Instruction manual
Flash
Features
Manual
Flash:
With
the
flash setting
in
this
position,
you can
select
full
power, half power, quarter power
or
less.
Settings
on the
back
of the
flash
tell
you
what f-stop
to use
with
a
particular
ISO film
speed
at
different distances
to the
subject.
Fast
Recycle
Time:
When
the
electronic flash
first
came
out,
the
operation
was
simple.
You
turned
the flash on, and
when
the
shutter opened,
the
flash
would dump
all of its
flash
power
in one
large
burst
of
light.
The
system would
recharge
and be
ready
for the
next
hu
shot.
Most
electronic
flash
units
today
have
special electronic
circuitry
that
can
fire a
partial burst
of
light when
full
power isn't
needed,
and
save
the
remaining
power
for
the
next
shot.
This
gives
you
accurate
control
over your exposures
because
the flash
cutoff
can be in
small
increments
of
power
output.
The
fact
that
not all the
power
is
zapped
means
the flash can
quickly build back
up to
full
power
so
the
recycle time
is
shortened. Fast
flash
recycle time
is
the
key to not
missing that
all-
important
photo.
Flash
Duration:
The
duration
of an
electronic
flash
unit
decreases
at low
power settings
(in
manual mode)
and
close shooting distances
(in
auto mode). This
flash
duration
can be as
little
as
Xo.ooo
second,
which results
in
very sharp
pictures
of
action subjects.
This
feature
is
especially
useful
for
macro
photographers, where slight movement
is
exaggerated when
you get
down
to a
1:1
ratio
and
beyond.
Flash
Heads:
Portraits taken with
a
built-in
flash or one
attached
directly
on top of the
camera
seem
to be
what
most
people produce.
That's
a
shame, because
it
produces harsh
shadows
on
walls behind your subject, little feeling
of
depth
and
often causes red-eye.
You can
eliminate
the
shadow
by
Flash
can add
light
wherever
it is
needed.
Here,
it was
used
to
fill
the
too-dark
foreground
subject.
moving your model
further
away
from
the
wall
or by
raising
the flash
unit
so
that
the
shadow
is
cast down behind your
subject.
The
other solution
is to
have
a flash
that allows
you to
move
the
head
to
various positions. Many
flash
heads
can
twist, rotate,
and flip.
This
movable
flash
head allows
you to
point
the flash in
various directions,
to
achieve directional
lighting.
Best
of
all,
you can
"bounce"
the
light
off a
ceiling
or
wall
to
achieve
a
softer
portrait lighting. When bouncing
the
light, remember
that
it is
important
to use a
white
or
off-colored surface.
Otherwise,
the
reflected surface's
color
will
be
transmitted
to
your
subject
and
give
it
a
strange
hue.
You
can
also
find flash
heads
that have
a
zoom
feature.
The
zoom
function
allows
you
to
match
the
beam
angle
of the flash to
the
camera lens.
You
can
spread
the
light
for a
wide-
angle
photo
or
narrow
the
beam
for
telephoto.
With
dedicated
flash
units,
the
focal
length
of the
camera
lens
is
transmitted
to the
zoom head
and it
sets
the
correct
beam angle
automatically.
Diffusors
can
help
expand
the
beam
angle even more
for
superwide-angle
lenses,
or
reduce
it
for
longer telephoto
lenses. Some
of the
newer
flash
units even have built-in
white
bounce cards
to
soften
the
light.
Red-Eye
Reduction:
A
common
problem when taking
portraits
with compact cameras
and
on-camera
flash
units
is
called red-eye.
The
human
eye
opens
its
aperture just like
a
camera
lens
to
adjust
for low
levels
of
light. When
the flash
fires,
it
strikes
the
back
of the eye
through
the
large
opening,
and
reflects back
as a
red-eye.
The
red-eye
reduction
feature
available
on
many
flash
units today
is a
pre-flash
that
sends
out
short bursts
of flashes
before
the
shutter
opens.
The
subject's pupils automatically close down,
2002
PHOTOgraphic
Buyer's
Guide
57