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dumb question


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I apologize for my elementary question. When taking pics with my 20d,580

speedlight, and 70-200 mm or 24-70mm lens f/2.8 in AV mode, WHY is the fastest

shutter I can get is 1/40 or 1/50th and they are out of focus! What do I

do...driving me crazy in lowlight settings like party walkarounds or indoor

pictures. Thanks

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when shooting in AV mode, the camera sets the exposure for the ambient light of the area. It assumes you want to use the flash as fill, with the rest of the area exposed as normal. To use a higher sync speed shoot in manual mode. Set the shutter speed and aperture, and then the flash will adjust its ouput to expose properly.
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"When the camera senses that you have a flash connected, it sets the shutter speed to the optimum sync speed for the flash. It relies on the speed of the flash (and not the shutter) to freeze motion."

 

NOT. This does not answer John's question by any means.

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My manual tells me that I have a range of shutter speeds up to 1/200 in Av mode so I think something may be wrong with the camera.

I suspect it is not focus but camera shake or subject movement blurr you suffer from. Else maybe you are not giving the camera a chance to set itself up by simply pressing the trigger down in one movement.

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What aperture is set and what ISO? Try it with the flash turned of or removed from the camera. I bet you get the same result. If you want to shoot with the flash as the dominant light source, then shoot full manual. I like 1/200 @ f/11 @ ISO 100 for macro work.

 

In short, it sounds like you need to learn about what Av mode does.

 

all the best,

 

Sean

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