----- Original Message -----
From: CyberSimian <CyberSimian@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Olympus Mailing List <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, July 16, 2002 6:48 PM
Subject: [OM] Fill-in Flash with Olympus Flashguns
> I have T32 and T18 flashguns. I have never tried fill-in flash with them,
> as I have always thought that it is too fiddly. As I understand it, I
need
> to:
>
> (1) Set the camera on manual.
> (2) Use an aperture that gives a shutter speed of 1/60 or slower for the
> ambient light.
> (3) Use neutral-density filters or slow film if I want a shallow depth of
> field.
> (4) Set the flash on manual.
> (5) Choose the manual power setting (T32) that gives a flash exposure
> roughly 1 to 2 stops less than the guide number indicates.
> (6) Move towards or away from the subject to fine-tune the amount of
flash
> illumination relative to ambient.
>
> Yes, far too fiddly! But for people shots in sunlight, those harsh
shadows
> really are ugly. So I have been thinking about the F280 (I have an
OM4Ti).
> How easy is it to do fill-in flash with the F280+OM4Ti? Is it simply a
> question of setting the flash on "Super FP" and the aperture to a give a
> shutter speed faster than 1/60, or is it more complicated than that? Does
> the F280 automatically go into a "fill-in flash" mode if there is
sufficient
> ambient light to make a correct exposure? All advice welcome! Thanks.
>
> -- from Cy in the UK
Cy, using your T32 for fill flash is not all that difficult. Just do what
most restaurant photographers do and have your outdoor portrait shots preset
and you will almost always get good results. If you notice all they ever do
is focus.
For any outdoor shots (using colour film) at a range up to 15 feet I always
use a flash. It gives the colour prints that extra punch and makes the
colour really stand out.
Here in Sydney Australia it is always sunny, ;-) and daytime outside
portrait shots will give that shadowy look. I almost always use ISO 100
film. Using any OM camera set to manual and 60th second shutter speed. Use
whatever Zuiko you like. Try to stand between 7 to 10 feet from the
subject and meter the shot in the normal way (as long as the subject does
not completely fill the frame) and set the aperture to the requested
setting. It usually comes out at f8 or f11. Set the T32 to manual and 1/2
power and take the photo. If you are closer than 5 feet just place a piece
of tissue over the flash face or cover 1/2 of it with your fingers, likewise
if you are further away than 10 feet (say 15 to 20) set the T32 to full
power and take the photo.
After a while doing this for outdoor portrait shots becomes second nature.
This is very un-scientific but it does work. Reason is that the ambient
light is so much stronger than the T32. Some of the results will be duds
but that is always the case. I think that you will be pleasantly surprised.
Of course if you have a Ti and an F280 just ignore the above.
Michael.
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