Typical Flash Options for Digital SLRs

Using your pop-up flash is an entry into using flash when you’re shooting photography with your digital SLR. If you start using your pop-up flash now, when you’re ready to progress to a more sophisticated and expensive hot shoe flash unit, for example, you can hit the ground running. The problem is that flash photography can be difficult to master and has more options than you may realize. You will be able to adapt the flash on your digital SLR to any situation, however, if you learn the following flash options:



  • Auto TTL; automatic flash mode: Flash strength determined by the camera and flash. TTL is short for through the lens, which is how the flash assesses the scene to determine exposure and distance information, if possible.



  • Red-eye reduction: Fires a series of preflashes to constrict people’s pupils, diminishing the chances of red-eye.



  • Fill flash: Forces the flash to fire in conditions when it isn’t necessary in order to eliminate shadows and balance the light. Use outdoors to keep people’s faces from being in shadow. Use indoors in bright lighting to balance light from windows.



  • Slow sync: Slows the shutter and flash to increase the amount of ambient light that contributes to the photo. The result is brighter backgrounds. You may have to raise ISO to keep the shutter speed fast enough for handheld photography or use a tripod, especially at night.



  • High speed sync: Pulses the flash at lower strengths throughout an exposure that is faster than the sync speed of the flash and camera. Normally, the shutter is completely exposed when the flash goes off. At higher shutter speeds, the shutter curtains are traveling close enough together that the sensor is never fully uncovered. The limit beyond which the sensor cannot be uncovered at one time is called the flash sync speed. The sync speed varies from camera to camera, but 1/160 to 1/250 second sync speeds are normal.


    High speed sync strobes a low-powered flash throughout the exposure to compensate for the sensor never fully being uncovered. A single, bright flash would not expose the entire frame evenly.


    Useful to make fill flash possible in bright conditions when overexposing the photo is a problem at shutter speeds within the normal sync speed of the flash.



  • Rear-curtain (2nd curtain): Normally, the flash fires immediately after the first shutter curtain exposes the sensor (a second shutter curtain trails to cover the sensor back up and end the exposure). This is either assumed or called front-curtain (or 1st curtain) flash.


    Rear-curtain waits to fire the flash until just before the exposure ends, which is right before the second curtain covers the sensor again. Moving objects create ghost trails during the exposure and are frozen at the end. Moving lights register throughout.



  • Repeating flash: Divides the flash into a number of discrete pulses, which results in interesting photos showing a stroboscopic effect.



  • Wireless: Enables wireless mode on compatible flashes and camera bodies. When it’s properly configured, you can use an off-camera flash without wires.



  • Manual: Lets you set the strength of the flash yourself in Manual mode.






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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/typical-flash-options-for-digital-slrs.html

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