K10D built in flash

dales · 12-25-2007, 06:26 PM

Just wondering what the distance limitation is for this camera using the built in flash & the 18-55mm kit lens. I took some pics. last night using the bulb mode/changed the menu to flash & found that the pics. were very fuzzy (motion) when taking the pic. from any distance greater than about 10 to 12 ft. Thanks for the input.

vievetrick · 12-25-2007, 06:33 PM

Well, you did a lot of things that could be wrong. Not knocking you or anything but why are you shooting in Bulb mode? Did you use a tripod with shutter release? As for the flash range 10-12 is pretty good if you ask me. I promise you will learn alot here and this is not a dig at you

We need a bunch more info and I am sure we will help you find what you need.

magnum1 · 12-25-2007, 06:38 PM

All I know is I forgot to change a flash setting this week when I took pictures in a church setting and my first shot just about gave my subject flash burns. I was a good 20 feet away. Not that this answers anything here!

bt*ist · 12-27-2007, 08:23 PM

I was using that lens + camera (+onboard flash) combination to shoot at a corporate Christmas Party a few weeks ago now, and found that at distances of 1-3metres (3-10feet)everything was great. For some shots, I also got some elevation and used the onboard flash to illuminate subjects 4-5 metres (12-15ft) away, and that also went relatively well. Add to that the amount of data retained even in relative darkness, and I was able to extract a lot more detail from shots in post-processing.

I agree, however, that Bulb mode is not really your friend in situations like that. Given camera shake with low light conditions were the biggest issue, I set ISO to 800 and the camera to Manual and kept the aperture as close to f3.5 as I could throughout the night (slightly offtopic: the K10D's low-light autofocus, while not infallible, did well under the circumstances!)

AVANT · 12-28-2007, 01:50 AM

The built in flash has a guide number of 36 @ 100 iso (in ft). So you can use the "guide number / f number = maximum distance" rule. Remember to multiple the guide number by 1.44 every time you double your iso (so 200iso = 36 x 1.4 = 52 and 400iso = 36 x 2 = 72).

So say you were taking a picture at f/4 @ 100 iso, your maximum flash distance is 36 / 4 = 9 ft. f/4 at 400 iso will give you a maximum flash distance of 18ft.

Found this pic to help.

dales · 12-28-2007, 10:29 PM

Thanks so much Avant for this info. I appreciate it.

12-25-2007, 06:26 PM	#1
dales Inactive Account Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Vancouver, Wash. Posts: 26	K10D built in flash Just wondering what the distance limitation is for this camera using the built in flash & the 18-55mm kit lens. I took some pics. last night using the bulb mode/changed the menu to flash & found that the pics. were very fuzzy (motion) when taking the pic. from any distance greater than about 10 to 12 ft. Thanks for the input.

12-28-2007, 01:50 AM	#5
AVANT Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: California Posts: 426	The built in flash has a guide number of 36 @ 100 iso (in ft). So you can use the "guide number / f number = maximum distance" rule. Remember to multiple the guide number by 1.44 every time you double your iso (so 200iso = 36 x 1.4 = 52 and 400iso = 36 x 2 = 72). So say you were taking a picture at f/4 @ 100 iso, your maximum flash distance is 36 / 4 = 9 ft. f/4 at 400 iso will give you a maximum flash distance of 18ft. Found this pic to help. Last edited by AVANT; 12-28-2007 at 08:56 AM. Reason: Added Pic for Reference

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12-25-2007, 06:33 PM	#2
vievetrick Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Easthampton - Massachusetts - USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,183	Well, you did a lot of things that could be wrong. Not knocking you or anything but why are you shooting in Bulb mode? Did you use a tripod with shutter release? As for the flash range 10-12 is pretty good if you ask me. I promise you will learn alot here and this is not a dig at you We need a bunch more info and I am sure we will help you find what you need.

12-25-2007, 06:38 PM	#3
magnum1 Inactive Account Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Niagara, Wisconsin U.S. of Ay. Posts: 394	All I know is I forgot to change a flash setting this week when I took pictures in a church setting and my first shot just about gave my subject flash burns. I was a good 20 feet away. Not that this answers anything here!

12-27-2007, 08:23 PM	#4
bt*ist Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: London, UK Photos: Gallery Posts: 211	I was using that lens + camera (+onboard flash) combination to shoot at a corporate Christmas Party a few weeks ago now, and found that at distances of 1-3metres (3-10feet)everything was great. For some shots, I also got some elevation and used the onboard flash to illuminate subjects 4-5 metres (12-15ft) away, and that also went relatively well. Add to that the amount of data retained even in relative darkness, and I was able to extract a lot more detail from shots in post-processing. I agree, however, that Bulb mode is not really your friend in situations like that. Given camera shake with low light conditions were the biggest issue, I set ISO to 800 and the camera to Manual and kept the aperture as close to f3.5 as I could throughout the night (slightly offtopic: the K10D's low-light autofocus, while not infallible, did well under the circumstances!)

12-28-2007, 10:29 PM	#6
dales Inactive Account Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Vancouver, Wash. Posts: 26 Original Poster	Thanks so much Avant for this info. I appreciate it.

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