For beginners - Point and shoot flash

[Jason B]

http://pt010.da-kine.info/adjustments.htm

 

[the_cat_keeper]

anyway, most if not all cameras that have automatic features, know when the flash is connected and if you set a speed too fast, the camera will default to the fastest sync speed.

Er... why/ how would the camera know that the flash is connected? Does the camera still default to the fastest sync speed if my strobe is a slave flash?

sorry, in a hurry, will be back later

got a typhoon knocking on my door

Oops, hope the typhoon hasn't done too much damage... mmm... suddenly the world is alive, isn't it?

 

[Jason B]

Er... why/ how would the camera know that the flash is connected? Does the camera still default to the fastest sync speed if my strobe is a slave flash?

is the cameras internal flash triggering the slave strobe? If so, then the camera knows there is a flash because the cameras internal flash is on. A lot of digitals have sync speeds of 1/500.

 

[Chris Bangs]

beat me to that bubble blower!

I also for to mention that the shutter is comprised of two curtains that travel in opposite directions. some like the nikonos travel vertically and others travel horizontally,


also thanks for the heads up on digital sync speeds, I havent used a non SLR type digital camera, but thought that they may be able to sync faster as there is no mechanical shutter

the typhoon fizzled out and as it past us it sucked up all the humidity and today we have beautiful weather here in Japan. I go back to Guam next week in hopes of shooting but there is yet another typhoon very close to Guam. Hope it misses the island as I do not want to spend most of my time there mopping up the mess in my home

 

[Chris Bangs]

any requests for new subjects, like strobe positioning, composition, working with shy critters, etc

fire away,

I will be off line for a day as my wife and I will escape to spen a day in the mountains soaking in natural hot springs.

 

[sbloomer]

http://pt010.da-kine.info/adjustments.htm

Thanks. Kudo's to the guy who put the method together - worked a treat on my pictures.

 

[the_cat_keeper]

is the cameras internal flash triggering the slave strobe? If so, then the camera knows there is a flash because the cameras internal flash is on. A lot of digitals have sync speeds of 1/500.

Hi, Bubble Blower,

Does a strobe has variable speed? Or is it fixed?
I'm confused... is the camera sync speed the same as its shutter speed? I mean, are these terms used interchangeably or do they refer to different things?

Thanks...

 

[the_cat_keeper]

any requests for new subjects, like strobe positioning, composition, working with shy critters, etc.

Ok, since you asked... let's talk about strobe positioning first

I have been told that if I want to take a panaromic shot in the water, I should place my strobe at the furthest possible distance away from the camera to minimize backscatter... so I tried pushing my strobe to the furthest horizontal distance from the camera and there is still backscatter, so I moved the strobe to different angles (still maintaining the furthest horizontal distance from the camera) and still, backscatter everywhere!

Hence the questions are:
1. If there are particles in the water, is it possible to avoid backscatter at all? Or is the effort only, at best, minimizing those blotches on the photograph?

2. When I tried positioning the strobe at different angles, I realised that the light cannot reach the subject at certain angle... so what exactly does it mean by placing the strobe as far from the camera as possible while preventing the particles from reflecting light back to the camera?

And,
3. We found a ray under some corals. There was an opening. My friend moved her tiny (compared to mine anyway) little camera into the opening and took the picture. With the bracket and the strobe, my camera has became really bulky... so now I could not access smaller crevices to get nearer to the ray without banging the strobe onto coral or something (and I do not want to do that)... so what's the best way to get to the ray?

That's all for now... until next time...

I will be off line for a day as my wife and I will escape to spen a day in the mountains soaking in natural hot springs.

Enjoy!

 

[Jason B]

Does a strobe has variable speed? Or is it fixed?
I'm confused... is the camera sync speed the same as its shutter speed? I mean, are these terms used interchangeably or do they refer to different things?

Shutter speed is how long the camera stays open to expose itself to the image.
Strobes have variable power but not speed.
jason

 

[Jason B]

Say your camera has a sync speed of 1/90th of a second (nikonos I think) and you see a nice fish shot you want to take. You set up your strobe for fill flash on the fish. The strobe fires and burns an image of the fish on your film. The flash burst only lasts a very short time and the shutter is open a long time in comparison so the ambient light is now burning another (ghost) image on your film until the shutter finally closes. From this it should be easy to see the desire for a higher sync speed on your camera.