low light settings and flash settings for fz8

[doto]

what are your recommended settings for shooting in low light conditions with the fz8? both without flash and with? I'm trying and, struggling, to get the best results for the flash?

[mpslabman]

What are your resulting images looking like?

[smc1377]

Originally Posted by doto

what are your recommended settings for shooting in low light conditions with the fz8? both without flash and with? I'm trying and, struggling, to get the best results for the flash?

Can you post examples of "bad" photos and what your settings were when you took them?

[doto]

I used auto iso and auto flash without eye reduction. the pictures are over exposed where the focus is and under exposed in other parts of the picture. metering is default. What should I change?

[smc1377]

I'm not familiar with your particular camera, but there are some general truths about the effectiveness of built in flash when it comes to digital cameras.

Most built-in flashes only have a small effective range. Anything beyond that will be nice and dark.

Also, if you're taking pictures of people in low light, the camera will only attempt to properly light up the subject in focus which often results in very dark backgrounds since the flash isn't effective at lighting up things farther away.

One way of countering this is to both use the flash and to slow down your shutterspeed. In using the flash, it should properly expose the subject and in using a slower shutterspeed, that'll allow more background light to enter your camera thus making your background appear brighter.

On cameras like the Canon DSLR's, if you have the camera in AV (Aperture priority) mode with the flash turned on, the camera will do both for you. It'll determine the proper amount of flash to use properly expose the subject in focus plus keep the shutter open long enough to properly expose the background. But be careful, any movement from you or the subject will result in ghostly images.

[Amigone201]

Originally Posted by doto

I used auto iso and auto flash without eye reduction. the pictures are over exposed where the focus is and under exposed in other parts of the picture. metering is default. What should I change?

I had this exact problem, with the same camera. I got a neutral density filter for Christmas and voila, problem solved. You should definitely invest in one. All my filters are Hoya, but my friend who works in a camera shop recommends Tiffen.

Now, don't use the flash. You're not going to need it under normal room lighting conditions. Attach your ND filter to that adapter that came with your camera. The FZ8 can do exposures up to 8 seconds, so try that. If it's too bright, speed up your shutter. If it's too dark, you may also want to invest in a gentler filter.

The ND filters come in 2X, 4X, and 8X, and the higher the number, the more light it filters out. Mine is a 4, and it seems to work well (i.e., doesn't under or overexpose shots), but I suspect soon I'll also have to add in an 8X.

Edit: Oh, yeah, almost forgot: The filters you want are 52mm; that's the size that fits your adapter. I got mine here.

[Mr. Clipit]

I just got a FZ8 for Xmas and i've been tinkering around alot with it. While im not partial to flash in general, I definitely like the results from setting the flash to slow sync (press the right dpad key when the flash is popped). Also keep in mind that by pressing the top dpad key, you can adjust not just the exposure settings, but flash compensation (how bright the flash is).
With the flash off, i like to stick to spot metering, but if you're having problems with overall exposure, try switching the metering to multiple,which looks like (o) .

[beckywithasmile]

you can also try turning the flash off and turning the iso way up. I have the fz7 and at this point it gets really grainy (even 400 iso isn't so great). Despite the grain, this does still allow me to take no flash shots without a tripod.

To change the iso hold down the joystick and then move to the one with the numbers. The lower iso numbers work better for bright light, the higher ones work better for dimly lit places.

PLEASE try this before you go out and take pictures. with the fz7 I get a ton of grain/noise when the iso is 400+. I heard rumor that the fz8 is better at that though.