okay this must be an easy fix right?

antom1234 · Dec 14, 2010

Hi all. I'm new and just bought a Sony Alpha a350 used. I already have a problem. The lens seems to be in the way of the flash because when I use the flash I often get a little round shadow in the bottom center of the photo. There must be some little thing I'm doing wrong that's causing this because none of the hundreds of reviews I read prior to buying the camera stated anything about this little shadow.

Thanks in advance for your help!

dylanstraub · Dec 14, 2010

What lens are you using? When I had my 20mm lens the hood would get in the way of the pop up flash all the time. Are you using a pop up or a regular external flash?

antom1234 · Dec 14, 2010

It's just the sony 18-70 lens that came with it. And it's just the stock pop up flash on the camera.

reznap · Dec 14, 2010

Are you shooting with a lens hood? My Tamron 17-50's lens hood will cast a shadow if I use the popup flash with it.

Tulsa · Dec 14, 2010

Your camera is trying to tell you, get an off camera flash.

antom1234 · Dec 15, 2010

Okay I just found out the hood screws right off. My problem is resolved but does this hood actually serve a purpose? There doesn't seem to be a difference in the pictures but I wouldn't really know haha.

reznap · Dec 15, 2010

A lens hood is good for keeping direct sunlight off your lens and helps cut down on lens flare. It's also nice to have one when using off-camera flash.

PavementPilot · Dec 15, 2010

The hood is used outside on bright days mainly.

Ken Rockwell Fan · Dec 15, 2010

It's also nice to keep you from bumping in to something and possibly scratching your lens.

KmH · Dec 15, 2010

The hood should always be used indoors and outdoors, except when it interferes with on camera flash.

A lens hood does 3 things:

It provides a kind of impact safety zone around the front of your lens.
It increases the contrast in your photos
It helps to prevent lens flare when the camera is pointed at or near bright light sources.