync (HSS). Basically, the shutter curtains travel over the sensor with a certain separation to support your shutter speed. Since flash can only sustain its brightness for a short period of time, you need a shutter speed slow enough that the flash will fire and hit the whole sensor. If you could override the 1/200 (not 1/400 on the T2i), then you would see dark strips in your flashed images.

External flash with HSS allows a powerful flash unit to pulse multiple times in a shot, ensuring that even a very fast shutter speed allows flash light to hit the entire sensor. Because of the pulsing, the power is much lower, so the flash is less effective.

For indoor shooting with low light and a pop-up flash, you're going to have to learn to hold the camera so it doesn't show shake at 1/200. You can also get a very fast prime lens to help (a lot). You also might give that ISO 12,800 a shot. Using the HAMSTTR over-exposing technique in RAW, as long as you don't blow out highlights, you can bring the exposure back with DPP or LR4 and have a lot less noise than even ISO 3200 shot properly exposed.

Sorry I should've said, I'm not interested in buying an external flash for the 5 times a year that I want to take this kind of shot.
I can hold the camera without camera shake at 1/30 so 1/200 wouldn't be a problem but when I turn the flash on the shutter speed drops to like half a second.

By the way, I was using a fast prime lens, it was the 50mm 1.8.

Some Shots using a pentacon 135mm prime at 2.8 18 bldes vintage lens

Canon t2i Some Shots using a pentacon 135mm prime at 2.8 18 bldes vintage lens

Canon 550 D Some Shots using a pentacon 135mm prime at 2.8 18 bldes vintage lens

Yellow Flower Some Shots using a pentacon 135mm prime at 2.8 18 bldes vintage lens

Another vintage lens lover!

Inchpractice wrote in post #14763101
Sorry I should've said, I'm not interested in buying an external flash for the 5 times a year that I want to take this kind of shot.
I can hold the camera without camera shake at 1/30 so 1/200 wouldn't be a problem but when I turn the flash on the shutter speed drops to like half a second.

By the way, I was using a fast prime lens, it was the 50mm 1.8.

I hear you there. Short story: you cannot get faster than 1/200 shutter speed with pop-up flash on the T2i.

To address your problem, can you tell us what mode you are shooting?

I would recommend M at f/1.8. Set your ISO and FEC such that the flashed subject looks correct, then work with your shutter speed to get the background off the left side of the histogram a bit.

With the un-modified pop-up flash, your shots will pretty much always look like they came off of a point and shoot camera because of the flat lighting. You can make some simple bounce devices with scrap paper products from your kitchen that will bounce up to the ceiling, and the shots will improve DRAMATICALLY.

Lastly, don't think you have to spend $570 to get external flash. Yongnuo has ETTL flash for $70 that will bounce just fine. Throw it on AV with the flash pointed at the ceiling, and indoor shooting will get a lot simpler in a hurry.

Inchpractice wrote in post #14763101
Sorry I should've said, I'm not interested in buying an external flash for the 5 times a year that I want to take this kind of shot.
I can hold the camera without camera shake at 1/30 so 1/200 wouldn't be a problem but when I turn the flash on the shutter speed drops to like half a second.

By the way, I was using a fast prime lens, it was the 50mm 1.8.

Somewhere in the menus (custom functions maybe), you can set what Av mode will pick for a shutter speed when using flash: something like 1)Auto, 2)1/60-1/200, or 3)1/200. I throw the camera in manual, expose for the background (or under-expose by a stop or so), and let the ETTL flash do its thing. I pretty much start with ISO 100 and 1/200 shutter and then dial aperture to taste. I've also set Tv mode to 1/200 for run-and-gun outdoor fill flash. The pop-up flash doesn't have much range, 10-15 feet or so.

I've never tried taking the ISO over 400 with flash so didn't know that was a limitation.

and +1 to what waterrockets wrote. Bounce that flash indoors! The pop-up flash will diffuse and/or bounce indoors with a little cleverness.