SDQH and flash problem

[Jeffry7]

Yesterday I took my sdqh to an event where they had flash setups and let photographers use the flash remote.

I wasn't able to use the sdqh for this. I took a second camera and used that instead.

With the sdqh, I would set the recommended exposure and ISO settings. The scene would then be so dark I couldn't see anything in the viewfinder. I would half press the shutter to focus, and could see until the focus lock occurred. Then the viewfinder would go dark again.

The upshot was I couldn't frame the shot.

I suspect this is all expected behaviour. In other words, the times the scene was dark was the exposure simulation of the scene. The correct setting for flash were entirely inadequate for ambient light.

2 questions.

1. Am I correct that this is expected behaviour?

2. What does one do about it?

P.S. my second camera, a Panasonic S1, has a funny mode where it shows the scene at what it thinks is the correct exposure rather than an exposure Sim of the settings you have dialed in. I didn't know why they did this, but it was very useful at the event.

 

[xpatUSA]

Yesterday I took my sdqh to an event where they had flash setups and let photographers use the flash remote.

I wasn't able to use the sdqh for this. I took a second camera and used that instead.

P.S. my second camera, a Panasonic S1, has a funny mode where it shows the scene at what it thinks is the correct exposure rather than an exposure Sim of the settings you have dialed in. I didn't know why they did this, but it was very useful at the event.

Can't help with the sd Q H, but my Panasonic G1 is absolutely splendid when using it for IR with a filter on the lens. Framing and focusing quite possible with the default auto-brightened live view on that camera.

Kudos to Panasonic, eh?

 

[Jeffry7]

Yesterday I took my sdqh to an event where they had flash setups and let photographers use the flash remote.

I wasn't able to use the sdqh for this. I took a second camera and used that instead.

P.S. my second camera, a Panasonic S1, has a funny mode where it shows the scene at what it thinks is the correct exposure rather than an exposure Sim of the settings you have dialed in. I didn't know why they did this, but it was very useful at the event.

Can't help with the sd Q H, but my Panasonic G1 is absolutely splendid when using it for IR with a filter on the lens. Framing and focusing quite possible with the default auto-brightened live view on that camera.

Kudos to Panasonic, eh?

Yep. The lack of exposure sim was very frustrating early on until i found the switch.

But it is perfect for exotic exposure situations.

 

[Scottelly]

Yesterday I took my sdqh to an event where they had flash setups and let photographers use the flash remote.

I wasn't able to use the sdqh for this. I took a second camera and used that instead.

P.S. my second camera, a Panasonic S1, has a funny mode where it shows the scene at what it thinks is the correct exposure rather than an exposure Sim of the settings you have dialed in. I didn't know why they did this, but it was very useful at the event.

Can't help with the sd Q H, but my Panasonic G1 is absolutely splendid when using it for IR with a filter on the lens. Framing and focusing quite possible with the default auto-brightened live view on that camera.

Kudos to Panasonic, eh?

Yep. The lack of exposure sim was very frustrating early on until i found the switch.

But it is perfect for exotic exposure situations.

Jeffry did you think to look for such a mode in your SD Quattro H?

All you have to do is turn off the "Preview Exposure In M Mode" function, and then use your settings as normal (typically 1/60 at ISO 100 with whatever aperture you want to use . . . and of course you adjust exposure by adjusting the brightness/power of the strobes). Turning off "Preview Exposure In M Mode" causes the camera to try to adjust the brightness of the viewfinder to give you a picture you can see, no matter what exposure settings you use. Of course, if you go beyond what the camera can do, the screen will be too dark or light to see anything. (i.e. If you turn off every light in the room at night, with no light shining in, and it's pitch black, then the camera just can't show you anything in the viewfinder, no matter how hard it tries.)

If you want, you can use a different shutter speed than 1/60, of course. You may have a lamp in a dimly lit room, and you want it to look like it's turned on in the photo. That may require that you use a slower shutter speed, like 1/30 or 1/15 second. It depends on the brightness of the light bulb(s) in the lamp. 1/60 might be too slow, because the lamp is so bright, so you might want to shoot at 1/125 instead. I don't remember the limit, but you can't go too high, or your shutter will block some of the frame, when the strobes fire. For example, if you set the shutter speed to 1/400 about half the photo will turn out black, like someone was holding a black card in front of the camera, and blocking about half the view of the scene you're trying to shoot. At 1/800 or 1/1000 you will just get a little bit of the scene visible. Try it. It's interesting.

--
Scott Barton Kennelly
https://www.bigprintphotos.com
https://www.sigmaphotopro.com
https://www.sigmacamerapro.com

 

[Jeffry7]

Yesterday I took my sdqh to an event where they had flash setups and let photographers use the flash remote.

I wasn't able to use the sdqh for this. I took a second camera and used that instead.

P.S. my second camera, a Panasonic S1, has a funny mode where it shows the scene at what it thinks is the correct exposure rather than an exposure Sim of the settings you have dialed in. I didn't know why they did this, but it was very useful at the event.

Can't help with the sd Q H, but my Panasonic G1 is absolutely splendid when using it for IR with a filter on the lens. Framing and focusing quite possible with the default auto-brightened live view on that camera.

Kudos to Panasonic, eh?

Yep. The lack of exposure sim was very frustrating early on until i found the switch.

But it is perfect for exotic exposure situations.

Jeffry did you think to look for such a mode in your SD Quattro H?

All you have to do is turn off the "Preview Exposure In M Mode" function, and then use your settings as normal (typically 1/60 at ISO 100 with whatever aperture you want to use . . . and of course you adjust exposure by adjusting the brightness/power of the strobes). Turning off "Preview Exposure In M Mode" causes the camera to try to adjust the brightness of the viewfinder to give you a picture you can see, no matter what exposure settings you use. Of course, if you go beyond what the camera can do, the screen will be too dark or light to see anything. (i.e. If you turn off every light in the room at night, with no light shining in, and it's pitch black, then the camera just can't show you anything in the viewfinder, no matter how hard it tries.)

If you want, you can use a different shutter speed than 1/60, of course. You may have a lamp in a dimly lit room, and you want it to look like it's turned on in the photo. That may require that you use a slower shutter speed, like 1/30 or 1/15 second. It depends on the brightness of the light bulb(s) in the lamp. 1/60 might be too slow, because the lamp is so bright, so you might want to shoot at 1/125 instead. I don't remember the limit, but you can't go too high, or your shutter will block some of the frame, when the strobes fire. For example, if you set the shutter speed to 1/400 about half the photo will turn out black, like someone was holding a black card in front of the camera, and blocking about half the view of the scene you're trying to shoot. At 1/800 or 1/1000 you will just get a little bit of the scene visible. Try it. It's interesting.

Hi Scott,

I was hoping you would respond since you have a SDQ and have prob done the kind of images I was describing.

It did not occur to me to dive through the menu. Thanks to your reply I have found the menu item and will be ready next time. Thanks!

 

[Roger]

Greetings jeffry7

Yesterday I took my sdqh to an event where they had flash setups and let photographers use the flash remote.

Ok, that sounds fun

I wasn't able to use the sdqh for this.

Why??

I took a second camera and used that instead.

Always good to have a back up

With the sdqh, I would set the recommended exposure and ISO settings.

How or where did you get this settings? A flash meter or light meter?

The scene would then be so dark I couldn't see anything in the viewfinder.

Then the settings were wrong

I would half press the shutter to focus, and could see until the focus lock occurred. Then the viewfinder would go dark again.

Ok,

The upshot was I couldn't frame the shot.

Ya, from being to dark

I suspect this is all expected behaviour.

No. Why would you expect that.

In other words, the times the scene was dark was the exposure simulation of the scene.

Hmmmm

The correct setting for flash were entirely inadequate for ambient light.

When mixing flash with ambient light you meter for the ambient light and use the flash at 1/4 power of less. The flash is just for fill.

2 questions.

2 or more answers

1. Am I correct that this is expected behaviour?

No, operator error not the camera. When using the H shoot it like slide film.

2. What does one do about it?

When shooting the H using flash/studio strobe use a flash meter -1/2 stop. When using the H with ambient light meter for the ambient light turn the strobe down to 1/16 or 1/8 power just enough to fill.

P.S. my second camera, a Panasonic S1,

Great camera I had 2 but didn't use them that much so sold them and kept my Sigmas

has a funny mode where it shows the scene at what it thinks is the correct exposure rather than an exposure Sim of the settings you have dialed in. I didn't know why they did this, but it was very useful at the event.

Ya, the Panasonic had a lot of settings, it was too easy, don't have to think to much to get a good shot. Sad, but true. You can tell I come from the old days where all settings were made by the photographer.

Go back and try again. The H will do the job just fine.

Good Luck

Roger J.

 

[xpatUSA]

Greetings jeffry7

Yesterday I took my sdqh to an event where they had flash setups and let photographers use the flash remote.

Ok, that sounds fun

I wasn't able to use the sdqh for this.

Why??

I took a second camera and used that instead.

Always good to have a back up

With the sdqh, I would set the recommended exposure and ISO settings.

How or where did you get this settings? A flash meter or light meter?

The scene would then be so dark I couldn't see anything in the viewfinder.

Then the settings were wrong

I would half press the shutter to focus, and could see until the focus lock occurred. Then the viewfinder would go dark again.

Ok,

The upshot was I couldn't frame the shot.

Ya, from being to dark

I suspect this is all expected behaviour.

No. Why would you expect that.

In other words, the times the scene was dark was the exposure simulation of the scene.

Hmmmm

The correct setting for flash were entirely inadequate for ambient light.

When mixing flash with ambient light you meter for the ambient light and use the flash at 1/4 power of less. The flash is just for fill.

2 questions.

2 or more answers

1. Am I correct that this is expected behaviour?

No, operator error not the camera. When using the H shoot it like slide film.

2. What does one do about it?

When shooting the H using flash/studio strobe use a flash meter -1/2 stop. When using the H with ambient light meter for the ambient light turn the strobe down to 1/16 or 1/8 power just enough to fill.

P.S. my second camera, a Panasonic S1,

Great camera I had 2 but didn't use them that much so sold them and kept my Sigmas

has a funny mode where it shows the scene at what it thinks is the correct exposure rather than an exposure Sim of the settings you have dialed in. I didn't know why they did this, but it was very useful at the event.

Ya, the Panasonic had a lot of settings, it was too easy, don't have to think to much to get a good shot. Sad, but true. You can tell I come from the old days where all settings were made by the photographer.

Go back and try again. The H will do the job just fine.

There's nothing like reading a rather confrontational and completely unhelpful post first thing the morning.

Jeffry: 0; Roger: 1.

 

[Jeffry7]

Greetings jeffry7

Yesterday I took my sdqh to an event where they had flash setups and let photographers use the flash remote.

Ok, that sounds fun

I wasn't able to use the sdqh for this.

Why??

I took a second camera and used that instead.

Always good to have a back up

With the sdqh, I would set the recommended exposure and ISO settings.

How or where did you get this settings? A flash meter or light meter?

From a piece of paper taped near the flash setup someone else had set up. Maybe they used a flash meter, or maybe they used trial and error on the camera. I did not see the setup.

The scene would then be so dark I couldn't see anything in the viewfinder.

Then the settings were wrong

I would half press the shutter to focus, and could see until the focus lock occurred. Then the viewfinder would go dark again.

Ok,

The upshot was I couldn't frame the shot.

Ya, from being to dark

I suspect this is all expected behaviour.

No. Why would you expect that.

In other words, the times the scene was dark was the exposure simulation of the scene.

Hmmmm

The correct setting for flash were entirely inadequate for ambient light.

When mixing flash with ambient light you meter for the ambient light and use the flash at 1/4 power of less. The flash is just for fill.

We weren't though. The flash was meant to overpower the ambient light, not act as fill. These where studio strobes.

2 questions.

2 or more answers

1. Am I correct that this is expected behaviour?

No, operator error not the camera. When using the H shoot it like slide film.

2. What does one do about it?

When shooting the H using flash/studio strobe use a flash meter -1/2 stop. When using the H with ambient light meter for the ambient light turn the strobe down to 1/16 or 1/8 power just enough to fill.

P.S. my second camera, a Panasonic S1,

Great camera I had 2 but didn't use them that much so sold them and kept my Sigmas

has a funny mode where it shows the scene at what it thinks is the correct exposure rather than an exposure Sim of the settings you have dialed in. I didn't know why they did this, but it was very useful at the event.

Ya, the Panasonic had a lot of settings, it was too easy, don't have to think to much to get a good shot. Sad, but true. You can tell I come from the old days where all settings were made by the photographer.

It is a lot of fun to use though.

Go back and try again. The H will do the job just fine.

I will.

Good Luck

Roger J.

 

[Roger]

Greetings jeffry7

Yesterday I took my sdqh to an event where they had flash setups and let photographers use the flash remote.

Ok, that sounds fun

I wasn't able to use the sdqh for this.

Why??

I took a second camera and used that instead.

Always good to have a back up

With the sdqh, I would set the recommended exposure and ISO settings.

How or where did you get this settings? A flash meter or light meter?

The scene would then be so dark I couldn't see anything in the viewfinder.

Then the settings were wrong

I would half press the shutter to focus, and could see until the focus lock occurred. Then the viewfinder would go dark again.

Ok,

The upshot was I couldn't frame the shot.

Ya, from being to dark

I suspect this is all expected behaviour.

No. Why would you expect that.

In other words, the times the scene was dark was the exposure simulation of the scene.

Hmmmm

The correct setting for flash were entirely inadequate for ambient light.

When mixing flash with ambient light you meter for the ambient light and use the flash at 1/4 power of less. The flash is just for fill.

2 questions.

2 or more answers

1. Am I correct that this is expected behaviour?

No, operator error not the camera. When using the H shoot it like slide film.

2. What does one do about it?

When shooting the H using flash/studio strobe use a flash meter -1/2 stop. When using the H with ambient light meter for the ambient light turn the strobe down to 1/16 or 1/8 power just enough to fill.

P.S. my second camera, a Panasonic S1,

Great camera I had 2 but didn't use them that much so sold them and kept my Sigmas

has a funny mode where it shows the scene at what it thinks is the correct exposure rather than an exposure Sim of the settings you have dialed in. I didn't know why they did this, but it was very useful at the event.

Ya, the Panasonic had a lot of settings, it was too easy, don't have to think to much to get a good shot. Sad, but true. You can tell I come from the old days where all settings were made by the photographer.

Go back and try again. The H will do the job just fine.

Good Morning Ted

There's nothing like reading a rather confrontational and completely unhelpful post first thing the morning.

Hahahahahaha ya I was a somewhat over the top, sad to say, but I don't understand or I misunderstood how one can use a flash set up and not see what's in the viewfinder, or check the LV on the H. I must of had miss something.

You can blame it on me.

Coffee time

Roger J.

Jeffry: 0; Roger: 1.

 

[xpatUSA]

Good Morning Ted

There's nothing like reading a rather confrontational and completely unhelpful post first thing the morning.

Hahahahahaha ya I was a somewhat over the top, sad to say, but I don't understand or I misunderstood how one can use a flash set up and not see what's in the viewfinder, or check the LV on the H. I must of had miss something.

You can blame it on me.

OK man ... cool.