Canon 450D Av mode question

[pongerts]

Hello guys!

I have another question, especially to the Canon users out there.

This question is actually for a friend of mine.

Last night, my friend and I got together to share tips and other stuff on photography as we both a quite new to DSLRs.

But I noticed something about her Canon 450D, when in Av Mode, the camera won't give her high shutter speeds, even with the built in flash up!

I tried shooting the same thing in my D60, but I got shutter speeds around 1/60 and more, but with her 450D, she gets around .5" or even less. I think we got 1/6 as the fastest but no more greater than that.

Is it a malfunction on her camera?

I reset her camera to factory settings. turned it off and on and the checked the batteries.

but just noticed to get this problem in the Av mode only.

Thanks for your help, we're getting opinions first, before we send it to the shop where she bought it.

 

[Jaszek]

Check if you have the same ISO and aperature value

 

[Samanax]

I have another question, especially to the Canon users out there.

This question is actually for a friend of mine.

Last night, my friend and I got together to share tips and other stuff on photography as we both a quite new to DSLRs.

But I noticed something about her Canon 450D, when in Av Mode, the camera won't give her high shutter speeds, even with the built in flash up!

I tried shooting the same thing in my D60, but I got shutter speeds around 1/60 and more, but with her 450D, she gets around .5" or even less. I think we got 1/6 as the fastest but no more greater than that.

Is it a malfunction on her camera?

I reset her camera to factory settings. turned it off and on and the checked the batteries.

but just noticed to get this problem in the Av mode only.

Thanks for your help, we're getting opinions first, before we send it to the shop where she bought it.

You said you guys did this last night? How dark was the location you were doing this? And what aperture settings were you using? And what ISO?

 

[pongerts]

We were inside their apartment. It was flourescent lit.

I was only able to get higher shutter speed on ISO 1600 on her 450D! which was weird because we had the built in flash up.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you supposed to be able to get faster shutter speeds because of the flash? (faster, meaning above 1/6)

 

[Overread]

hmm I was thinking that exposure compensation could have been active in one of the cameras - either yours or your friends. That it was only happening in AV mode suggests it could have been exposure compensation in their camera.

 

[pongerts]

really? Exposure compensation? I doubt it, but it's still worth a try.

I'm not a Canon user, I really don't know how to turn that off.

can you please tell me how to turn that off in Av Mode on the 450D?

Thanks.

I'll tell her to try it.

 

[Overread]

I can say from my 400D - the process should be the same
with the camera in av mode press and hold the av+- button (on mine its the button on the top righthand side of the LCD screen) and then turn the aperture/shutter wheel and you should move a pointer on the exposure meter as displayed on the back of thecamera (or in the viewfinder).
Set the meter so that the arrow is in the middle of the bar for a neutral exposure

 

[Big Mike]

Firstly, shutter speed doesn't affect flash exposure. In a dark room and shooting with flash you will get the same photo with settings of F8 & 1/200 as you will with F8 & 1/60.

The issue at hand is the way that Canon cameras handle exposure & flash in different modes and light levels. If the camera is in auto or P mode (in low light) with the flash up, it will default to 1/60 and the max aperture. Which is probably what your camera was doing. However, with a Canon, when you put it into Av or Tv mode, the camera does not default to 1/60 but instead gives you settings for the ambient light and assumes that you are using flash for fill or are trying to balance flash with ambient. So in low light, it will likely give you slow shutter speeds. The camera is basically giving you settings as if the flash was not on...but because it is, you might get a shot that is somewhat balanced in terms of flash and ambient exposure.

Now, you need to realize that when you are in these modes and are exposing for the ambient light, you are likely to get blur if the camera or subjects are moving. The flash can freeze movement but you might still end up with a combination of blur and sharp.

As an experiment in low light, try taking a shot in P mode and then a shot in Av mode. The flash exposure will probably be the same but the background (ambient) exposure will be different.