Underexposed indicator blinking in Manual Mode when you strobe flash

[thekid]

yeah, the meter only measure what it's seeing at the time of focus. if i were take the picture without the strobe, it would be all dark. i wonder if it's the same (many stop underexposed) if i use the 580ex instead of strobe.

[zona5101]

Originally Posted by thekid

yeah, the meter only measure what it's seeing at the time of focus. if i were take the picture without the strobe, it would be all dark. i wonder if it's the same (many stop underexposed) if i use the 580ex instead of strobe.

if the 580 is connected to the camera either directly to the hotshoe or via a dedicated sync cable...then the camera knows its there! In auto modes it will set your shutter speed, in program modes it will set both. Your meter will read what it expects to see including the flash lighting...during the actual exposure the camera will read, in real time, the amount of light it is recieving and will shut the flash off/close the exposure when it has had enough.

[JAD40]

My camera does that, but I have always assumed it was trying to get the ambient light to the correct exposure. I usually just ignore it, and adjust with test shots.

[111t]

If you want to use the camera to meter the lights, you need an exposure target. You put the target in the subject position and take a photo. Then you look at the histogram (not the built in meter) to tell you what's up. I use the photovision black/grey/white target. when you fill the frame you get three spikes. You adjust the f-stop or iso (probably fstop) until the outer (black/white) spikes are centered on the histogram.

This is the one i use:
Photovision | 14" Pocket One Shot Digital Target | DT14010

You can use it to set each light individually and then get an overall from all the lights on a given side of the subject.

Most folks use an incident light meter.

[JAD40]

Originally Posted by 111t

If you want to use the camera to meter the lights, you need an exposure target. You put the target in the subject position and take a photo. Then you look at the histogram (not the built in meter) to tell you what's up. I use the photovision black/grey/white target. when you fill the frame you get three spikes. You adjust the f-stop or iso (probably fstop) until the outer (black/white) spikes are centered on the histogram.

This is the one i use:
Photovision | 14" Pocket One Shot Digital Target | DT14010

You can use it to set each light individually and then get an overall from all the lights on a given side of the subject.

Most folks use an incident light meter.

That item looks interesting. I might have to invest in getting one.