Ricoh GR - When do you use the built-in flash?

I am only an intermediate amateur photographer (well, maybe even beginner), so I am about to ask quite a newbie question :

In which situations am I supposed to use this built-in flash on my Ricoh GR?

I often find myself preferring to let the camera go in very high ISOs than using the flash. Even for back-light situations, I tend to take the picture without the flash and then post-process the photo in Lightroom.

I understand that using a flash is actually a whole new world of photography which is quite difficult to master, that's why I ask the question. I know the answer might be a bit more complicated than "when there is not enough light".

When do you use the built-in flash yourself?

Thanks a lot for your help. The GR is an amazing camera, but it's a bit harder to master than what I expected

PS: English is not my mother tongue. Sorry if some of my sentences did not make much sense.

Frensoa said:

I am only an intermediate amateur photographer (well, maybe even beginner), so I am about to ask quite a newbie question :

In which situations am I supposed to use this built-in flash on my Ricoh GR?

I often find myself preferring to let the camera go in very high ISOs than using the flash. Even for back-light situations, I tend to take the picture without the flash and then post-process the photo in Lightroom.

I understand that using a flash is actually a whole new world of photography which is quite difficult to master, that's why I ask the question. I know the answer might be a bit more complicated than "when there is not enough light".

Click to expand...

True, but there's no single answer or formula that anyone can state that will be appropriate for everyone. It's like seasoning food - it's a matter of taste, and you have to discover for yourself what your preferences are through experience, doing your own experiments whenever you have free time.

Some people are annoyed when they pixel peep and see a tiny bit of noise at ISO 200. Others find the graininess of high ISO photos (particularly the GR's B&W photos) to be pleasing, reminding them of B&W film. One thing that might help is to understand when the flash can cause problems so that you can take steps to avoid those problems. Unlike ambient light which tends to be more uniform, the light from the flash varies considerably in intensity at different distances from the camera. So when shooting in low light situations, the flash could easily cause exposure problems if the photos have subjects at many distances from the camera. The ones close to the camera could be greatly overexposed while the more distant subjects could appear dark and murky. So for photo situations like this it might be better to use a higher ISO than you'd normally tolerate.

.

Frensoa said:

When do you use the built-in flash yourself?

Click to expand...

Rarely, but when I do it's more likely to be for something other than people, such as food that might otherwise look drab and unappealing.

.

Frensoa said:

Thanks a lot for your help. The GR is an amazing camera, but it's a bit harder to master than what I expected

PS: English is not my mother tongue. Sorry if some of my sentences did not make much sense.

Click to expand...

Your English is fine, better than some native English speakers I've seen here. As for being harder to master, yes, the GR has so many options that other cameras don't have that it takes more time to learn what they are and then to find them when they sometimes seem to be hidden in the menu, especially when Ricoh uses terminology that's not the same as what's used by other camera brands. I think that people that enjoy solving puzzles or reading mystery novels might be more likely to also like Ricoh's cameras!

photoreddi said:

True, but there's no single answer or formula that anyone can state that will be appropriate for everyone.
It's like seasoning food - it's a matter of taste, and you have to discover for yourself what your preferences are through experience, doing your own experiments whenever you have free time.

Click to expand...

That's why I asked about others' experience. I haven't really found a situation in which I like to use the flash, but maybe others would have used it for better results.

photoreddi said:

Some people are annoyed when they pixel peep and see a tiny bit of noise at ISO 200. Others find the graininess of high ISO photos (particularly the GR's B&W photos) to be pleasing, reminding them of B&W film. One thing that might help is to understand when the flash can cause problems so that you can take steps to avoid those problems. Unlike ambient light which tends to be more uniform, the light from the flash varies considerably in intensity at different distances from the camera. So when shooting in low light situations, the flash could easily cause exposure problems if the photos have subjects at many distances from the camera. The ones close to the camera could be greatly overexposed while the more distant subjects could appear dark and murky. So for photo situations like this it might be better to use a higher ISO than you'd normally tolerate.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your in-depth answer!

photoreddi said:

Your English is fine, better than some native English speakers I've seen here.

Click to expand...

Thanks!

photoreddi said:

As for being harder to master, yes, the GR has so many options that other cameras don't have that it takes more time to learn what they are and then to find them when they sometimes seem to be hidden in the menu, especially when Ricoh uses terminology that's not the same as what's used by other camera brands. I think that people that enjoy solving puzzles or reading mystery novels might be more likely to also like Ricoh's cameras!

Click to expand...

I never said that it made it less enjoyable. That's the first camera I have that makes me want to know it better. I spend much time reading through the manual, through online tutorials and experimenting.

I use flash lots. Here is a shot that was fire lit so flash was essential. It is just a lousy snapshot but without flash I would have nothing as the night was pitch dark.

But during the day flash is important to fill shadows under hats etc

"as the night was pitch dark."

Glad you mentioned it as I would not have realised!

Yes, the background is black but this does not look like a group lit by a bonfire.

Sorry to moan to someone who has taken the trouble to post an image - but IMHO the flash is far too strong.

Tony

I use use the flash on all my cameras for Fill flash during the day. When a person is backlit they could look like a shadow in a photo without fill flash. The nice part about the gr is that the sync speed is 1/2000 so you can shutdown the harsh sunlight.

Me again - as looking at the bonfire shot the shadows suggest it is not even taken using the built in flash.

Tony

TonyGamble said:

Me again - as looking at the bonfire shot the shadows suggest it is not even taken using the built in flash.

Tony

Click to expand...

Not sure how you can say that..the main foreground shadow is from the man with his hand up, the legs of the brazier and chairs have shadows moving away from the camera. Also I took the photo, I popped the flash, and without flash you could not recognise a face. As mentioned above this is a "lousy snapshot" of a gathering. They would not want to see themselves as shadows..it was simply to record people at an event not to satisfy DPreview critics of an arty firelight scene..which this has absolutely no pretensions of..lol

TonyGamble said:

"as the night was pitch dark."

Glad you mentioned it as I would not have realised!

Yes, the background is black but this does not look like a group lit by a bonfire.

Sorry to moan to someone who has taken the trouble to post an image - but IMHO the flash is far too strong.

Tony

Click to expand...

Fair enough!

Aperture Priority, F8, EC minus1 and FEV plus 2 on board flash.









--
www.scottzinda.com

That is indeed a great shot!

It's impressive how you managed not to get the face too white because of the flash. Her face still looks natural, despite the flash. I'll give your settings a try.

Thanks a lot for your concern.