Blinking when reviewing in LCD

[Gerry Attrick]

As a new owner of a digital camera, I'm having enough problems getting to know how to use it, without it doing strange things.

I have taken photos where part of the subject blinks when I review the shot through the LCD screen. The part that blinks is the very light part of the subject, i.e. the inside of lilies, paving in bright sunshine. Could some-one please explain the cause and how do I fix it?
:confused:

[Nicole]

As a new owner of a digital camera, I'm having enough problems getting to know how to use it, without it doing strange things.

I have taken photos where part of the subject blinks when I review the shot through the LCD screen. The part that blinks is the very light part of the subject, i.e. the inside of lilies, paving in bright sunshine. Could some-one please explain the cause and how do I fix it?
:confused:

Hi-
What's blinking is probably the parts of the picture that are "blown out". In other words, the area is so bright (white) that the detail is gone. Not sure what model of camera you have to tell you how to turn it off though, so, if you let me know the type, I'm sure we can figure out how to make that go away on your LCD.

[smc1377]

Just wanted to second what Nicole has said. On most cameras that blink like that, it's trying to tell you which parts are "blown out." If you are in some kind of manual mode, you might want to change some settings to bring this under control.

[wulf]

Generally speaking, it's a good bit of information to have. Looking at pictures on the LCD after they have been taken isn't so that you can pass the camera round to all your friends to make them say "isn't that lovely" but so you can decide whether you are happy with the result or if you want to take another shot while you still have the same subject in front of you.

The reason "blown highlights" get illuminated is that they are areas with no detail at all so if you don't fix it with another shot at a reduced exposure setting, there will be little you can do with it back on your computer.

Wulf

[Gerry Attrick]

Sorry Guys, I’m also new to this game also.

It’s a brand new Canon Powershot A710 given to me by my grandkids on my retirement.

Being new in the use of digital cameras (I have used a top grade SLR for a number of years), I wasn’t trying to be too creative, just a few shots on either Auto or SCN. It was a very bright sunny day with a lot of contrast between the leaves of the lilies and the flowers themselves. The paving was in the sun with the background being dark. Therefore, there was a bit of a contrast in the subject matter.

I realise being a novice in the use of a digital limits my explanation, but I’m have a problem understanding this phenomenon.

[Nicole]

...It was a very bright sunny day with a lot of contrast between the leaves of the lilies and the flowers themselves. The paving was in the sun with the background being dark. Therefore, there was a bit of a contrast in the subject matter.


First, don't worry, I think your explanation was pretty good, because I understand what you're talking about.

The most likely reason why your sky would've been blown out was because the camera was probably exposing for the dark ground (sorry if you already know this :p). Because it would've needed the longer exposure for the ground, the bright sky got overexposed.

If you want to turn off the blinking highlights, press your "Display" button until they go away. What I found (http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/A710/A710A3.HTM) was that when you press the display button once, you get more information about the picture, when you press it twice you get the blinking highlights, and when you press it a third time, everything goes away.

Hope that helps :)