a80 - good indoor shots w/ lower flash output???

Hi everyone,

Well, about 2 weeks ago I bought and returned a Canon S410 because it was too small and the flash was too bright for indoor shots (I wanted a flash that was less bright or that I had control over.) A friend of mine has the a80 and I was playing around with it for a couple of hours last night and was very pleased to see that in manual mode I can control the flash output (is this the only mode this option is available in?)

Anyway, I was taking shots indoors with the flash on the medium output level but found that the pictures were just too dark if taken from more than a foot away. The flash on full output mode overexposes EVERYTHING (and is as blinding as the flash on my s410.) I thought I would have the option to raise the exposure (so pictures would come out a bit brighter on medium flash), but couldn't find this option while in Manual Mode.

So, someone please tell me - is raising the exposure while in Manual Mode even an option? Is there a way to get good indoor pics on this medium flash? The flash is too blinding on the Auto mode and on its full power. This camera has SO many controls on it - there has to be a way that I just don't know about!

I never thought buying a digital camera would be so stressful. I never thought I'd be this concerned over a flash - blah! Any help would be greatly appreciated - Thanks!

Kelly

Hi Kelly,

I find the same thing with the flash, too bright and unnatural looking indoors. I have done some experimenting with it and found that the lowest flash setting works well in the manual mode. You also have full control over the aperature and shutter speed in manual mode. I am very happy with the manual controls on the A80 and would suggest setting up some controlled experiments to get used to the settings. Good luck.