bill_sooby1

I have to say that when I saw the big pic, I wondered if he was treading on her toes :) I don't think it's a good idea to have a pic that can be interpreted in a number of ways - even in jokey way - on a card like this.

What about having two or three of the portrait orientation shots from the bottom of the card placed side-by-side where the bi pic is now? I think the one of the bride on the left is very good. Since this is a giveaway from a jeweler, do you have an engagement shot featuring the ring?

Try here:

http://eosdoc.com/manuals/

Tim,

Don't forget that if you are recharging an Ipod or other device that Europe works on 220/240 Volts and that there are at least two types of plugs in common use: 2 pin round plugs in much of Continental Europe and 3 pin rectangular plugs in the UK (and Ireland?).

Bill S

There are a lot of EOS manuals on this site - not sure about the 620, but is it sufficiently similar to another model to be useful?

http://eosdoc.com/manuals/

I had a similar problem with a Sigma 170-500 mm zoom on a Canon digital rebel (which I think is the same as the 350D). I contacted Sigma's servicing/repairs dept and they will 'rechip' the lens(es) for you if they can.

As I recall, it was quite cheap (about 5 pounds) if you had bought the lens new, and had the receipt to prove it, but around 30 pounds otherwise. I, too, had bought secondhand and couldn't get them to move on the price. I paid up, and the lens came back in about a week or so and has worked fine ever since.

Bill

Lucy,

Presuming that the flash has a rectangular flash head, are you holding it vertically (ie narrow side parallel to the ground) or horizontally? Do you keep the flash in the same orientation when shooting in portrait or landscape? If you do, and the shadow is always at the bottom, then I'd suspect a flash coverage problem.

We'll get there in the end! Good Luck.

Bill

Lucy,

Thanks for the extra details. I wonder if you are creating a shadow with your hands or the camera itself is in the way of the light.

Getting rid of shadows in close up shots (although 1.5m wouldn't normally count as "close up") is always a problem and holding the flash above the camera will make the problem worse.

You can buy brackets that screw into the camera's tripod bush, so that you wouldn't have to hold the flash. You may be able to find a used one on ebay.

If you can take flash photos at a greater distance that are OK, then I don't think anything is mechanically wrongs.

Good luck

Bill

Lucy,

Almost certainly you have set a shutter speed faster than the maximum synchronisation speed on your camera.

Assuming your camera is an SLR what happens when you take a picture is that the shutter has two blinds or curtains made of metal or even fabric. When you press the shitter release the first blind moves opening up part off the film to light. Some short time later (eg 1/500th of a second if that's the shutter speed that you, or the camera's metering system have set)the second blind starts to move covering up the film again. So, the exposure is made by a moving slit between the two blinds.

To take a flash photograph there has to be a period in time when the entire film is exposed to light all at once - in other words the first blind reaches the end of its travel before the second one starts. It is during this time that the flash fires. There will be a maximum speed for this, typically about 1/90th or 1/125th of a second; but each camera has its own value. It will be in the instruction manual. Put simply, for flash photograpy, the shutter speed isn't important in getting the exposure right as all the light comes from the flash and that's over and done with in a thousandth of a second or less.

If you set a faster speed, the second blind will be moving and covering up a portion of the film (hence the black area) when the flash fires.

Regards,

Bill

I presume you mean that you want to take along some copies of old photos (to give out?).

If you want to copy old photos, it's usually much easier to do it using a scanner. I have never heard of anyone using a camera to do so. It wouldn't be impossible, I suppose, but you'd need to get the camera dead centre above the old photo and light it to avoid awkward reflections. If you don't have a scanner could you borrow one or ask someone else to scan them for you, or use one at work (after all it doesn't cost anything).

You'll probably need to run the scanned files through photoshop to boost contrast etc and to repair any damage.

I did this of an old family shot (taken about 50 years ago) for a family friend. It was very easy, and he was extremely pleased with the result.

If you do go ahead, I'd suggest making a list of all the 'must-have' shots and the names of the people who are to be in them. You can then tick them off - physically or mentally - as you take them. Also, to help you concentrate on taking photos, do you have a wife, partner or relative who can help to get the groups together ready for you to photograph, and who can keep an eye out for crooked ties, hair out of place etc etc?

Good luck

Bill S

I have tried searching but with no success (it may be that I am using

British words on a mainly US forum).

What's the best way to deal with outdoor photos of people wearing

light sensitive glasses (ie spectacles)? These go pretty well black

in strong daylight and look unattractive on any sort of formal shot.

I have heard of asking people to put them in a pocket or bag for a

few minutes beforehand so that they go clear and then put them on

just before the shot is taken, but is there a better way?

Bill S

Can anyone direct me to a website where I can download an instruction

manual for this camera please?

One other thing - when I got married many years back, the photographers were a Husband and Wife team. He took (very good) photos and said very little. She made sure that the groups were arranged properly, that everyone's ties was straight and so on.

If you have the chance, get someone - eg your wife or partner - to check that the details are right.

Bill S

Steve,

I wonder if the eye would be able to spot what looks to be only a small error in flash syncronisation? I think that you would have to use film in order to pick up this sort of problem.

Yes, I think that you do have a sync problem but not because you have set the speed to 1/60. I think that if you had done that then the underexposed area would be noticeably bigger. I'd guess that the second curtain of the Focal Plane shutter is starting to move a fraction of a second too early, or equivalently, the flash is being triggered a fraction to late.

I'd do a test to check - use cheap film and D&P. Using a fairly light background (so you can see underexposure) in a fairly dark environment (so that the flash is providing nearly all the light) take pictures of the same subject at 1/8, 1/15/, 1/30, 1/60 and 1/125 sec. You should go from no underexposed area, to a very noticeable taking up most of the film area. If there is an underesposed area when shooting at 1/30, then the camera flash sync will need to be adjusted.

I have used 7 day shop quite a few times- mainly for consumables but also one expensive item. Generally, the service is very good and I would happily recommend them.

I don't know if they will post goods other than to the UK. One of the reasons that they are cheap is that due to a tax loophole they need not charge VAT (sales tax) on orders which can be supplied in lots that have a value of ?18 or less.