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External vs. on-board flash....

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Theresa K

Theresa K

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Two pics, taken seconds apart. Thank you to the model, my patient teenager.
On-board:



External:



Much more natural, in my opinion. Posted in another thread but I thought it would evoke more discussion in its own thread.
--
Theresa
Constructive criticism always welcome! :)
http://www.pbase.com/theresa_k
Panasonic FZ-20, Oly C-5O6O & FL-4O

 
I'll bite :-)

I agree with you that the off-camera flash shot is better although it seems a little warmer. Flash on camera is generally frowned upon as what you do when there is nothing better and to be avoided.

Do not know how your camera works but if you could use both, perhaps with the remote being triggered by a slave or whathaveyou, and the aperture closed down so that the camera flash is about half to a quarter of the relative power of the remote flash you would have the makings for a better shot. Problem with optical slaves is that some camera emit a 'pre-flash' , not redeye, which triggers the remote flash before the shot is taken. If none of that works then a reflector is called for to push the flash back into the shadows. One more suggestion, make a cardboard 'snoot' for the flash which you can tape onto the flash and shield the room from the flash to get a dark background , "spot-light" effect. A white wall will render black if no light shines on it.
 
Theresa - Was the Auxiliary flash in the hot shoe or otherwise triggered?

I'm experimenting with wein peanut optical triggers on a trio of slave flashes.
 
For the people who don't have a flash shoe you might try this: I used it with my Minolta 300 which is a point and shoot that has a very wimpy flash. I got a slave flash for digital cameras that handles the pre-flash stuff. It came with a camera bracket and a stand. Since I was already commited to using the camera flash I didn't want to position my slave flash close to that. I would put it on the floor, aimed upward, out of the picture and directly opposite the camera lens. My subject would not be right up against the wall or you can still get shadows. The results were amazingly good considering the camera and the onboard flash. This is the one I got,

http://buyporters.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=12-0457&Category_Code=F3L
 
Will that flash work with FZ3?
How is the flash triggered?
Heather said:
For the people who don't have a flash shoe you might try this: I
used it with my Minolta 300 which is a point and shoot that has a
very wimpy flash. I got a slave flash for digital cameras that
handles the pre-flash stuff. It came with a camera bracket and a
stand. Since I was already commited to using the camera flash I
didn't want to position my slave flash close to that. I would put
it on the floor, aimed upward, out of the picture and directly
opposite the camera lens. My subject would not be right up against
the wall or you can still get shadows. The results were amazingly
good considering the camera and the onboard flash. This is the one
I got,

http://buyporters.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=12-0457&Category_Code=F3L
Click to expand...
 
People in another thread were asking for comparisons. Same shot, one with on-board, one with external. I always bounce it unless I am out of range. That's the beauty of the external flash, you don't get that harsh, head on lighting.

--
Theresa
Constructive criticism always welcome! :)
http://www.pbase.com/theresa_k
Panasonic FZ-20, Oly C-5O6O & FL-4O

 
jcuknz said:
I'll bite :-)

I agree with you that the off-camera flash shot is better although
it seems a little warmer. Flash on camera is generally frowned
upon as what you do when there is nothing better and to be avoided.
Click to expand...
Maybe with dslrs that is true but there are few prosumer digicams that can get decent shots indoors without a flash. The lighting in this room was warm, the external flash didn't affect that, just brightened the shot enough to take it.
jcuknz said:
Do not know how your camera works but if you could use both,
Click to expand...
The fz cameras have the hot shoe sitting on top of the on-board flashes lid. It's one or the other.

--
Theresa
Constructive criticism always welcome! :)
http://www.pbase.com/theresa_k
Panasonic FZ-20, Oly C-5O6O & FL-4O

 
sake199 said:
Will that flash work with FZ3?
How is the flash triggered?
Click to expand...
The flash is triggered by the flash on the camera. It comes with a simple camera bracket, the slave can be mounted on the side of that or .. on it's own stand on any surface. Just like any non-dedicated flash, you'll have to adjust the flash head etc. to the environment. You may not want to use much of the full power of the camera flash to trigger the shot - but I believe you can adjust the camera flash intensity downward. The slave sensor sees your flash go off and then it fires practically at the same time - fast. I haven't experimented with this flash on my FZ10 as I have a hot shoe and the Sunpak. I could use both. The Phoenix is designed for digital cameras that sometimes have a pre-flash to prevent red eye. You can use it many ways.

What to know more? Troll around the lighting forum.
 
Theresa K said:
People in another thread were asking for comparisons. Same shot,
one with on-board, one with external. I always bounce it unless I
am out of range. That's the beauty of the external flash, you
don't get that harsh, head on lighting.

--
Theresa
Constructive criticism always welcome! :)
http://www.pbase.com/theresa_k
Panasonic FZ-20, Oly C-5O6O & FL-4O

Click to expand...
Although, it is hard to see in the bounce shot, there is a very slight shadow below the eyes. If you bounce, unlike Theresa, incorrectly this can be an issue. Bottom line, bouncing correctly does take practice.

Bill
 
I might actually buy that flash now.
Thanks!
Heather said:
sake199 said:
Will that flash work with FZ3?
How is the flash triggered?
Click to expand...
The flash is triggered by the flash on the camera. It comes with a
simple camera bracket, the slave can be mounted on the side of that
or .. on it's own stand on any surface. Just like any non-dedicated
flash, you'll have to adjust the flash head etc. to the
environment. You may not want to use much of the full power of the
camera flash to trigger the shot - but I believe you can adjust the
camera flash intensity downward. The slave sensor sees your flash
go off and then it fires practically at the same time - fast. I
haven't experimented with this flash on my FZ10 as I have a hot
shoe and the Sunpak. I could use both. The Phoenix is designed for
digital cameras that sometimes have a pre-flash to prevent red eye.
You can use it many ways.

What to know more? Troll around the lighting forum.
Click to expand...
 
Could you verify that this is the same flash:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=48515&item=3854388059&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

Thanks so much!!
Heather said:
sake199 said:
Will that flash work with FZ3?
How is the flash triggered?
Click to expand...
The flash is triggered by the flash on the camera. It comes with a
simple camera bracket, the slave can be mounted on the side of that
or .. on it's own stand on any surface. Just like any non-dedicated
flash, you'll have to adjust the flash head etc. to the
environment. You may not want to use much of the full power of the
camera flash to trigger the shot - but I believe you can adjust the
camera flash intensity downward. The slave sensor sees your flash
go off and then it fires practically at the same time - fast. I
haven't experimented with this flash on my FZ10 as I have a hot
shoe and the Sunpak. I could use both. The Phoenix is designed for
digital cameras that sometimes have a pre-flash to prevent red eye.
You can use it many ways.

What to know more? Troll around the lighting forum.
Click to expand...
 
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