couple of the basics to help a newbie please

I'm a fairly new Rebel owner (as of Sept 04). Before this had/have the A80. Got addicted to photography, bought the DRebel and found this forum.
I have a few newbie questions, but would like to mention I'm fairly handy with the search function here and with google. I have done my homework, but need some blanks filled in.

1.) I saw a thread just a few weeks ago asking "why use a light meter when camera has it built in". I read all 2.3 pages of it and I'm still not sure where it is on the Rebel (many just say "it's in the viewfinder"). Just so I know and to be clear in my head, is it like the manual says, Shutter and or Aperture will blink indicating under/over exposure ?.

2.) Using Av mode outdoors on a nice sunny day, picutres of landscapes turn out great. But when one of kids get in front of camera, I put flash up for "fill flash" on the same sunny day, they look ok in lcd screen. When I d/l them, I find the landscapes look great, the kids are out of focus (because of shutter speed, I think). Having made mental notes on speeds, it seems putting the flash up makes this camera want the slow the shutter speed right down. Why ?, and this applies to question 1 for me. If camera has built in light meter, why is it so far off. Pictures in this mode are fine untill I pop up flash. I admit some of this is me with camera shake, but why does it slow down so much with flash up. One would think it would speed up with the "extra" light. If the camera has built in Light Meter, with a "Bright" sunny day, add to this a flash, why would it slow down shutter ?.

Can't really help about #1, but my comments on #2:

My guess, without knowing ANY of the details of what mode you're in what speed / aperture you took the pics at, what type of lens, etc -- it would help if you went to the critique forum and poster a couple of pics.

If the background is IN FOCUS and the kids are not, my guess is that your DOF is too small. This could be because the aperture is too large. But I can't understand why it only happens if the flash is up. I would assume that the flash up would cause a smaller aperture.

Set your camera in P mode to see the light meter in action. You can then read (in the viewfinder) the shutter speed and aperture value the "light meter" within your camera is suggesting as optimum settings.

Well the light meter is a device (a device that measures light.) Long ago you had to carry one with you or guess. Then they built them into cameras. Then they built exposure automation on top of the light meters, and now newbies can take take pictures without thinking about any of this if they like. (Which I believe is what you're currently doing.) If you take the camera out of programmed mode, the use of a light meter will become more apparent.

Focus isn't determined by shutter speed but you could be confusing camera shake with a focus problem (it's hard to tell sometimes.) Your flash does have a maximum sync speed but it's high enough that I doubt that is your problem. The EOS flash system is "interesting". In the automatic modes it makes all kinds of interesting decisions based on the situation and the mode you choose. (ie P, Tv AV, and M each have their own logic.)

When you use flash, the shutter has to completely uncover the sensor before the flash fires. This "X-sync speed" is about 1/200 sec. on the DR. If your aperture setting wanted a faster shutter speed (if you were using the camera at f/5.6, for instance in bright sun and ISO 100, the correct shutter speed for the available light would be about 1/800. When you turn on the flash on the DR, it slows the shutter speed to the X-sync speed. So you'd be getting a longer exposure than you would without the flash, even though you're adding light.

There are other factors which may be contributing to your problem, but this is one of the fairly straightforward ones.

The point might also be that the camera focused on the background and not on the subject ... that would explain why the background is in focus.

I don't think that 1/200 is too slow to get s sharp picture (assuming you use the 18-55 kit lens). You can try out with a tripod or by placing the camera on top of something (e.g. bench) and useing the self timer.

Best regards,
Andy

1) Light Meter:

In AV mode, the camera will choose the shutter speeds for your selected aperture accordingly, so your light meter (the green scale in your viewfinder, and LCD) will display a proper exposure. If the camera is unable to select a low enough/ high enough shutter speed then the aperture will blink in the viewfinder.
In TV Mode, same thing, only you select shutter speed instead of aperture.
In M mode: this is where you really use your light meter. You control both shutter speed and aperture in this mode and the light meter will show where you are on the scale....

2) If you want a properly exposed background AND foreground using fill flash use M mode. If you use AV mode, the camera will meter for the subjects in the foreground and select a shutter speed accordingly, which my result in an underexposed background. Also, check out the articles about Depth of Field in the EOS sticky thread, that should explain the reason why the mountain behind was in focus and the kids were not.

Welcome to the wonderfull world of DSLRs

Thanks all, think I get it now.

cmM, your post made it sink in.
Had never tried out Manual mode before. Trying it out, I found that the "exposure compensation" level indicator became a "proper exposure" indicator. I could now see how adjusting Aperture and Shutter effects exposure, kept adjusting till it got to the center of the scale, this should be proper exposure.

Last question, while I see one or the other blinking in Tv or Av. I do not see "the green scale" in these modes. The exposure compensation is the only scale I see in these modes. If there is someway of making it behave like it does in manual, I've not found that out yet.

Think it's time I read that very long page explaining EOS Flash.
Again, thanks for helping me understand this better. Thank god I'm learning this digital.

if your exposure compensation is at 0, then the indicator will be right in the center = proper exposure for the metering... if you use EC+1/3 let 's say, then your lightmeter will show the indicator at center + 1/3 to the right = 1/3 of a stop more than proper exposure.

There is no way to make it behave like in M, because the camera calculates the shutter speed (or aperture in TV mode) for a PROPER exposure.... so the exposure will always be right from the camera's point of view, unless you have the value blinking in the viewfinder.