Using this combination, I've found that when taking indoor shots with limited available light, I still get "flashing" indicators in the viewfinder. In shutter-preferred mode, I usually set shutter to 1/60 for using flash. The aperture indicator will then flash at the maximum aperture, indicating inadequate exposure, even when the flash is attached and powered on. After exposure, though, I usually do see the flash exposure confirmation light go on. I usually can't even use aperture-preferred mode for flash shots in dim light, since the ElanIIe will "pick" a shutter speed way too slow for handheld shots, even with the flash attached. Is there anything I can do to eliminate the flashing readouts, or should I simply ignore them? Particularly in aperture-preferred mode, isn't there some way of getting a more appropriate shutter speed calculation based upon the available 380EX flash which is attached?

I'd greatly appreciate any help with this. Thanks, Dan Yu (danyu@e

-- Daniel Yu (danyu@earthlink.net), November 23, 1999

Answers

E-TTL tries to balance both flash and ambient light. The camera is smart enough in program mode to know it can't be done. Once you move to shutter, aperture or manual mode, the camera will give warnings, but as long as you are in range, the flash exposure will still be correct. In shutter and manual modes, you can either ignore the warnings and set things the way you want, or put the camera on a tripod and do what the camera suggests. In aperture priority, you can put the camera on a tripod, or set custom function 09 to 1. This will force the camera to set the shutter speed to X-sync (1/125). Again, flash exposure will be fine, but ambient will be underexposed in most cases. Short of using long exposures, there isn't much you can do about that anyway.

-- Brad Hutcheson (bhutcheson@iname.com), November 23, 1999.