does the onboard flash (with the diffuser in place) work OK for macro, or is the lower right of the frame dark?
604602
It works fine, as long as the lens is at least 3 or 4 inches away from the subject. The difusser actually does a really good job at spreading the light.
2174489
Possibly I use the flash ring on various Macro subjects frogs butterfly's but u have to be close Am using 60 mm macro and 70- 180 macro it works well you will need stutter speed of 1 250 sec at least Hope it can work for u Regards Howard
1082486
Jeffroar, have you had any luck in determining a solution? I just got my FZ100 last week and have been struggling with the same issue. Without the flash I'm amazed at how well it captures true color/light, but when I open the flash to "brighten up" my shot the resulting image is much darker. Any thought (Les or others) on if an external flash would help here by extending the range?Thanks - Rich
778493
I have a t4i. So far I can't get my pop up flash to engage with the lightscoop. Hoping there is some type of setting I can change. But most likely not gonna happen. Bummer...
2234810
I am having to think about reposition my fingers when I turn the camera on. Your natural grip has you hold the camera where the pop up flash is when you turn the camera on. I have had mixed results with the flash. On some shots it looks fantastic and seems to compensate exposure for nicely lit shots. Other times it is pretty typical of single source on-camera flash. I'm still getting use to the camera but would have liked direct access to the flash controls.
1765972
Good product, but wrong direction... this extends your len's focal length, but you want to shoot macro or shorter focal lengths, which requires (simpler) macro tubes. Some preserve autofocus, some don't, but all work. Lighting is key. Normal flashes will do poorly on a macro shot. Consider an LED ring light, or use a (chilled) pane of glass with bounce lighting or light from behind.
1460819
Ya It does that, Camera doesn't detect this flash properly, It's uses setting as if your using the camera without flash, I use it only in manual mode or slave, If you use it in shutter control mode, I will try to increase the iso and Open the apature, So Just use manual mode only.
483779
The first right to left is regular beam, turn off with a left to right, then the next right to left is the strobe function. Had I known I would of spent a bit more and got one where all the functions are on the same side. In the heat of the moment I don't want to be messing around. This info is with a underside mount
2186345
No. I use it quite often on both modes and it works very well. I assume you mean flash.
1107175
Ah, I see now. The problem is that the flash is a very small directional light source and when you shoot in portrait orientation, as you did for these photos, the flash sits on the left side of the camera and hits the subject at an angle from one side creating a noticable shadow. You won't notice such shadows as much when shooting in landscape orientation because the flash is directly above the lens and the shadows will be mostly behind the subject. To fix this shadow problem, you need to use a bigger more diffuse light source or to relocate the flash so its always above the lens. There are a number products available to diffuse or soften the built-in flash and makes it appear as a larger light source. Sorry, I haven't tried any of these devices so I can't really comment on their overall effectiveness: http://www.amazon.com/Gary-Fong-Puffer-Flash-Diffuser/dp/B0011000R6/ http://www.amazon.com/LumiQuest-Instant-Camera-Screen-Diffuser/dp/B000B5H2BE/ The problem with such devices is that they are still relatively small and the built-in flash is rather weak meaning these devices will limit your range even more. A better solution, but one that unfortunately entails much more expense, is to use an external tilt-swivel bounce flash. These can be mounted to a special bracket that lets you move them so they're always above the lens. But, even better, they can be bounced off a white ceiling in any orientation (if they swivel) giving you a much larger effective light source that is softer and MUCH more flattering to your subjects (for best results, you'll also need to use a "bounce card" - a white index card rubberbanded to the back of the flash works very well - to throw a little of the light forward to brighten shadows and light up eyes). The difference using bounce flash is so dramatic that the expense may be worth it to you. I hope that helps.
779508
The flash does pop up on the top left, but it never got in my way. Although I haven't used the flash a ton.
1425344
No! The buttons illuminate when pushed, or light up through the sequence of a system macro, but no back lighting.
1217846
This camera will work as a standard onboard camera flash. That is in total darkness, a subject a few feet away will be lit but anything in the background will be black in the automatic settings. You can put the flash into slow sync mode which will slow the shutter speed down to try and capture more background but that is likely to cause shaky pictures and does not make the flash any stronger. An onboard flash like this is really designed for working as a fill flash when shooting a high contrast scene. However, if you need a quick happy snap it does work to get a picture in dark environments. On manual setting you can do better. Flash power really depends on the aperture setting of you lens and your ISO. So in a manual mode you can use this flash in dark environments. First set your camera to manual and set the aperture as wide as it will go. A 1.4 or 1.8 lens is going to work best to increase the effectiveness of the flash but just set your lens wide open. Next set your shutter speed to 1/30 or 1/60 depending on how steady you shoot and how long the lens is. Now you need to crank up the ISO on the camera to get a -1 or -2 exposure or up to ISO3200 to 6400 which ever comes first. In JPEG those ISO are going to be usable for a computer screen or smaller printing. But you want to keep your ISO as low as possible. Now pop your flash up and shoot. If you were able to get to the -1 or -2 EV then you shoot have a nice picture of a properly exposed subject and a slightly underexposed background. This is a look I often go for anyway. At aperture settings of 1.4 and 1.8, you can point this flash at the roof and bounce it off 8 ft ceilings to get nice diffused lighting on the subject. It is not an incredibly powerful flash but if you know what you are doing it works great for the vast majority of situations.
2275300
I love this. For the money it is great. I think it works better with the flash. (I only used with the flash for readings.) Ambient light, I am not so sure. :-)
926307
Make sure your flash is set to ettl, thats the way you can make changes.to the flash, even for manual flash.
2034336
If you turn the flash off, it does a reasonable job in low light. It also has backlight and fill flash settings, so that you can adjust the use of flash to your needs.
2201490
the macro is very good, you can see veins on a flower less than an inch across. The only issue I found is with lighting, when you are shooting macros in low light, the onboard flash will be partially blocked...in these cases, I back up a few inches and crop in post production, you don't lose much if any definition. It is also very touchy about focusing in tight spaces, a trick I have used is to use my fingers beside my subject, focus on my fingers then move the camera while holding the focus. all that aside, I love this camera, it truly does it all...macro to sports. Highly recommend. the macro is very good, you can see veins on a flower less than an inch across. The only issue I found is with lighting, when you are shooting macros in low light, the onboard flash will be partially blocked...in these cases, I back up a few inches and crop in post production, you don't lose much if any definition. It is also very touchy about focusing in tight spaces, a trick I have used is to use my fingers beside my subject, focus on my fingers then move the camera while holding the focus. all that aside, I love this camera, it truly does it all...macro to sports. Highly... » Read More the macro is very good, you can see veins on a flower less than an inch across. The only issue I found is with lighting, when you are shooting macros in low light, the onboard flash will be partially blocked...in these cases, I back up a few inches and crop in post production, you don't lose much if any definition. It is also very touchy about focusing in tight spaces, a trick I have used is to use my fingers beside my subject, focus on my fingers then move the camera while holding the focus. all that aside, I love this camera, it truly does it all...macro to sports. Highly recommend. « Show Less