Turning off the flash

[Ralph]

I accidentally forgot to turn off the flash when taking a pic recently so I took it again. The difference between them is striking. Just thought I'd offer this experience for anyone who uses their flash and isn't completely satisfied with their pictures.

Flash...


No flash...

[BR60103]

I've noticed that too. I wish there was an actual switch to turn it off so that it didn't have to be done every time the camera turns off.
For those who haven't tried it: it doesn't do well with handheld; you need a tripod or at least to set it down on the layout for a time exposure.

[e-paw]

I never use the flash on any of my layout or model pics. It just washes out a lot of the detail. Instead I will set the F stop to around F 22 with the camera on the aperture priority setting, with the ASA set to 100. I will also use a tripod with the shutter on a 10 second timer to avoid any blur from camera shake. The camera does the rest. Most of the pics end up having a 5 to 10 second exposure.

And they look like this......

   


   


   


   


   

All of the shots that I have posted on The Gauge over the last year or so were taken with a Canon Rebel T-3i. Before that I used a small Canon Powershot SD400.

[nachoman]

My camera works best if I set it to "night scene" and place it on the layout (or on a tripod if I had one). I then set the timer so that the motion of my finger pressing the shutter does not move the camera. The night scene setting keeps the exposure until there is enough light for the sensors. And I keep the flash off. There's actually quite a few different settings with those point and shoot cameras and you can take some decent layout photos if you know what you are doing. The biggest issue I have is that there seems to be some distortion at the edges of photos when taken close up (straight lines are slightly curved). I think that is due to the small lens diameter.