Slow-synch flash in manual on an X100

barrieluv

barrieluv

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Please forgive me if this is in the wrong forum...

I have been getting started with some light trails (wire wool spinning & light graffiti) and have had some decent results on my X100.
However, one of the shots I wanted to do was to start the exposure, use a torch to outline my friends body shape and then use the flash at the end of the exposure to light her.
But, I find that in manual mode the slow synch option on the internal flash disappears. I did try using the flash at the beginning of the exposure by using the forced flash option but this did not light her properly. Perhaps the internal flash isn't powerful enough.

If I purchased an external flash (looking at the EF-20 or EF-42TTL), would I then be able to get the result I want?

Or have I got this all wrong?

TIA
 
What you want is rear (or 2nd) curtain sync where the flash fires at the end rather than start of the exposure - slow sync is where it uses a longer shutter speed to allow more detail in the background beyond the flashes immediate range to be recorded and as so it is unavailable in manual mode as your setting the shutter speed.
 
barrieluv said:
Please forgive me if this is in the wrong forum...

I have been getting started with some light trails (wire wool spinning & light graffiti) and have had some decent results on my X100.
However, one of the shots I wanted to do was to start the exposure, use a torch to outline my friends body shape and then use the flash at the end of the exposure to light her.
But, I find that in manual mode the slow synch option on the internal flash disappears. I did try using the flash at the beginning of the exposure by using the forced flash option but this did not light her properly. Perhaps the internal flash isn't powerful enough.

If I purchased an external flash (looking at the EF-20 or EF-42TTL), would I then be able to get the result I want?

Or have I got this all wrong?

TIA
Click to expand...

It sounds like the flash is not powerful enough. Push the ISO to maximise that, then balance it with total shutter time to optimise the exposures.

First or second sync makes no difference to the exposure, and first curtain is favourite as it will allow you to pose your GF better.
 
s162216 said:
What you want is rear (or 2nd) curtain sync where the flash fires at the end rather than start of the exposure - slow sync is where it uses a longer shutter speed to allow more detail in the background beyond the flashes immediate range to be recorded and as so it is unavailable in manual mode as your setting the shutter speed.
Click to expand...

Thank you. This seems to make sense.

There is no rear-curtain sync available to me at all, so I'm guessing I'll have to either use a torch to light her at the end or get a flash unit that I can fire manually.

@HoppyUK I did fire the flash at the start of the exposure but it really made very little difference. So, yes, something more powerful might be in order.

The offending image, f/11 20secs ISO100 Forced Flash
DSCF0429gmpd.JPG
 
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IMHO there is no flash at all in that image.

X100 has a slow-sync mode I think. That's the one you want. Even the rather feeble on-board flash should be able to cope at that range.
 
And it doesn't matter for your image whether the flash fires at the beginning or end of the exposure.
 
Thank you all for the advice and I'll have another crack at it soon :)

@Phil V I kind of got the impression from the tutorials I've watched and read that it would be preferable to fire the flash at the end of the exposure. But, I agree, it shouldn't make a difference with a static (well, nearly static) subject.

Further reading (I really should have looked this up first) suggests that the X100 shutter doesn't use curtains, hence the lack of a rear-curtain sync.

So, next time I'll try some different settings and maybe bump up the flash output as well.
 
barrieluv said:
Thank you all for the advice and I'll have another crack at it soon :)

@Phil V I kind of got the impression from the tutorials I've watched and read that it would be preferable to fire the flash at the end of the exposure. But, I agree, it shouldn't make a difference with a static (well, nearly static) subject.

Further reading (I really should have looked this up first) suggests that the X100 shutter doesn't use curtains, hence the lack of a rear-curtain sync.

So, next time I'll try some different settings and maybe bump up the flash output as well.
Click to expand...

A lot of people don't understand second-curtain sync and believe it's some kind of magic bullet, by somehow overlaying the flash exposure more prominently because it's fired last. Not true. However, it's a very useful technique for moving subjects when the direction of that movement is both important and controllable, but apart from that there are downsides too.

Not sure why the Fuji X100 doesn't have a 'second curtain' feature. Although it doesn't have shutter curtains as such, but leaf-shutter blades, there's no reason why it couldn't fire the flash just before they close.

The problem with your posted pic is the flash has not fired at all ;)
 
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