flash confusion

Joined: 15 Apr 2005 Posts: 266 Location: South Australia

Hey all,

I've been messing with my flash a bit lately trying to just get a better understanding of it and be more confident with it. I've read some great articles on the net and I decided to play around with setting the flash power using the manual setting (I've been using my flash remotely on a stand by the way.)
The thing is, for example, I set the flash to commander mode on the camera and to 1/4 power. I then set my 50/1.8 lens to f5.6 and 1/60th. Took a photo in my room. Then I took a photo at 1/125th and then 1/128th. They all look identical which has me completely confused.
Anyone help me out here?

Cheers
Benen

Joined: 26 Jan 2005 Posts: 360 Location: Revere, Boston

flash, and its effects are controlled by aperture not shutter speed...

read this:

http://www.sederquist.com/claflash.html

Joined: 13 Jan 2007 Posts: 245 Location: Maryland

Quote:

for example, I set the flash to commander mode on the camera and to 1/4 power. I then set my 50/1.8 lens to f5.6 and 1/60th. Took a photo in my room. Then I took a photo at 1/125th and then 1/128th. They all look identical which has me completely confused.

The burst of light from the flash is sooooo short, it is far quicker than most shutter speeds on a camera. Certainly faster than the speeds you used for your testing.

The flash had done it's job by lighting the scene and gone out to pasture before your fastest shutter speed even got to mid life crisis.

So changing the shutter speed will do nothing for the flash exposure. It's just too darn quick to be controlled by shutter speed.

Like alenxVR6 said, the aperture will control how much of the light from the flash gets captured.

Joined: 26 Jan 2005 Posts: 360 Location: Revere, Boston

here is another great link:

http://strobist.blogspot.com/

Joined: 15 Apr 2005 Posts: 266 Location: South Australia

Thanks for your replies guys :) I figured it out last night while i was reading at strobist.blogspot.com. I feel like a tool haha.