Fill Flash

Went out to shoot some Round Rock Historical Markers. Inspired I suppose by the video from the 150 year celebration for Williamson County (1998). Thought we would go looking for Sam Bass markers.

It was about 1 in the afternoon, and there was plent of sunshine. That also means plenty of shadows. I though the flash always turns on if you flip it up. But I was wrong!

The flash will fire if it is up and the metering thinks it is needed. That’s the usual situation taking photos in the house. When I popped it up outside for a "fill flash" on the marker the flash didn’t go off.

I felt a small tinge of panic. I’d swapped out my usual battery for the one I’d bought over the internet a few weeks ago. It looks like a SONY battery, but maybe the charge is not enough or its providing lower than normal voltage.

When I got home I took a few pictures of my desk. Yep, the flash fired. Now I’ve got a mystery.

But not for long. Grabbed the User’s Guide and looked up flash. It’s a setting under the function knob. Setting the flash to "Fill Flash" will always fire with the flash up.

So, camera isn’t broken and the spare battery still seems OK. Chalk it up to operator error (or misconception). I’ll continue to shoot with this battery and see if I get my usual 250+ photos. Then I’ll know it will hold a normal charge.

Picked It Up

The toy came in today. Picked it up as part of the running errands and lunch circuit. Picked up a 1GB CompactFlash card as well.

Haven’t used it yet. The first step is to charge the battery. The light just went out on the charger, so it has the normal charge. The pamphlet recommends letting it charge for another hour to get a full charge. The difference appears to be about 60 minutes of battery life, 30% more than just the normal charge.

One great piece of new news. The charger works 100-240V, 50/60 Hz. That solves my shipboard problem. I was afraid I would have to get a different charger for the 220V system on the ship. So, I don’t need a transformer. I can check that box now as solved.