420EX and P Mode

Whenever I have the 420EX attached to my G5 in P mode and try to shoot a normal indoor shot - it seems that the shutter speed is always defaulted to a sluggish 1/60 of a second. With shutter sync speeds with that flash available up to 1/250 of a second - why start on the slow end by default?

I know I can move to TV and put it where I want it - just curious about P mode defaults.....

P mode always selects 1/60, even with the internal flash.

What is the rationale behind that? Do you know? Seems like a sluggish shutter speed, opening up your shots to blur and orange casts from too much ambient light exposure............

1/60 is the bottom threshhold for "camera shake." Anything below that speed will display the camera shake icon.

When I am in low light shooting w/ my g3 and 420ex I to to tv mode, set it at 1/60, and shoot away.

I wish the g3 did a better job with the ettl features of the 420. My next camera will definitely be a dslr...if only to take advantage of the better features of this wonderful flash.

jg

Yes jg - you are right - I realize that 1/60th is the minimum that you would want to hand hold most shots - I'm just trying to get to the bottom of why the G-series cams would set this as the default for flash shots? Why wouldn't you want to set the default to a higher shutter speed and almost eliminate any chance of blur?

Doesn't anyone have the definitive answer on the 1/60th puzzle?

The ONLY definitive explanation is that Canon does this merely to irritate, antagonize and baffle the G series users ...

Ah - well with that being the case - I can now rest easy!

I will foil their dastardly plan by actually LIKING the default of 1/60th in P-mode for flash shots.........bwahhhhh​hahhhhh (evil laugh)....

It works very well.

I got my 420 last week. Still learning it, but I'm definitely happy with the results. I love the fact that you can actually get a usable fill flash outdoors with the fast-synch capability. I agree the 1/60 "lock" in P mode is an odd choice, but something I guess I can get used to. I usually shoot in one of the priority modes anyway.

I have a Canon 380EX flash unit and with the G6, I am able to set the flash to high speed sync and it works. No 1/60 lock. It works just the same as it does with my Elan IIE. I have found that you have to play around with these camera/flash unit combinations to find out what works for you.

Fototake,

Yeah - I can get my 420EX way up there when it comes to shutter speeds in the high speed sync mode. I'm just wondering what the logic is for setting my camera in P Mode with the 420 attached and it automatically setting the aperture quite wide (2.0) and a really slow shutter speed like 1/60.......I just want to know why that is the default. It's no biggie - just curious.

Probably so you can get a smaller aperture opening and increase DOF? Wouldn't it suck if all of your photos were at f/2.0 when shutter was at 1/250 sec? Also, less battery usage at 1/60 second. Just some guesses.

Why not just set the camera to tv mode and kick up the shutter speed. The flash will automatically adjust its output.

I´d like to have that puzzle solved, too! Same annoying 1/60 and F2.0 P mode with the G6! I had a Powershot A40 before and really liked the P mode, now with the G6 the P mode seems quite useless, the P mode was (could be) very handy when a need to take some quick shots without dealing with manual settings.

The oddest thing is that at full telezoom, STILL 1/60 seconds shutter speed and F3.0 are set, giving you a "shake warning" in the lcd display!

I checked, and there is no problem shooting at F4 or even at 5.6 with a shutter speed of 1/250 with internal flash at full force in M mode - nice pictures and no hassle with camera shake.

This is an official canon forum, right? So maybe one of the MODs may say something about this? For me this makes P mode useless for indoor shots!

Kusie

Nice pick up Kusie,

Didnt know it until trying it. however id say that the shake warning is more to do that you are at full telephoto and at 1/60 of sec, (smaller depth of field), camera shake is more pronounced. and thus the warning

Yes Nabil - but "Why?" is the question at hand here. Nobody in the forums seems to know why Canon defaults to 1/60 in P Mode with the flash activated. I would love to ask someone at Canon about this. We are not asking how to get around this - because most of us know how to get around it- just curious as to the default setting.