Need simple directions for using AF-360FGZ with K10D

I am having trouble understanding the information on here about using the AF-360FGZ.

I have an important picture taking event coming up (my aunts 100th birthday) and would like to be able to have some nice pictures.

I never use my flash. It just took me 30 min to figure out how to use it wireless again. I figured it out about a month ago, and then never used it.

I am trying to practice around the house, but I am having trouble getting lighting that seems balanced from it.

I was reading in a book to set the ISO to 800, the F stop to 5.6 or lower, and the shutter to 1/60, take a test shot and then compensate by setting the camera or flash from -2 to +1. Wouldn't the ISO create a lot of noise at 800?

I am trying trailing shutter curtain, but don't know if this is the best setting for this event, or if I should use Leading shutter curtain.

If I use manual, what are the best settings to start with?

Is it easier to use Aperature priority instead? I usually shoot in manual mode....just not with the flash!

Can anyone offer any suggestions?

This question is probably the most covered on this forum
You can't go wrong by reading Matts extensive guide. Its the sticky at the top of this page. good luck.

Yes, that is what I have been trying to read. It was confusing me, but I read it again. From what I am understanding you can either:

1. Set the camera to manual, spot meter for the highlights, make certain shutter is under 1/180, turn on P-TTL.

I seem to be getting this to work OK now, but I am getting extremely low shutter speeds trying it this way. Is this what to expect, or am I missing something?

or-

2. Set the auto ISO and AV, which I am not totally understanding. This must be the SV dial? Is that all you do? How do you know which ISO would be best to set it at...or do you just guess and take test shots?

It seems that the easiest thing for me to do at this event is to turn the dial to SV (if that is what I am understanding), and try different ISO's with the flash set in PTTL? If I bounce, I guess I should take a test shot and adjust to 0.5+ or 1+ with either the camera or flash if needed?

Am I understanding this correctly? If not, it will be extremely helpful if you can tell me what I am misunderstanding.

Also, I still am not clear what would determine if I wanted trailing or leading shutter? I am trying both around the house, but not making sense of it yet. This will be a large room with an unknown ceiling height and lots of people either sitting or moving around.

Thank you for any more help or verification.

These are concerned with freezing motion, with blur visible either before or after the flash.

If you're not attempting to capture moving subjects, with the intention of also capturing the blur associated with their movement during a long exposure, then leading or trailing curtain sync is of no relevance to you, and you should leave the flash set to the default, namely leading curtain sync.

I would commend page 56 of the AF360FGZ manual, which is available here, if you don't have it.

Although in that paragraph on trailing-curtain, it would probably be better to think of the blur as "behind" the target, not "before" it. "Before" is correct, in the sense that the blur takes place before the flash.

If this isn't crystal clear to you, you definitely should not be trying to use such effects at such an important event as a 100th birthday party. It's an awful long wait till the next one if it doesn't go right.

You can BUT, I would strongly suggest that you manually meter for about 1-stop below the ambient lighting and then use the flash in P-TTL.
This may well mean that you should use a higher ISO - even up to 1600 if needed in a darkened environment.

If you try using a low ISO then the flash will (a) look like it punched it's way through the dark and the shot will be very harsh, or (b) if there are any reflective surfaces at all then the shot will likely be underexposed.


As you say the K10D is new, I would suggest checking that you have version 1.3 of the firmware (hold MENU key while you power on), and upgrade if needed.
Once done, I find it helpful to use the custom settings to map the front finger wheel to adjust ISO while in Av mode. While in M, you can adjust ISO by holding down the OK button and using the finger wheel on the front


In all cases, you are right to practise first!
Matt

Thank you Chris and Matt. I guess I should have the flash set to the far left on Sync were it is in a green color.

Matt- I will try what you suggested using manual, one stop under, and increasing the ISO. I think that problem I was having is that I was trying it with the ISO at 100.

Do you think using manual gives better results and/or is easier than simply setting the dial to SV and using P-TTL?

I like to use manual... however, I have found that using TAv with the ISO set between 100 and 1600 does a good job. (Use the Fn menu to set the ISO range.)
With my custom settings at least, the viewfinder shows the ISO rating... and I'd work like this:
* Set f/8 to start with
* Set 1/60s (or around 1/focal) as a starting point
* If the ISO rating is max'd out at 1600, then you can choose to use a wider aperture (and be aware that less will be in focus), and/or lower the shutter speed until the ISO rating goes down to something sensible.

I find that the TAv mode will give you a very quick and fairly foolproof way of getting a good exposure with P-TTL. Even if the light levels change the TAv mode should adjust itself nicely.

For a concert etc, I use M because the lighting is fairly constant. However, in a party setting I'd be inclined to use TAv
Matt

Oh! Now I understand. It is not the SV mode you were talking about.It was the TAV mode! I have never even tried that one before. So in TAV I set the shutter and aperature, and the camera picks the ISO to use.

I will need to try that later today when I get home!