Yes. I'm one-handing the camera using single-frame AF, with a small dedicated flash held high in my left hand. The Pentax flash can be controlled in wireless mode by signals emitted from the camera's built-in flash, the output of which can be suppressed so there's no "flash on camera" look. Most of the light from the flash is aimed at the ceiling in a broad beam (wide-angle diffuser in place) while a small amount of light is sent straight forward by a small white plastic (built-in) bounce panel.
With a bit of practice and some judgment calls on over-rides for either/or exposure/flash-output, you can get some pretty natural-looking results from backlit scenes that would otherwise completely surpass the sensor's tonal range. As I recall I used center-weighted meter mode and dialed in 2/3 of a stop of +compensation.
Putting the camera on a tripod won't do a thing to increase the sensor's tonal range, so the flash will still be needed. Meanwhile the tripod will interfere with the other visitors' access to the room, which was sometimes crowded and cramped. Also make me far more conspicuous and much slower to respond and shoot.
my comment was a poor attempt to make a joke about working in large format and all the comments I get in the field when people wander up to me and say '...you should be doing digital, it's easier'. seems the other way around to me!
Well sure, there are lots of times when large format is "the easy way." No amount of struggling with a digital capture file will let it approach the descriptive power of an 8x10 negative...
...plus, with a view camera, you get to stand back view the image in the ground glass like a gentleman - no holding the camera in one hand, holding a flash in the other (then again, there was this one windy day......)
Washington Depot, CT
7 comments:
carl,
were using any flash here? I was wondering with all the window light how the meter didn't get blown out?
Lyle,
Yes. I'm one-handing the camera using single-frame AF, with a small dedicated flash held high in my left hand. The Pentax flash can be controlled in wireless mode by signals emitted from the camera's built-in flash, the output of which can be suppressed so there's no "flash on camera" look. Most of the light from the flash is aimed at the ceiling in a broad beam (wide-angle diffuser in place) while a small amount of light is sent straight forward by a small white plastic (built-in) bounce panel.
With a bit of practice and some judgment calls on over-rides for either/or exposure/flash-output, you can get some pretty natural-looking results from backlit scenes that would otherwise completely surpass the sensor's tonal range. As I recall I used center-weighted meter mode and dialed in 2/3 of a stop of +compensation.
camera on a tripod, may be heavier, but seems a hell of lot easier!
Putting the camera on a tripod won't do a thing to increase the sensor's tonal range, so the flash will still be needed. Meanwhile the tripod will interfere with the other visitors' access to the room, which was sometimes crowded and cramped. Also make me far more conspicuous and much slower to respond and shoot.
my comment was a poor attempt to make a joke about working in large format and all the comments I get in the field when people wander up to me and say '...you should be doing digital, it's easier'. seems the other way around to me!
Well sure, there are lots of times when large format is "the easy way." No amount of struggling with a digital capture file will let it approach the descriptive power of an 8x10 negative...
...plus, with a view camera, you get to stand back view the image in the ground glass like a gentleman - no holding the camera in one hand, holding a flash in the other (then again, there was this one windy day......)
Post a Comment