Thank you, Adam, for your detailed commentary. Also, I thank everyone else who has responded--even the fellow who said I should have bought a Pentax (Dave, I think) :-)
Adam: I tried dialing-in the -0.7 FEC value you suggest. It seems the N80 will take only 1/2 increments (-0.5, -1.0, etc.). I do not see any other way to set it. Is there something I am missing? Also, if I am correct about this, would -0.5 be sufficient, or would I be wasting my time?...or is this just another reason to look into an F100 (as you have suggested)? Glen On Oct 3, 2007, at 9:47 AM, Adam Maas wrote: > Glen Tortorella wrote: >> Hi all, >> >> Since I have a new, more "advanced" body, the N80, I tried taking >> some shots I would have avoided in the past. The results were >> awful-- >> not one good shot on the entire role, a miserable 0-for-24 (Kodak >> Gold 200). >> >> In the past, I would avoid two types of shots: 1) indoor shots and 2) >> outdoor "high sun" shots in the fair weather months (i.e. during the >> hours of about 10:00-4:00). In doing so, I have assured myself >> decent, but not necessarily perfect, results. Since the N80 has a >> better metering system (10-segment) and a pop-up flash that is >> supposed to be pretty good, I figured: "let me see what it can do." >> As I have said, the results were dreadful. Here are the main issues. >> >> 1) Every indoor flash shot showed at least moderate spotlight/wash- >> out effect of the subject (people). > > Dial in -0.7 stops of Flash exposure compensation when shooting > people with Nikon flashes (including the popup). Leave this > permanently dialed in. > >> 2) On the outdoor "high sun" shots, the camera turned a seemingly >> minor shadows (through the viewfinder) on the subject's face into a >> black blobs that covered almost all of the subject's face. > > Add flash, leave the -0.7 stops of FEC dialed in. > >> 3) When taking indoor shots with the flash, I would meter (10- >> segment) something like 1/30 or 1/45 or perhaps 1/60 at, say, f2. >> With the flash powered up, I do not think it ever metered >> differently. For example, 1/30 at f/2 was still 1/30 at f/2 with the >> flash enabled. Is this correct, or is there something wrong with my >> camera? > > That is correct, the N80 will attempt to balance the exposure if it > can get the shutter between 1/125 and 1/30 or so, with a slight > bias towards the flash illumination (hence the FEC I recommend). If > you want a pure flash exposure, shoot in manual. > > >> 4) The one decent shot in the whole role--an indoor shot using only >> available light...go figure?--was spoiled by some sort of small speck >> on the subject's face. I usually keep my filter free of dust, etc. >> Could this speck have appeared as a result of the cheap processing I >> used (Wal-Mart C-41)? > > Probably. Check your negs. > >> >> I know that using a fill flash may have alleviated the problem >> expressed in issue number 2, but, since I have had my subjects turn a >> bit ghastly by using the flash, I am hesitant to use it indoors or >> outdoors. I would appreciate any advice or commentary (or even pep >> talk), as I am pretty down about this. What good is a more >> "advanced" camera if I cannot even come remotely close to >> satisfactory results on the more difficult shots (i.e. indoor, "high >> sun," etc.)? >> >> Thanks, >> Glen >> >> > > Fill flash is your friend, but remember direct flash always looks a > bit ghastly. A (cheap) SB-24 and an SC-17 or SC-28 cord will get > the flash off-camera with full TTL, and is a much better option. > > -Adam > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above > and follow the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
