Page 151 - Friedman Archives

Flash Compensation 151

nd
the end, coinciding with the 2 or “rear” shutter curtain? Most cameras
will only fire the flash at the beginning of the exposure. The Rear-Sync
function tells the camera to select the second option: fire the flash near the
end of the exposure, at a time when the rear shutter curtain would close.
When would you want to do this? See Figure 5-17.

5.9 FLASH COMPENSATION

Menu Position Menu  2  Flash Comp.

What it Does Allows you to specify whether the camera generates more
flash or less flash intensity

Recommended Setting 0 when flash is used as a sole source of light in a
dark room; -1 when used outdoors as fill flash

Constraints Not available in iAuto and many Scene modes

This was a long section in the original A77 book, describing all the
problems and how best to correct for them. But for the A77 II Sony has
tweaked the flash exposure algorithms and now it will expose your subjects
properly. Huzzah!
But as you can see by my tests in Figure 5-19, this function still has
problems. There's no appreciable difference between Flash compensation
value of -1 or -3. Oh, well.
The Flash Compensation function only varies the intensity of the flash
(either pop-up or accessory) when it’s used – it has no effect on the ambient
light (for that, you should use the Exposure Compensation function
(Section 5.16), which adjusts BOTH the ambient AND flash).