Make sure your digital camera flash offers enough range for your needs.
Whether you prefer a compact or a single-lens reflex digital camera, both offer flash capabilities. Some digital cameras have flash units built into the camera, while other models offer the option to attach a digital-compatible auxiliary flash to the camera body. Both styles of digital flash units have specific benefits and limitations. Decide which you want by comparing certain important features.
Compatibility
If you're using a digital camera equipped with a hotshoe, look for an auxiliary flash unit designed to function with your brand of digital camera. Examine the sensor points on the base of the flash unit and compare them with the sensor points on the hotshoe of the camera. The patterns should look identical. This ensures the flash and camera can communicate seamlessly. Flash units designed for film cameras can often function manually on digital cameras, but setting the flash manually disables many of the advanced features of a high-end flash.
Maximum Output
Every flash unit has a flash range, or maximum distance the light can travel to illuminate the subject. Compact digital cameras have the shortest range, commonly falling between four and 10 feet.
Auxiliary flash units, which can attach to high-end compact digital cameras or single-lens reflex digital cameras equipped with a hotshoe, offer the greatest flash range. Inexpensive flash models can increase the photographer's flash range to up to 40 feet. High-end auxiliary flash units can illuminate subjects well over 250 feet away from the camera.
Flash Modes
Although the features of digital camera flashes vary by manufacturer, all compact digital camera flashes offer a similar set of modes. The most popular default mode is "Auto." The camera chooses when you need extra light to expose a photograph, and fires the flash unit when you press the camera's shutter button.
Some "Auto" modes on compact digital cameras pair with a red-eye reduction feature. Just before the flash emits a burst of light, the unit sends out a series of small pre-flash pulses of light to reduce the subject's pupil size. This deters the reflection of the blood vessels in the eyes, a phenomenon known as red-eye.
The "Auto" mode doesn't know when you're exercising your creativity. For example, sunsets occur in dim light, so your flash will likely fire. To properly expose a sunset with items in the foreground silhouetted, you don't want the flash to go off. In this instance, turn the camera flash to the "Off" setting. No matter how dark the scene, the flash will not fire.
To add a small burst of light to an already well-lit scene, turn on the "Fill Flash" option. This setting works to fill in shadows or add a sparkle to the eyes. Try this feature when taking pictures of people standing outside in the shade. (See Reference 1)
For a full burst of light -- to illuminate a dimly lit scene -- use the "Auto" setting or the "On" setting. The "On" option causes the flash to fire every time you press the shutter button, regardless of the amount of light in the scene. (See Reference 1)
Manual Settings
Auxiliary flash units usually offer manual settings not often found on a built-in flash. Features to look for include the ability to adjust the flash output with a low-power mode, change the flash sync or use the flash as a slave unit to signal other flash units to fire at the same time as the main unit.
A low-power setting allows the photographer to scale back the power of the auxiliary flash burst for a fill-flash type effect. Common settings include half-power, 1/4 power and even pulses of light rated at 1/32 of a full burst.
Some digital camera flash units offer first or rear-curtain sync settings. Sync settings determine when in the camera exposure the flash will go off. For example, when taking a long-exposure picture of a moving car in the evening, use the rear-curtain sync setting to capture a trail of streaming lights left behind the car.
Accessorizing the Flash
All types of flash units can accept optional accessories to enhance or alter the look of your photographs. A diffuser panel attached to the front of a flash will soften the burst of light, giving the photo a natural-light look, rather than a harsh, flat light.
If you're using an auxiliary flash unit, consider an optional bracket, or off-camera flash cord. These two accessories allow you to experiment with side lighting and to take pictures without the flash firing directly in front of the subject.
Tags: digital camera, digital cameras, flash units, flash unit, burst light, flash will
