Challenge with the a100 flash

I just purchase the a100 this week and over the past couple of days have finally been able to really shoot some pictures with the camera.

Since working with the camera I have noticed one really big challenge when taking portraits with the built in flash. The flash uses a system which will prefire the flash take a light reading and then take picture with the flash. this prefiring of the flash is causing my subjects in the picture to blink right at the moment the picture is being shot. So needless to say I have a ton of portraits with people that have eyes half shut.

I would like to know if anyone else has run into the same problem and if so what was your work around for this. I spent about 45 minutes on the phone with Sony today with no resolution.

If not one else is having the same problem please let me know that also so I know if might be the camera itself.

Thanks,

David

Welcome to what has been a very lively topic on this forum. Just do a search on "lazy eye" and you'll have lots and lots of reading to do.

Thank you for the insight. I will definately check it out.

Thanks.

David

Question for all ...

If you use the kit lens - or any other "D" lens - and set the flash to "ADI" (in the camera settings), won't that cancel the TTL pre-flash and prevent lazy eye?

-- Bill
http://billw.smugmug.com

The camera always uses pre-flash except in manual mode.

One trick is to tell them to blink and then snap the photo the moment they open their eyes. This also works with a group photo since in a large group someone is blinking even without a flash but a group blink times prevents a blink the moment after.

billw54 said:

Question for all ...

If you use the kit lens - or any other "D" lens - and set the flash
to "ADI" (in the camera settings), won't that cancel the TTL
pre-flash and prevent lazy eye?

-- Bill
http://billw.smugmug.com

Click to expand...

--
Rick

Oh, oh! Not THAT topic again. )

--
Gil
Sardis, BC
Canada

that has been discussed ad nauseum. I have never had the problem with my 5D or 7D with the onboard flashes or my 3600 flashes. But, some swear that it exists and is a burden. I just took 200 Halloween portraits and group photos in all kinds of lighting without once suffering from this phenomenon.

The Sony system is the same as KM, so the comments on that forum apply to the Alpha.

Hi
I am guessing if you are talking about the "red eye reduction" function?
Try turning that off?

lingoting said:

Hi
I am guessing if you are talking about the "red eye reduction"
function?
Try turning that off?

Click to expand...

Nope. Red eye reduction is something different to TTL pre-flash causing 'lazy eye'.

--
Tom

think of ADI as: ADI-PTTL

I dont know if this will work but

In the custom menu 1 there is an option called AF illuminator (on or off)
I believe this will eliminate the pre light flash that assist in the auto focus.

Sure hope this helps but you probably already tried this.

AF assist illumination is not part of the pre-flash, preflash is a flash that is emited the moment you press the shutter to determine exposure, and the real flash takes place the moment after that.

does this occur with a 2500 (D)?

AF ILLUMINATOR CONTROLS THE RED LIGHTS FROM THE FLASH. NOTHING TO DO WITH PRE FLASH AT ALL.

TRY IT.
--
Richard Hunt
UK

Tom Harvey said:

lingoting said:

Hi
I am guessing if you are talking about the "red eye reduction"
function?
Try turning that off?

Click to expand...

Nope. Red eye reduction is something different to TTL pre-flash
causing 'lazy eye'.

--
Tom

Click to expand...

I wonder is red eye reduction might help just by acclimatizing the subject(s) to the flash prior to the shot.

I've also heard that if you use 2-sec delay, the pre-flash fires at the start of the 2 sec...but haven't tried it.

I personally haven't had any lazy eye problems.

Greg

Pre-flash delay is an issue with ALL Minolta/Sony digital SLRs and Flashes. the ONLY, repeat ONLY way to eliminate the pre-flash is to affix an external flash that has either "auto thyristor" type on-board exposure control, or full manual exposure, like the Sigma 500 or certain Metz and Promaster models. (Nikon flashes have GREAT on board exposure control and even with a shoe adapter are MUCH cheaper than the other options, I have used an SB-26 very successfully with my 5D...)

In my experience roughly 30% of the population blinks fast enough to produce the lazy eye problem when pre-flash TTL is used. The 2 second timer trick works well for posed groups as the pre-flash fires at the start of the timer so the main flash fires 2 seconds later, but it is not a viable solution for action flash

Like I said, about 30% of the people I photograph blink fast enough that this is a problem, 70% of the time I just shoot and have no problems...There's still a VERY beat old Nikon SB-26 and a shoe adapter in my bag though.
--
KM 5D (AS ROCKS!)
18-70 kit lens
28-85 Macro 1st Gen Metal Body
70-210 f:4 (Killer Lens!)
Minolta 50mm f:1.4 + Kenko macro tube set (Shweeeeet!)
ProOptic 500mm f:5.6 Mirror Lens (Don't I Feel Special?)
Minolta Xt-Si
Olympus XA
Rochester 5x7 plate camera

Here is how to prevent people from having closed, half closed or blinking eyes. Tell your subject(s) to close their eyes. Tell them to open their eyes on the count of 3 and say open. Viola....works 95% of the time.--
http://www.zenfolio.com/digitalphotonut

I had a problem with my 85 year old mother-in-law while I was taking her picture for her church directory. She closed her eyes for the first two attempts, so I kept talking to her to distract her and got wide open eyes.