Flash exposure compensation ... Doh! Stupid!

I fell for an improved version of the old Forget-to-reset-the-Iso-Mistake... Man, am I embarassed...

Yesterday, when I uploaded the latest pictures to the PC, my wife complained ... 'These pictures sure look too dark on the monitor'

I - als always - explained it to her: 'Sure, the internal flash of the G2 is crap. That's why I normally use the external flash. However, no problem at all as I shoot RAW ... only downside is that the noise goes up in the finished picture'.

But ... half an hour later I came across some photos she had taken - snapshots, JPEG, done in the 'Green' mode ... and I had to confess that they were a lot better than my pictures ... so I started thinking WHY???

You certainly have guessed so far ... about half a year ago when I did some close up shots, I set the FEC for the internal flash to -2 ... and forgot to set it back. Ever since then, my pictures using the internal flash have been crappy ... and I had just attributed it to the internal flash's guide number being to low...

Andy, embarassed

Don't know about the G2's, but with G3, you can set the LCD display to show flash exposure compensation icon. It's a quick way to tell if a photo will be adjusted in any way or not.

Different flash compensation for different modes

On my G3, I usually leave -2/3 stop flash compensation in "P" since portraits in that mode often look overexposed. That compensation is then maintained for Tv, Av, and M.

The green "Auto" mode with no compensation is immediately available when I need more flash range.The scene modes allow flash compensation, but it is not retained when mode is subsequently changed.

"C2" is my quick point-and-shoot mode, often used with my impossible-to-focus-on black dog so there's no flash compensation. Other settings in C2: manual focus set at about 6', Av at f5.6, zoom at wide angle (combination gives remarkable depth of field), ISO 50, auto flash.

Unfortunately, the G2 doesn't have the custom levels. That's one of the G3 features (apart from the longer zoom range) I'd really like to have.

I use 'P' mode most of the time because I like to shoot in raw mode. It allows me to correct the exposure problems I would not have when using the green mode


And yes, the G2 also has the 'FEC' icon in the display

Regards,
Andy

What puzzles me is why your external flash shots were not similarly affected.

OK, I have to explain that one. I use a Metz Mz40 I still have from my old Nikon equipment with Canon Adapter ... TTL, but otherwise full manual mode

I also have to use manual mode on the camera, as it does not recognise the flash, so it still selects 1/10 second when in P or A mode (and fires the flash).

Sounds a little complicated, but works great, actually. I set the camera to f/5.6 and 1/100 and bounce the flash from the ceiling. Depending on the location, I do some test shots to determine the correct amounts. Of course, bounced flash is a lot better than the internal flash (even with correctly handled FEC).


On this flash I have a sliding lever to adjust FEC ... and that is intentionally set to -2 when I'm doing indoor shots.
Another advantage: The flash also has a dedicated button for second curtain flash, which most likely would not work on the G2 (G3 only, to my knowledge).


Regards,
Andy

PS: When I upgrade to a DSLR, I'll have a hard time explaining to my wife that the DRebel is 'too limiting' for me because of the missing FEC and that I *must* get a 1D instead