R5 indoor pictures??

[bailey]

hi guys,
sorry to be a pain again with what are possibly easy answers? if your original cd installed correctly or u have paper manual to read as supplied (which as second user i unfortuanately do not)
but anyway i was wondering if anyone could suggest good settings for indoor pictures as the AUTO flash settings seem a bit (very!!!) on the bright side!, (especially faces) and if i turn off the flash (for more realistic picture then the all important anti-shake function does'nt appear to work - which seems to me! very strange not to apply to every still image????????) and therefore blurred images can easily occur (and do!), i guess this is where the hard work, dedication and skill (with good luck thrown in!) starts.
please be patient with my slow learning curve!, any help much appreciated as always!
regards bailey.

 

[Wiener]

Hi bailey,
I am not familiar with the R5, but it the camera menu will advise if a softer flash option is available other than auto or forced perhaps? Or try moving your faces further from the camera? Screwing the Exposure Compensation down to -2.0 might also be worth a try?
Digital cameras are not any different to the good 'old' film cameras when it comes to shooting without flash in low light. You either need a tripod or a high ISO number dialed in.
As with film cameras, high ISO comes with high grain, so this may not be an option if it is fine grained images that you are after.
Low shutter speeds which result from setting a low ISO in poor light will not be overcome by the 'anti-shake' device built into the camera, and people moving during the duration of the exposure cannot be compensated for anyway...
These anti-shake devices cannot produce miracles, only helping a little to steady the image when the conditions become marginal (perhaps only or one and one half stops, maximum). Perhaps the day will come when we can all hand-hold a 10 minute exposure...but not yet!
Interesting thought though!
Not sure if this helps...perhaps your local library would have a general book on these topics?
Cheers!
Andy

 

[tommy]

My first Ricoh was a R5, but it now belongs to my sister. The flash on R5 is unfortunately not very good, but it can be used with some work and trickery.

The main problem is that R5 sets the strength of the flash relative to the distance of what's in your picture, and almost always gets it wrong. I think there are two causes for this. One is that R5 often get the focus distance a little wrong (makes big difference to the flash), and the other seems to be it also includes stuff further away in the picture in the calculation. If you stand butt against a wall and take a flash portrait with default settings it should be pretty ok, but if you step away from the wall, the camera will still try to lit up the far behind wall with a stronger flash, completely drowning your face in bright flash light (watch your eyes!).

One workaround is to set Exposure Compensation between -1.0 and -2.0, but it requires trial and error with each picture to get the compensation right. Another workaround is to half-press to lock focus and exposure, and then back away to fool the camera that everything is closer and does not need so much flash, but this only works if the DOF is big enough so the subject doesn't get out of focus.



Other options is to use timed exposure and a tripod. I use the small and easy to carry (more or less pocketable) Gorillapod, which can be placed on a table or clang to almost anything with its bendable legs. This gives a more pleasant light, and the motion blur can sometimes add to the mode in the picture.



Another option is to use ISO1600 and B/W mode, and embrace the grainy pictures.

 

[bailey]

hi Andy and Tommy,
thanks for your replies, the suggestions you gave certainly help to minimise glaring bright white faces in nightime indoor pictures, so i am experimenting with higher ISO and lower exposure settings, while still using auto flash setting (seems to apply anti-shake corrections)
it is a shame that in the camera scenes menu when set in "Nightscape" (for recording people at night, tripod recommended-so it says in the menu description) that the anti-shake is not (or cannot be?) applied as the colouring/tones etc look great its just the images get very blurred,
thankyou again for the all the very helpful advice.
bailey

 

[bailey]

hi again Andy and Tommy'
Tripod (have been using kitchen table etc!) and timed exposure way to go !!!!!!! (10 sec on R5 seems better to me? could be my imagination), much clearer picture and nicer lighting, as my eye see's it, as long as subject still that is! but u can get very unusual pictures if they move!
have also found that timed exposure (in nightscape on R5) helps even without tripod, perhaps i press shutter too hard and the camera moves? am starting not to like auto flash at all on r5!
thanks again for your help as i doubt i would have worked this out for myself!
bailey