Why am I getting this effect with TZ-1?

[nik2nik]

I brought home a new TZ-1 a few days ago and am trying it out. Shooting in daylight has been fine but when I started to test out the flash at night I got some ugly photos. Many were dark until I figured out that the flash doesn't penetrate very far and that you can't have an ISO of 80 and get a decent result. However, I seemed to get a halo effect on many of the photos especially when using the flash setting for slow syn ("S" with and "eye" icon). Also many of the pictures were over exposed. I don't mind redeye because I can deal with it but the ghost or shadow effect is too much of a problem.

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k286/nik2nik2nik/flashdemo1.jpg


I would appreciate any help with how to approach this camera for flash or white balance issues. Thanks

[JLV]

To me the halo appears to be a shadow coused by the flash. Keeping your subject a greater distance from the wall my help.

[John_Reed]

I brought home a new TZ-1 a few days ago and am trying it out. Shooting in daylight has been fine but when I started to test out the flash at night I got some ugly photos. Many were dark until I figured out that the flash doesn't penetrate very far and that you can't have an ISO of 80 and get a decent result. However, I seemed to get a halo effect on many of the photos especially when using the flash setting for slow syn ("S" with and "eye" icon). Also many of the pictures were over exposed. I don't mind redeye because I can deal with it but the ghost or shadow effect is too much of a problem.

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k286/nik2nik2nik/flashdemo1.jpg


I would appreciate any help with how to approach this camera for flash or white balance issues. ThanksNik, have you ever tried this test with any other camera? Because, as you may have learned from reading the responses to your post on the dpreview forum, the same thing will happen to varying degrees with any camera with its own mounted flash. The flash cannot be concentric with the lens, so it's unavoidable to have "flash shadows" somewhere around your image, unless the background is totally dark, when the "shadows" won't show, like this one (taken with TZ1):
http://john-reed.smugmug.com/photos/66512364-M.jpg
If you look at this one, shot without a dark background, there are flash shadows:
http://john-reed.smugmug.com/photos/66512261-M.jpg
As a poster on the other forum suggested, you can minimize this sort of thing with a slave flash, or by shooting only in available light. If indoor shots like this are very important, and the flash shadows are unacceptable, I'd suggest you think about trading in the TZ1 on a Fuji F30, which may be able to take the shot with no flash at all.

[genece]

I also think its a shadow ...but I am not sure its caused by the flash but it may well be.....The angle does not seem correct to me.....but that said "slow sync" does not help the effect in fact it adds to the problem by trying to light up the background.

[nrbelex]

... isn't that a shadow? The same type of shadow you would get on essentially any other camera, film or digital, in the same situation...? :confused:

~ Brett

[John_Reed]

... isn't that a shadow? The same type of shadow you would get on essentially any other camera, film or digital, in the same situation...? :confused:

~ BrettBut hey, what do WE know? ;)

[nik2nik]

Thanks for all the info. I have always found that there is a lot of expertise in the forums and I have learned much from archived posts as well as everyones responses.

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k286/nik2nik2nik/TZ-1test2.jpg

Playing with the camera again tonite I got some better results but please look at this photo, especially the area just to the right of the upholstered chair to see the red ghost outline "shadow". Do you think this is also a shadow from the flash? Seems so much like an artifact rather than a light effect and it doesn't look like the other shadows further to the left that are cast by the papers.

[John_Reed]

If it wasn't because of the flash, how could you explain the details that show up in the "halo" area? This isn't a fringing phenomenon of the TZ1, again. But still, if it bothers you too much, I've made the recommendation that you change to a camera that can take the photo you want without the flash.

By the way, you can test your "halo" theory by turning off all other lights before shooting one of these "mystery" shots. Take one with lights on, one with lights off. With the lights off, you'll see just black shadows, with the lights on, your "halo."

[nik2nik]

Here is the result of the experiment that you suggested. As you predicted the color of the shadow changed when I eliminated all the overhead lights in the room.

Flash on Auto with the overhead lights left on:
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k286/nik2nik2nik/4058b7d3.jpg

Flash on Auto with the overhead light off:
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k286/nik2nik2nik/c64efefb.jpg

Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying exploring this little camera and learning about how it performs.
Nik

[Mike63]

Correct me if I'm wrong, could not the white balance being slightly off effect the color of the shadow in question?? In the manual for the 20 it mentions changing the white balance to match the lighting conditions, ie..flourescent lights, incandescent lights. sun light, etc etc.

[nik2nik]

I have been playing with the white balance but the manual suggests that the Auto function is OK for incandescent lighting. The other choices as halogen, outdoor sunny, outdoor cloudy and a level that the operator can set herself. There is also a fine adjustment but so far I have not been able to tone down the very gold color pervasive in the photos under indoor lighting. I am still working on it.

[John_Reed]

I have been playing with the white balance but the manual suggests that the Auto function is OK for incandescent lighting. The other choices as halogen, outdoor sunny, outdoor cloudy and a level that the operator can set herself. There is also a fine adjustment but so far I have not been able to tone down the very gold color pervasive in the photos under indoor lighting. I am still working on it.
You're dealing with two different light sources, each at a different color temperature. The overhead light is Tungsten, the flash light is Xenon (?). With light from the flash alone, you get decent correction with Auto WB, but if you set the WB for the Tungsten lighting, you'll screw up the compensation in the flash-lit parts of the picture. I think that all in all, you'll do best to let the flash determine the WB, since its light dominates the image. I know that I've relied on auto WB for my flash photos with the TZ1, and I've gotten excellent flesh colors on my subjects. Here's a couple more examples, at ISO 100 (I also use auto ISO):
http://john-reed.smugmug.com/photos/66693289-M.jpg
The 2nd one even has me in it!
http://john-reed.smugmug.com/photos/66693452-M.jpg

[djotai]

Kindly rotate the chair a little, so any shadow would be cast on the wall, and repeat the take. Make sure there's nothing between the chair back and the wall. Post the result.