Flash help needed

[aztec]

Could do with some help regarding built in flash and camera settings,ie which should work best together, I know it will not one size fits all type of answer due to the complexity of different the lighting situations that you may find,anyway I was trying to take pictures the other evening with a recently purchased olympus omd-10, just wanted to take some group pictures in club which turned out very hit and miss, I set the camera to auto as my missus was also taking pics of her friends when reviewing pictures (next day) mistake some where very blurred due to long shutter speeds? . I wrongly thought when in flash it set a shutter speed of 1/60. So any help so this doesn't happen again apart from reviewing your pic straight after taking them.

 

[Phil V]

It depends what 'auto' you used. I'm not familiar with the camera but in the most auto mode it ought to set a reasonable shutter speed when the flash is activated.

As a general rule, I use manual settings if the flash is the primary source of light, which avoids the problem. Another tip is to not get too far away, the onboard flash won't cover a great distance.

But, straight on flash is an awful look, I'd recommend a bit more effort for the lighting

 

[HoppyUK]

Default flash setting on Canons in Av mode is to drop the shutter speed to balance with ambient, often giving very long speeds and potential blurring of backgrounds. There's another option (in menus) that drops the shutter speed, but no lower than 1/60sec to prevent blurring, at the cost of darker backgrounds. This is also the default in P-mode. Or use manual.

 

[Mike54]

On earlier models there was no minimum shutter speed in the AV mode, if you do not wish to go down the manual route then use the P-mode.
The camera will set the aperture and shutter speed accordingly, it will take the flash as the primary light source and illuminate the foreground and ignore the ambient and background.