Canon 10D

[Bobatnathrop]

I am considering getting a 10D. I have been doing some research and the one thing that I can not find is, if you are able to disable the pre-flash on them? Or if there is a way to get around it so that you can use slaves with it? Will turning the lenses to MF do the trick?

Thanks,
Jeremy

[caver_jolly]

Preflash is a big problem and it can't be turned of. On the internet there can be found a lot of home made slave units for digital cameras, where you can set on which flash the slave will respond. (first, second, third..) I'll post a link later.

[caver_jolly]

Here are three links, take a look and decide

http://www.siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_30754/article.html

http://hem.bredband.net/b145080/Slaveflash/

http://www.sindlar.com/photo/flash_trig ... igger.html

The last one we tried to build, but in Slovenia I can't get the components, maybe you'll have some more luck.

http://www.fancon.cz/slave-flash-en.html

[Realms]

Hey Bobatnathrop

The camera you are looking at has 4 flash modes. They are: Auto, On, Red-eye reduction, Off

Here are some setup tips that work for me.
1. Use a lens with a manual aperture.
2. Be sure you have focus set to manual and not to auto.
3. Use the "ON" setting on the flash options not auto.

In tip 1, I have found in using auto aperture lens that the delay is to long and the light from the slave does not show up (yes I have lowered my shutter speed to compensate but to no avail-even at 1+second) Use a lens with a manual aperture ring.

In tip 2, leaving the focus set to auto indicates that the camera has to do its own focusing. To do that it needs light (guess where the light comes from?....the flash) So yeah turn off auto focus. Its right there near the front of the camera and easy to do.

In tip 3, using the flash setting "ON" is pretty much general and works well for pretty much everything. It will not pre-flash. That is only for red-eye reduction and for focusing as mentioned above.

Also remember to attach a small piece of developed yet unexposed film over the camera flash as you don't want light in your pic coming from that flash yet it will still set off the slaves with the IR that passes through the film.

Another tip is run the ISO as low as you can get it (ISO 100 on this camera)

When using a fully manual capable DSLR such as the one you are eying, many of the flash problems associated with many of the point and shoots don't carry over. This is true most of the time.

Below is a link to the specs on the camera you are looking at

Good luck and happy shooting!


http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/canon_eos10d.asp

[Bobatnathrop]

Thanks for the help. I was messing aroud with the 20D at work today and came up with some things that I could try.

Thanks, Realms for the info. I havnt decide to buy the 10D yet. I am still looking. I am haveing a hard time even thinking about paying $500 for a camera body.

Jolly, thanks for the links. I have been useing FireFlys and I know that some where you can get a digital upgrade for them. Just not sure where yet.

[Dave Bunnell]

As Nathan notes, pre-flash is not an issue on this or other digital SLRs, so you don't need special digital slaves. Rather than taping something over the flash, which might interfere with it being able to pop up properly, you should be able to dial down its power. On Nikon DSLRs you can go down to -3.0, which is enough that it doesn't show up even in close-ups (assuming you're at a fairly narrow aperture like f/8 or smaller). Doing this also prolongs your battery life tremendously.

Here's a review link for the 10D which is a discontinued model:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/canon_eos10d.asp

Dave