I have Rebel 2000. Can somebody tell me how to use built in flash in creative zone. For example, if I want to make picture of somebody in room with dim bulb lighting. What should I set to get a good portrait and the same time a good background. Are the focusing points somehow exchange information with the flash? Can I focus and then reframe my picture or it will effect the total exposure calculated by the camera?

-- Bassil (goral@mail.ru), December 13, 2001

Answers

it depends. if the room is too dark for the standard 1/60 sec. at 5.6 with flash then the subject will be well lit but the background will be dark by however many stops it is below your exposure. to give you an idea of how flash ttl works listen to this. i took a portrait of my dad at a football stadium. it was of him under the shade of the upperdeck looking down on to the field. it was sunny on the field so i set my ellan iie on manual for the sunny 16 rule. then i composed the shot and used my pop-up flash to illuminate him and let ttl do the rest. it worked, giving me an evenly exposed picture. basically, if you want a natural looking photograph of someone and their surroundings you must make the exposure itself as close to what the natural exposure without flash would be. if the flash is the main source of light then you are pretty much sol. good luck.

-- Jeff Nakayama (moonduck22@hotmail.com), December 13, 2001.

"What should I set to get a good portrait and the same time a good background."

Jeff answered this but I'll add that to get a dim background exposed correctly you need to use a slow shutter speed & fast film. A large lens aperture helps too. I would set the Camera to Av mode and mount it on a tripod as the shutter will likely be too slow to hand hold. Pop up the flash, tell your subject not to move & then take the picture.

"Are the focusing points somehow exchange information with the flash? Can I focus and then reframe my picture or it will effect the total exposure calculated by the camera?"

Yes, the flash does bias the exposure in the general area of the center or side depending on what AF point is active. So focusing and then reframing your picture is not usually a good idea, as the active AF point may not be the area where you want to insure good exposure. The exception to this is using the Flash Exposure Lock (FEL) feature, wich only works if you have an external EX series Speedlite attached.

-- Jim Strutz (j.strutz@gci.net), December 13, 2001.

The effective range for f5.6 is only 2.14 meters for your built in flash. Make sure your subject is in range, else it will not be properly exposed. Lastly, remove your lens hood if any.

-- Jason Poh (Jasonpgc@yahoo.com), December 13, 2001.

Flash range is 2.14 meters (just under 7 feet), at f5.6 with ISO 100 speed film.

With 400 speed film, range would double to just under 14 feet.

-- Kenneth Katz (ken.katz@gecapital.com), December 14, 2001.