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[OM] Re: Shutter speed with flash on E-500

Subject: [OM] Re: Shutter speed with flash on E-500
From: Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2006 23:08:42 -0400
When you take a flash photo there are two exposures being made.

There is the exposure from the flash and it is controlled by the 
aperture alone.  You can vary the shutter speed anywhere up to the 
1/180th sync speed of the E-500 and absolutely nothing will change with 
the flash exposure.

But there is also an ambient light exposure along with the flash 
exposure.  The ambient exposure is also controlled by the aperture but 
like any other ambient exposure it's also controlled by the shutter speed.

So, when you're doing flash photography where the ambient light is 
fairly weak, if you slow the shutter speed down (called "dragging the 
shutter") you will collect more and more of the ambient light to add to 
the flash exposure.  It's dragging the shutter and adding to the ambient 
part of the exposure that can make a professional looking flash shot 
that doesn't look like it was shot in a cave.

In the following example <http://www.chucknorcutt.com/party.php> look 
carefully at the left hand of the woman in red at far left.  You can see 
a blur at her fingertips.  The blur is the result of a flash exposure 
not at 1/125 second but at 1/4 second or 5 stops longer.  Without that 
long exposure the incadescent lights inside the tent (including the red 
and yellow hanging lanterns) would barely have registered as little dots.

The longer the exposure the more chance for blurring the ambient 
exposure.  In some cases you might even want to accentuate the blur. 
But in most cases you'll want to keep the shutter speed short enough 
that blur is not blatently obvious.  With your digital camera and 
ability to chimp you've got the perfect tool for experimenation on the spot.

Then there's fill flash which reverses the relationship between ambient 
and flash expousure.  That's a horse of a different color but just keep 
in mind there are still two exposures going on and shutter speed will 
never control the flash exposure.

Chuck Norcutt

ALI wrote:

> I have set the E-500 to sync at 125 and set the camera in Manual mode to 125
> F5.6 typically. Can I set the shutter speed to something else? I know I adjust
> the aperture based on the lighting in the room but I just wondered what else I
> can do.
> 
> BTW I took some shots during my son's graduation using the Stroboframe bracket
> w/ the T-32 and TTL Cord - shots came out good. I am going to practice some
> more at a wedding this weekend....hopefully I will get some good shots.
> 
> One other question, I am a little confused about metering. When setting the
> camera in SPOT, it seems to take a bit longer to grab focus. Is that 
> normal? It
> grabs focus quicker with Center Weighted metering. When should I use SPOT and
> when should I use something else?
> 
> - Ali
> 
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