Focus on Flash

Zande UK

Zande UK

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Sally Wallis
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Using a Canon 350D with a Sigma 17 - 70 mm 2.8 lens and a Nissin Di622 speedlite - last night I was official photographer for our village Pantomime (in the Pub restaurant). I did this event last year and using AV of 7.1 to 9 got very consistent, pleasing, results, most of which the camera decided to shoot at 100th.
This year, same venue, same camera, same lens (if it works don't fix it !), I figured on same or similar settings but totally failed to get autofocus to work on AV. I can't see well enough to use manual focus, although I did try (and failed !) for a while. I switched to TV which permitted autofocus OK, and on the basis of last year's successes, used 80th, 100th and 125th.
The camera decided the perfect aperture was 3.5, 2.8 and sometimes 4. which left the photos totally blown out.
I very soon switched (in the darkened Restaurant it wasn't easy to see the dials) to Manual, set 100th at 7.1 and at 8, and got super pictures, correctly exposed.
I get to return for the final Dress Rehearsal this evening so all is not lost but can anyone tell me what I was doing wrong in AV ?
Thanks,
 
wrong metering type? wrong focus type?
 
How do you mean failed to get the autofocus to work? Would it try and focus but not lock on or would you get lock but the image be blurry?

Sounds to me like last time you had somethign set that caused the camera to adjust the shutter speed when using flash so it was high enough. If you just stick a flash on top and shoot in AV the flash will be in 'fill' mode and the shutter speed will be whatever it was without flash.
You did right though, switching to M is the absolute best place to be for flash.
 
All camera settings for onboard flash select wide open aperture for the shot because the flash is not powerful enough for an optimum aperture setting. It happens on all cameras
 
I think he was using a speedlite not onboard.
 
How do you mean failed to get the autofocus to work? Would it try and focus but not lock on or would you get lock but the image be blurry?
Click to expand...

It zoomed in and out, all fuzzy, didn't find anything sharp enough to let me take a picture. No lock on at all. I tried everything, focusing on something equal distance away, made sure I was focusing on something the camera COULD see (i.e. not a blank wall). Nix. No shot.

Sounds to me like last time you had somethign set that caused the camera to adjust the shutter speed when using flash so it was high enough. If you just stick a flash on top and shoot in AV the flash will be in 'fill' mode and the shutter speed will be whatever it was without flash.
Click to expand...

OK, thanks. That explains why, even with manual focus, the speedlite flashed but the shutter speed was VERY slow to the point when I wondered if my camera had developed the same fault as my husband's Canon 400D which had to go back to Canon cos the shutter never would close !

You did right though, switching to M is the absolute best place to be for flash.[/
Click to expand...

I'm going to try to find more time for TP forums - its obviously the place to learn ! (an' i'm a 'she' not a 'he' but no matter)
 
Zande UK said:
It zoomed in and out, all fuzzy, didn't find anything sharp enough to let me take a picture. No lock on at all. I tried everything, focusing on something equal distance away, made sure I was focusing on something the camera COULD see (i.e. not a blank wall). Nix. No shot.
Click to expand...
Right, sounds like the AF assist beab in the flash was either not working, or is not powerful enough when used with your lens. POssible if you were any didstance from your subject that it could just not be enough - I know my canon 550 ex doesn't put out enough light on the af beam for all my lenses at distance.
Previously using internal flash it strobes the flash head for AF assist, which is much more distracting but works better a lot of the time.
Worth trying in a more controlled environment... :)
 
Thanks again, RichardtheSane
This is more of an update. I used the same speedlite and the same camera and lens last night and, on Manual, everything worked well. Now I need to get the pics onto the web but the 'company' don't want any photos of the Panto seen until after the last performance (which was a sell-out so why not ? ? ? )
 
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