G6, Flash, White Balance........

Wow! I have been learning so much since getting my G6 this past spring and spending time on here. Thanks for all the great advice from so many. It seems like I learn about a few settings and features at a time and they are all starting to tie together, but I still have so much to learn.

Most recently I have been experimenting with WB. What a difference on indoor, tungsten setting vs auto WB taking shots inside the house! I took shots without the 420ex on.
If I use the 420ex would I still need to use the tungsten setting indoors? I know I should just try and see if it makes a difference, but I guess I'm getting at a bigger issue in my mind at least. Does the external flash change in any way or affect the WB settings? Hope that makes sense. I guess I'm thinking the flash "changes" the temperature of the lighting in the room? Do I just use the Flash WB settign with the 420ex?

Another question involving indoor shots. Lets say as the holidays will be coming up soon, I'm taking a group picture, indoors, about maybe 8 to 10 feet away with mayber 5 to 12 people. Now I have messed with the DOF calculators I've found online, but it seems when I have taken these types of shots the people on the ends are not as sharp as the middle. Am I missing something with the DOF because even thought they may be in the same plane they are actually further away from the camera because they are on an angle from it instead of being straight ahead, hope that makes sense. The people in the middle would actually be the closest to the camera and that is who I am focusing on. Should I just stop down the lens, should I focus lock on the the person on the edge then recompose and shoot? My objective is to get everyone sharp. Thanks in advance.

Joe

First, there is a flash WB setting. But if you shoot RAW, WB is adjustable during the conversion. When I started using RAW conversion, I was intimidated by the color temperature slider. But after using it, it's not hard at all. In my photography class, they go on and on about WB and it is interesting. but it is a lot nicer to be able to adjust it nondestructively in PP.

As far as DOF is concerned, I'm a little more seat-of-the-pants. To get more DOF, close down the aperture. Boy, I hate to do that. Got that great 2.0 lens that lets in lots of light and cranks up the shutter speed. But if you are having a DOF problem, that's the answer even if it causes problems in other areas.