tz3 flash harsh & over-exposed indoors

Hello Everyone,

Having considerable trouble with indoor flash. Whites are harsh and overexposed and colors are inaccurate. The best indoor pictures are obtained without flash at iso 100-200 with a longer shutter time. Does anyone have any reccomendations for indoor flash settings in a semi-dark room. Someone has suggested I try the canon HFDC 1 slave flash for better flash fill and color. Has anyone tried this with the tz3. It was not designed for the panasonic sensor. It fits to the camera nicely, but would be a little inconvienient to carry around.

This is my first post, and you all have been very helpful in my search for a new traveling camera, case and screen protector. This forum is fantastic.
BSZ

I haven't received my TZ3 yet so I can't given an answer regarding it.

I've had two digital cameras with Flash Compensation. Don't know if the TZ3 has it or not. It lets you vary the stength of the flash output.

Another option, which I've tried with some success with my cameras that do not have Flash Compensation, is to use -1/3 or -2/3 Exposure Compensation (I believe the TZ3 has a dedicated EC button). Experiment with it a bit.

A slave flash should help, as will increasing the indoor room lighting if possible, along with adjusting the white balance accordingly.

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gail ~ http://www.pbase.com/gailb
My digital camera BLOGs: Canon SD700, S2 & A510; Panasonic FZ3, Nikon 5400
http://www.digicamhelp.com/digital-camera-blogs/index.htm

I bought a tz3, but I am selling it for only ONE reason - indoor flash. I loved it otherwise, but the flash is just too weak for the camera. A few others have posted that theirs seems fine, so maybe it is a problem on just select TZ3, but whatever the case, mine has the problem, so I upgraded to an FZ8.

bubbaallred said:

I bought a tz3, but I am selling it for only ONE reason - indoor
flash.

Click to expand...

I honestly haven't met an ity-bity built-in camera flash that I liked, or felt worked that well. I don't take a lot of inside images so it's not that important to me. But if using a flash were important, I'd do the same as you...though I'd probably get one with a hot shoe. On rare occasion, I use a slave flash.

If the more sophisticated Canon G7 ever came out with a similar zoom range like the TZ3, now THAT would be a killer camera!!

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gail ~ http://www.pbase.com/gailb
My digital camera BLOGs: Canon SD700, S2 & A510; Panasonic FZ3, Nikon 5400
http://www.digicamhelp.com/digital-camera-blogs/index.htm

bubbaallred said:

I bought a tz3, but I am selling it for only ONE reason - indoor
flash. I loved it otherwise, but the flash is just too weak for
the camera. A few others have posted that theirs seems fine, so
maybe it is a problem on just select TZ3, but whatever the case,
mine has the problem, so I upgraded to an FZ8.

Click to expand...

Bad choice buying a compact when a lot of your shooting will be indoors and certainly a bad choice buying the TZ3 as 'TZ' as you may know stands for "travel zoom" geared for mostly outdoor travel shooting.

All compacts are only fair except maybe the F30 which uses a very clean ISO800 balanced with ambient light.

If you were going to an FZ8, maybe you should have gone the full hog and got a cheap D40 with an SB600 if flash is important, and maybe a 18-200 if you wanted the big zoom range. Yeah, the cost would be astronomical compared to the FZ8, but the quality of indoor flash shots and the ability with the incredible AF speed to freeze action indoors is second to none. When flash is bounced off a ceiling, you will find it very hard to rival that kind of natural output with an onboard flash.

All bounced:











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Packy

http://picasaweb.google.com/patsweb .... try the slideshow option!

Packy,

As a newbie to DPReview I agree in regards to the flash on the TZ3. Mine is being returned tomorrow. What a disappointment. I also noticed the "clumping" of the hair in my pictures I had taken of the children as the review stated in the conclusion. The pictures were taken with the flash with plenty of light (or so I thought) and ISO was limited to 400. I was not impressed with any other indoor shots that I had taken either. I am WAY more impressed with my (get this) HP850!!! (that is for indoor shots of course).

I also have an Olympus E-500 (but I won't compare apples with oranges).

Great pics with your F78. I bought the Canon A710 IS to replace the TZ3. It seems to be doing a superb job so far. I did consider about the FZ8, I know it's light but it is a little too bulky, I wanted a more compact camera.

Regards, BlissfulDi

Baby scene mode. I chuckled when I saw the title. But after reading the explanation, I gave it a try.

Baby mode uses less flash output than regular shooting modes. I did some comparison shots and, sure enough, the photos taken in Baby mode were better exposed with more detail showing. In regular shooting mode the images were over exposed.

Not right for every situation perhaps, but experiment with it if you own a TZ3.

--
gail ~ http://www.pbase.com/gailb

My digital camera BLOGs: Panasonic TZ3, Canon SD700, S2 & A510; Panasonic FZ3, Nikon 5400
http://www.digicamhelp.com/digital-camera-blogs/index.htm

The TZ searies cannot be used with a slave flash, as the camera flashes twice, once to determine exposure, and once for actual exposure. The first flash will set off a slave pre-exposure.

If you are having a problem with over exposures with your flash (unusual). Try using your - EV exposure controll to reduce the exposure, you only have to reduce it a small amount to have a pretty big effect with flash, so take it slow.
--
Steve Owen.
http://steveslandscapes.50webs.com

steve owen said:

The TZ searies cannot be used with a slave flash, as the camera
flashes twice, once to determine exposure, and once for actual
exposure. The first flash will set off a slave pre-exposure.

Click to expand...

Hmmm, there are digital camera slave flashes that address this problem. But evidently they don't work with Panasonic cameras, at least Panasonic is not listed on the features page of this slave flash:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=240849&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

--
gail ~ http://www.pbase.com/gailb

My digital camera BLOGs: Panasonic TZ3, Canon SD700, S2 & A510; Panasonic FZ3, Nikon 5400
http://www.digicamhelp.com/digital-camera-blogs/index.htm

Contrary to what others may say, there are slave flashes out there that ignore and/or take the "preflashes" into consideration. You may want to look at Metz 28CS-2 or Vivitar DF120 which have smart/learn modes to learn the preflash.

The add says it will, it just doesn't list Panasonic. The only problem I found with that add is they say the pre-flash is not for exposure, but Panasonic says it is? somebody is wrong.

Anyway it seems to say the flash can be adjusted to ignore the pre-flash. Personally I don't know, one would have to try it to find out.
--
Steve Owen.
http://steveslandscapes.50webs.com