Canon 430exii - am I doing something wrong?

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Neil
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Just a quick question, which the manual hasn't helped with!

When I take shots indoors (usually grab shots when my baby boy is doing something funny) I attached my 430exii to my 60d set it to ettl and have the camera in aperture priority.

When I frame the shot, the camera takes no account of the flash when metering. Basically it sets the shutter speed etc the same regardless of whether the flash is attached or not, which results in massive over exposure.

When I had my Oly E510 in with a Metz flash in ettl it did seem to account for the flash and would give me a higher shutter speed to get correct exposure.

Am I doing something wrong with the canon or is that the way it is?

I do adjust exp comp etc to get the correct exposure, but I thought the point of ettl was a kind of 'fire and forget'!

Confused

Neil
 
Have a read here for what the camera is doing in different modes when using flash.

In Av the cameras working around the Aperture to set the ISO (if auto) and shutter speed up to the sync speed of the flash unless you turn on HSS. So it's metering for the background ambient light whether the flash is on or off, it then does a pre flash just as you take the photo, judges how much flash it needs then fires it properly all in a blink of an eye. It shouldn't then overexpose the photo, have you got flash exposure compensation set, are you bouncing the flash or aiming it straight at your subject, an example photo would be handy :)
 
Also you might want to check and have a play with "Flash sync. speed in Av mode" custom function.

0: Auto
1: 1/250-1/60 sec. auto
2: 1/250 sec. (fixed)
 
I have found that when using my 430 on camera with my 7D (which isn't that often) I get best results from either manual exposure, or going into "muppet mode" (the green square).

Canon are a bit of a PITA when it comes to flash in AV, so unless you spot meter off of the area you want to fill, you may have a problem.

Steve
 
Calzor Suzay said:
Have a read here for what the camera is doing in different modes when using flash.

In Av the cameras working around the Aperture to set the ISO (if auto) and shutter speed up to the sync speed of the flash unless you turn on HSS. So it's metering for the background ambient light whether the flash is on or off, it then does a pre flash just as you take the photo, judges how much flash it needs then fires it properly all in a blink of an eye. It shouldn't then overexpose the photo, have you got flash exposure compensation set, are you bouncing the flash or aiming it straight at your subject, an example photo would be handy :)
Click to expand...

Ah-ha!! That link explains it!!
From what I gather using the flash in Av mode gets the camera to meter the entire frame and set flash/shutter accordingly - hence it was giving me low shutter speeds!

Thanks everyone for the help!

I do tend to use flash in M - but as I'm still learning photography and the camera I find it's more trial and error at the mo - which isn't ideal for quick 'grab' shots.......I'll get there though!

Again thanks to all - more excuses to play with my toy!

Neil
 
It sounds like you're doing it right.

Av is a good mode to use. Easy control. But it's primary aim is to balance the ambient light (hence the long shutter speeds) with the flash. Which is usually favourite so long as the shutter doesn't get too long and you get loads of ambient blurring. As suggested above, you can tweak the Av mode in custom functions so it won't drop the shutter below 1/60sec.

1/60sec is also the default min in P mode. If it's just point and shoot, P is a good option - it will get most things right, but opts for a dark background in preference to blurring when it has to choose.

What metering pattern are you using? You should not get 'massive' over exposure at all. Try it on evaluative, or maybe centre weighted if you prefer with flash. Spot will get you into trouble.

A good combination with flash is to have the camera on manual, so you can control the shutter speed directly, and the flash on E-TTL so it will balance itself to the f/number. If the flash is too light/dark, adjust with +/- flash compensation.

All different ways of doing the same thing. Either way, you should not be getting massive over exposure at all. Have you accidentally set the compensation controls for either flash or ambient? It's easy done, and easy to miss ;)
 
Calzor Suzay said:
Have a read here for what the camera is doing in different modes when using flash.

In Av the cameras working around the Aperture to set the ISO (if auto) and shutter speed up to the sync speed of the flash unless you turn on HSS. So it's metering for the background ambient light whether the flash is on or off, it then does a pre flash just as you take the photo, judges how much flash it needs then fires it properly all in a blink of an eye. It shouldn't then overexpose the photo, have you got flash exposure compensation set, are you bouncing the flash or aiming it straight at your subject, an example photo would be handy :)
Click to expand...

Now that is what the manual should read like !
 
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