models. It might seem odd that the most expen-
sive cameras don’t have a built-in flash, but it
isn’t; no professional photographer is going to use
that light to illuminate someone in a portrait.
The light produced by these flashes really is that
bad, making anyone who is photographed with
one look like they are getting a driver’s license or
passport photo. This has to do with two factors:
the direction of the light and the distance of the
flash from the lens.by the shutter speed has passed, the second, or
rear shutter, curtain closes. The sync speed is the
shortest amount of time that the shutter is open
and the flash can fire before the rear curtain starts
to close. As you can see in Figure 4-6, the first
shutter moves out of the way, then the whole
image is exposed and the second shutter starts
to close.
Most dSLRs have a built-in or pop-up flash.
Actually, the only cameras that don’t have a
built-in flash are the top-of-the-line professional
ABOUT THIS PHOTO
My nephew kicking back in the
big green chair at his grandpar-
ent’s house. Taken at 1/40 sec-
ond, f/2.8, and ISO 320.4-5ABOUT THIS FIGURE When the shutter release button is pressed, the first shutter starts to move out of the way (image at left), the whole
image is exposed (center image), and the second shutter moves to block the light (image at right).
4-6