Using the built in flash with 7D

What's the best settings for using the 7D's built in flash? A, P, T, M? I want to fix the apeture high so the background is blurred. I use to have an EX550 on a 40D and would always shot in M and set the speed and apeture to about anything and the EX550 took care of the rerest with no problem. But the setup is history. I haven't replaced the EX550 yet. A canon rep told be to always use P setting if I wanted good exposure but the apeture gets reset by the camera.

Any suggestions?

My point of view is that to get a photo that's worth it, you have to do it yourself. I use M when I actually care about the outcome of my photo. That way I have control over everything. I use automatic when I don't care, but then again, because it's auto, it does everything for you--and generally not the right way.

So, my opinion, use Manual! That's just my two cents.

Av Mode is Aperture Priority. You control everything in the settings but the shutter speed. The camera sets that from an algorithm of all the other settings. It usually works very well, but you have to be careful in low light or the shutter speed will be very low. But if you use the pop-up flash, it will always be 1/250, as long as you set the custom function that way.

Or you can set it to be within the range 1/60 - 1/250 s, if you prefer that.

Many claim you have no control unless you use the M mode. That's not correct. In all modes, even the green box, the camera will show you exactly which aperture and shutter speed it's going to use. If you don't like it, it's up to you to do whatever you want to get it where you want it. But then you'll have to leave the green box, and venture into some of the other modes, where the camera allows you to set things the way you like them. Even in P mode, you can adjust the combination of shutter speed and aperture, albeit a bit limited when using flash.

Thanks all for your suggestions and advice.

Use M mode for on-board flash, same as you would for a Speedlight. I'd drag the shutter a bit if you can or the shots will look same as you get from a P&S.

No point to blurring out a background if it's going to be rendered black, which is what the camera will typically do in auto mode.

JeffreyG wrote in post #9240892
No point to blurring out a background if it's going to be rendered black, which is what the camera will typically do in auto mode.

? My understanding is that in the various auto modes, the camera will expose for ambient light and use the flash for fill. Am I misunderstanding you here?

anthony11 wrote in post #9240953
? My understanding is that in the various auto modes, the camera will expose for ambient light and use the flash for fill. Am I misunderstanding you here?

Green box auto or P will let the background go to black.

Av and Tv will preserve the background because they will actually expose for it. The problem is, if the lighting is actually low you will see a lot of blurring and ghosting because the flash cannot freeze the blur as it is too close to ambient.

There are workarounds.....one could shoot Av with 1 stop or so of negative EC dialed in. It's no simpler that setting what you want in M mode AFAIK.

JeffreyG wrote in post #9241037
Av and Tv will preserve the background because they will actually expose for it. The problem is, if the lighting is actually low you will see a lot of blurring and ghosting because the flash cannot freeze the blur as it is too close to ambient.

That's been my experience too, and I've never understood the claims that second-curtain flash 'freezes' subject motion -- I guess maybe it does, but in the middle of blur and ghosting, so I must admit that I've been struggling to understand why the camera makers have it behave that way.

anthony11 wrote in post #9241214
That's been my experience too, and I've never understood the claims that second-curtain flash 'freezes' subject motion -- I guess maybe it does, but in the middle of blur and ghosting, so I must admit that I've been struggling to understand why the camera makers have it behave that way.

Because they expect that you will know what the camera is going to do.

The camera makers know that you are going to want a mode that will let you shoot with fill flash while using auto exposure. This is Av or Tv.

What would you have the camera do instead? Default to 1 or 2 stops negative EC in Av mode every time the flash is turned on? This would leave you with no handy mode for daytime fill flash other than M.

And since the appropriate amount to underexpose ambient in a 'drag the shutter' scenario will vary, the correct design path is the one taken by the Camera makers.

anthony11 wrote in post #9241214
That's been my experience too, and I've never understood the claims that second-curtain flash 'freezes' subject motion -- I guess maybe it does, but in the middle of blur and ghosting, so I must admit that I've been struggling to understand why the camera makers have it behave that way.

Second curtain freezes the subject at the end of the frame so at low light your subject would be blurred then sharp instead of sharp then blurred. It creates a more realistic (if thats the right word) shot than normal flash.

anthony11 wrote in post #9241214
That's been my experience too, and I've never understood the claims that second-curtain flash 'freezes' subject motion -- I guess maybe it does, but in the middle of blur and ghosting, so I must admit that I've been struggling to understand why the camera makers have it behave that way.

I think that you didn't quite understand or else somebody stated it incorrectly. Second curtain flash does not freeze subject motion any better than first curtain flash, but what it does is place the blur trail on the correct side of a moving subject. For instance, if you shot a basketball player going for a layup, you would want the blur motion to be trailing behind the player rather than projecting ahead (which would look plain weird).

Excuse my ignorance but what does it mean to "drag the shutter"?

navydoc wrote in post #9242092
Excuse my ignorance but what does it mean to "drag the shutter"?

set the shutter long enough that the background is exposed correctly while using flasg to "freeze" the subject.

Dragging the shutter is when you use a slower shutter speed with flash to allow more of the ambient light in, usually to bring up the background of your shot.