Steve'sDigicams

habassa5 · Mar 30, 2007, 1:13 PM

I'd like to define the topic of this thread very narrowly: Which method is better for *minimizing* Red Eye while taking the best possible pictures -- ie, hopefully not causing people to blink/squint/etc. in anUltracompactPoint & Shoot PartyCam between the Steady Yellow Beam and the Flash-Bursts?

Some manufactures, like Sony and Cannon, use the Yellow Beam. Most others use the flash bursts. Which is better? (I know no neither method is perfectly reliable, or even close.)

The idea here is to try to prevent Red Eye as much as possible in the act of shooting a photo. *ONLY* betweenthe Steady Yellow Beam and the Flash-Bursts, which tends to snap the best photos?

I realize there are numerous other methods -- carrying two cameras, external flash, post-production editing, etc... But that is not the question at hand here. Gun to the head, if you were faced with thisnarrowly-defined question above, which would it be?

ac.smith · Mar 30, 2007, 2:24 PM

Some cameras also use a pre-flash as an aid to low-light focusing and others use a yellow light for this purpose. Still others change which method they use depending on mode settings.

Hayward · Mar 30, 2007, 4:28 PM

habassa5 wrote:

Quote:

I'd like to define the topic of this thread very narrowly: Which method is better for *minimizing* Red Eye while taking the best possible pictures -- ie, hopefully not causing people to blink/squint/etc. in anUltracompactPoint & Shoot PartyCam between the Steady Yellow Beam and the Flash-Bursts?

Well as said by many here NONE are really effective/reliable or produce undesireable subject look.... but the bright Yellow/White LEDs are certainly less annoying to othes not part of your picture
Probably less battery drain too, as well as not likely to cause blinks/turnaways... though still no clicking an actual moment due to the shutter delay for the light show to happen.

Gimli · Apr 7, 2007, 11:47 AM

What about having the people not look directly at the camera when you're taking a picture that requires a flash?

Isn't red-eye that result of the flash bouncing off the back of the retina (the red is the capilaries in the back of the eye)?

JohnG · Apr 7, 2007, 1:09 PM

Gimli wrote:

Quote:

What about having the people not look directly at the camera when you're taking a picture that requires a flash?

You still get it. This is why the red-eye flicker flash doesn't work well - they aren't looking directly o their pupils don't constrict.

airtaz · Apr 8, 2007, 9:05 PM

JohnG wrote:

Quote:

Gimli wrote:

Quote:

What about having the people not look directly at the camera when you're taking a picture that requires a flash?

You still get it. This is why the red-eye flicker flash doesn't work well - they aren't looking directly o their pupils don't constrict.

Yep you sure do. We just had opening day for my son's baseball organization. I was taking pictures while they were lined up about 50-60 feet away. Some of the kids were even facing sideways to my direction (none looking at me), and I still managed to get red eye. This is my first real outting with this camera (30d). I seem to be getting alot of this. I would imagine most of it boils down to technique, which I haven't acquired any really - yet.

JohnG · Apr 9, 2007, 6:52 AM

airtaz wrote:

Quote:

Yep you sure do. We just had opening day for my son's baseball organization. I was taking pictures while they were lined up about 50-60 feet away. Some of the kids were even facing sideways to my direction (none looking at me), and I still managed to get red eye. This is my first real outting with this camera (30d). I seem to be getting alot of this. I would imagine most of it boils down to technique, which I haven't acquired any really - yet.

Airtaz,

That situation is going to be REAL tough. You would need a tall flash bracket - or a remote flash to eliminate red-eye in that situation. At those distances, even with a normal flash bracket you'll likely still get red-eye. Why? Because of the distance, the angle between the flash and lens (when light isbounced off the eyes)is pretty small. You have to increase that angle to eliminate red-eye. At 20 feet a normal flash bracket works great. But at 50-60 feet, you're in trouble again.

So, either use a remote flash, get (or make) a tall flash bracket (rail system) or don't use flash (i.e. use wide aperture and high shutter speed).

hgernhardtjr · Apr 9, 2007, 7:12 AM

I personally do not like the multi-flash-strobing pre-flash red eye reduction method of many digital cameras' built in flashes. It forces the pupil to get small and therefore mean/cold-looking in order to reduce or eliminate the demonic look of red eye.

To me, and many others, large, wide open pupils imply an intimacy, closeness, sensuality, etc. so I almost always carry and use a hot-shoe or handle mount flash (depending on the camera), and more often than notuse my LightSphere or bounce flash.

When an external flash is not handy I make surered-eye reduction is OFFand later PhotoShop's red eye tool gets to prove itself once again!

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Mar 30, 2007, 1:13 PM	#11
habassa5 Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 3	I'd like to define the topic of this thread very narrowly: Which method is better for minimizing Red Eye while taking the best possible pictures -- ie, hopefully not causing people to blink/squint/etc. in anUltracompactPoint & Shoot PartyCam between the Steady Yellow Beam and the Flash-Bursts? Some manufactures, like Sony and Cannon, use the Yellow Beam. Most others use the flash bursts. Which is better? (I know no neither method is perfectly reliable, or even close.) The idea here is to try to prevent Red Eye as much as possible in the act of shooting a photo. ONLY betweenthe Steady Yellow Beam and the Flash-Bursts, which tends to snap the best photos? I realize there are numerous other methods -- carrying two cameras, external flash, post-production editing, etc... But that is not the question at hand here. Gun to the head, if you were faced with thisnarrowly-defined question above, which would it be?

Mar 30, 2007, 2:24 PM	#12
ac.smith Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Davenport, IA Posts: 2,093	Some cameras also use a pre-flash as an aid to low-light focusing and others use a yellow light for this purpose. Still others change which method they use depending on mode settings.

Apr 7, 2007, 11:47 AM	#14
Gimli Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 425	What about having the people not look directly at the camera when you're taking a picture that requires a flash? Isn't red-eye that result of the flash bouncing off the back of the retina (the red is the capilaries in the back of the eye)?

Apr 9, 2007, 7:12 AM	#18
hgernhardtjr Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 516	I personally do not like the multi-flash-strobing pre-flash red eye reduction method of many digital cameras' built in flashes. It forces the pupil to get small and therefore mean/cold-looking in order to reduce or eliminate the demonic look of red eye. To me, and many others, large, wide open pupils imply an intimacy, closeness, sensuality, etc. so I almost always carry and use a hot-shoe or handle mount flash (depending on the camera), and more often than notuse my LightSphere or bounce flash. When an external flash is not handy I make surered-eye reduction is OFFand later PhotoShop's red eye tool gets to prove itself once again!