A photoflash is a fairly convenient, effective and powerful tool that helps to significantly improve image quality. Use flash if you don't have enough light or, conversely, on a bright sunny day to highlight deep shadows. Learning how to properly use this additional light source will open up a new world of digital imaging.
Therefore, we suggest that you first understand the operating modes of this device.
There are three main flash operating modes: auto(TTL, ADI, etc.), manual (manual) and multi.
As a rule, flashes have all of the above operating modes. But there are models that lack one or more of these modes. Let's figure out whether all these additional features are really necessary when shooting.
Auto mode
In TTL mode (in Nikon flashes - i - TTL, Canon - ETTL ) automatic selection of flash settings occurs.
TTL, or Through The Lens – “through the lens” means that by selecting the flash power, automatic exposure metering occurs using the illumination in the frame of the lens lens. In this case, the technique takes into account all the parameters of the lens used: its aperture, viewing angle, filters.
When choosing a flash, be sure to pay attention to whether it supports the TTL . There are completely manual models, as well as ones that support earlier technologies than your camera. But this does not mean that they are not compatible. It's just that your camera's capabilities will not be used 100%. The same thing happens when working on an old camera model using an advanced flash.
Flash photography in Auto mode is similar to the same mode on the camera itself. The technology independently selects the flash pulse power and range. When using the auto flash mode, it is not at all necessary to set this mode on the camera.
When trusting the settings of the equipment, remember that the equipment cannot take into account all the features of shooting. Especially if the flash works on reflection. In this case, the settings are set approximately.
TTL mode It is used, as a rule, by novice photographers or in cases where the scene changes quickly and there is no time to constantly think about the parameters, for example, when shooting reportage.
But even in automatic mode, you can edit the flash operation; for this, there are flash compensation settings. If you feel like the flash didn't illuminate your subject enough, you can always manually set the value (from -3 to +3) by which you want to compensate for the flash power. A similar function is available for the built-in flash.
You can also control the flash through the camera settings. For example, if under difficult shooting conditions (for example, against the sun) you need to highlight only one part of the frame, select partial or spot metering mode. This will allow you to evenly illuminate the objects in the frame.
In order to achieve the desired lighting result in the frame, it is better to learn how to shoot correctly in manual mode or how to properly use flash power compensation.
Manual mode
As the name suggests, in this mode all settings are set manually. The main settings include flash power and flash zoom.
The pulse power is selected based on how brightly you want to illuminate the subject and at what distance the objects will be illuminated by the flash.
Depending on the flash model, its power is adjusted from 1/1 to 1/128 of the maximum power. Modern flash models are equipped with a display on which you can see the parameters you have set. If there is no display, a scale with glowing lights serves as an indicator of the set power. The more bulbs are lit, the more powerful the light pulse.
Another flash setting mode is zoom. It is responsible for the propagation angle and range of the pulse. Most often, it is recommended to set the flash zoom value according to the focal length of the lens used. When working with long-focus optics, the viewing angle decreases, but the distance to the subject increases. Consequently, a more powerful light pulse is required. In this case, the beam of light can be narrow and not illuminate the edges of the frame that are not involved in the plot.
When using wide-angle optics when shooting, it is necessary to illuminate a large area of the frame. The objects of the image are at a closer distance. Therefore, the light pulse should be calculated over a short distance.
When working with a flash that has only manual settings, you need to learn how to properly control the light. The zoom setting, as mentioned above, can be set based on the focal length of the optics. The power parameters of the light pulse are selected experimentally.
First of all, the following parameters must be taken into account:
– at what time the shooting takes place and what are the lighting conditions (indoors or outdoors, morning or evening, etc.);
– what is the distance to the subject being photographed (the closer the object, the less flash power is required);
– what exposure settings are set. Already with the help of aperture, shutter speed and ISO you can adjust the amount of light around, and use the flash to highlight the foreground. The pulse power can be in the range of 1/16–1/64. As a rule, such photographs come out more naturally;
– whether diffused, directed or reflected light is used when shooting. The use of various scattering nozzles reduces the intensity of the light flux, therefore, in this case, a more powerful light pulse is most often used.
ModeMulti
Unlike manual and automatic, in mode Multi The flash fires several times during the exposure time. This allows you to achieve very interesting results, because the same object is illuminated differently in one frame.
Multi-mode requires full manual control. However, in addition to setting the flash impulse and zoom, you need to set two additional parameters here. This is the number of pulses and their frequency in Hz. The higher the frequency of the flash pulses, the shorter the time interval between adjacent pulses will be.
Multi mode Not present in all outbreaks. Its main purpose is to create certain lighting effects for specific or experimental photography. This mode is not needed for everyday work. Therefore, if this mode is not present in your flash settings, do not be upset, it is not so, and that means it is necessary.
As you already understand, an external flash is a powerful tool in the hands of a photographer. However, you still need to get used to working with it. Remember that you won't get perfect photos taken using an external flash right away. First, you will need to understand all the intricacies of how this technique works. If you have not yet decided which flash model to buy, what modes you need, you can always rent a flash!
Best regards, team photobuba. by!
TTL is the lifetime of a data packet in the IP protocol. How can TTL interest the average user? Surely, most of you came to this page in order to find out how to bypass restrictions on Internet distribution from a smartphone. TTL monitoring is used by mobile operators to detect traffic from an unauthorized connected device. From this review you will learn exactly how TTL helps the provider learn about the distribution of the Internet using Wi-Fi or USB and how an ordinary subscriber can outwit a greedy operator. We will try to clearly explain what TTL is and how this value can help subscribers.
Working principle of TTL
Unfortunately, unlimited mobile Internet without any restrictions is not currently provided by any operator. There are tariffs that provide for no restrictions on speed and traffic, but when using a SIM card only in a smartphone. You also cannot share the Internet with other devices. If you turn on a Wi-Fi hotspot on your smartphone or connect to your laptop via USB, the operator will instantly record this fact and take appropriate measures (offer to pay extra). Many people are perplexed about what kind of technology allows a provider to calculate Internet distribution. In fact, everything is much simpler than it seems. To prevent subscribers from sharing the Internet with other devices, the operator only needs to control the TTL. For example, if you enable modem mode on your phone, the TTL output from the connected devices will be 1 less than that of the smartphone, to which the provider will immediately respond. Manipulating TTL allows you to bypass the tethering restriction.
If you still don't understand what TTL is and how it works, check out the infographic below.
The device works without Internet distribution.
For iOS and Android devices, the default TTL is 64. If the phone does not distribute the Internet to other devices, all packets go to the operator with a TTL value of 64.
The device distributes the Internet.
When you try to distribute the Internet using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or USB to other devices, for example, a laptop and another phone, packets from the distribution device are still sent with a TTL=64 value. Packets from a computer/laptop to an Internet distribution device arrive with TTL=128 (the default value for Windows), lose one on the distribution device and go to the operator with TTL=127. Packets from the receiving Internet phone reach the distributing device with TTL=64 and go to the operator with TTL=63, losing one unit. For the operator, this means that the subscriber is distributing the Internet, as evidenced by packages with three different TTL values. As a result, the provider takes appropriate measures against such a subscriber.
The device distributes the Internet with TTL adjustment.
To prevent the operator from calculating the fact that tethering has started, it is necessary to change the default TTL on the Internet distribution device so that packets from other devices, when losing one from the TTL, have the value that was set for the “default” distribution device. The above picture shows that after adjustment, the TTL value on the Internet distributing phone is 63. iOS and Android devices have TTL=64, but after the packets pass through the distributing device, the TTL loses one and arrives at the operator with a value of 63. It turns out that the operator does not see nothing suspicious and the subscriber can distribute the Internet without any restrictions or additional payment.
If the receiving Internet device has a default TTL other than 64, you need to make the appropriate changes. For example, if you want to distribute the Internet to a laptop or computer that has TTL=128, you need to change it to 64. This scheme allows you to simultaneously distribute the Internet to a computer, as well as iOS and Android devices. If for some reason you cannot change the TTL on the PC, then change the TTL of the distributing device to 127. As a result, the packets will go to the operator with the same value and no suspicions will arise. True, this scheme has a drawback. You will not be able to connect iOS and Android devices to the Internet at the same time as your computer if their default TTL is not 128.
The device distributes the Internet with TTL adjustment and fixation.
This scheme is the most convenient. You need to change and fix the TTL for any outgoing packets. That is, it does not matter at all what devices will connect to the Internet. This option will be ideal for those who cannot change the TTL on the receiving device, for example, smart TV or game consoles. The disadvantage of this method is that it is not suitable for all phones.
Conclusion
We hope you understand what TTL is and how adjusting this value can be useful for an ordinary subscriber. We tried to explain everything briefly and clearly. If you have any questions, ask them in the comments and we will try to help you. Let us remind you that this review is intended to give you an idea of the concept of TTL. As for practical ways to change this value, they are all described in a separate article.
A flash is a very convenient tool that is not at all burdensome to carry with you. There is not enough light - use flash; the light falls unattractively on the faces of people in the frame - turn on the flash; If you want to highlight shadows when shooting on a bright day or at sunset, flash can help you! If you learn to understand flash and use it correctly, a new world of unknown possibilities will open up for you. But you need to start, as always, with the basics. So let's take a look flash operating modes.
This article will look at the modes that can be set on the flash itself when you press the button. Mode. Therefore, do not confuse these flash modes with flash and camera synchronization modes. I will also make a reservation that we will mainly talk about working with an external flash. But on some cameras, even the built-in flash can have advanced control functions and several operating modes. Learn more about the difference between built-in and external flash.
Main flash operating modes not so many - just three:
Automatic (ETTL, TTL, i-TTL, ADI, etc.)
Manual / Manual – Manual
Multi – Multi
Typically, top-end flashes can work in all of these modes, but there are also flashes that, for example, do not have a Multi mode and/or TTL support. But before you get upset about the lack of a certain mode or order the most expensive flash, let's figure it out - are these additional shooting modes really necessary?
Flash modeManual
This mode is similar to the Manual shooting mode in your camera - all settings are selected and set manually. Basic flash settings in manual mode include:
Pulse power– affects the brightness of the lighting and the distance at which objects will be illuminated by the light from the flash. Power is typically adjusted on a scale from 1/1 (the maximum power your flash can handle) to 1/16, 1/32, 1/64, or 1/128 of the maximum power. The power gradation scale varies depending on the flash model. The more values (for example, from 1/1 to 1/128), the more freedom of control and subtleties when adjusting the brightness of the pulse. But it is quite possible to work with flashes, the minimum pulse power of which is 1/16, in most situations.
Most modern flashes are equipped with a display on which the set power value is displayed in the form of a numerical designation. But there are flashes without a display, where the indicator of the set power is a kind of scale with glowing bulbs. In this case, the more lamps are lit, the more powerful the pulse is set. To find out for sure how the power is set on your flash, open the instructions for it. If you bought a used flash without instructions, type the name and model of the flash in a search engine, adding the phrase “instructions” or “instructions in Russian.” Almost all instructions available in electronic form on the Internet for free viewing and/or downloading.
Zoom flashes(not to be confused with the zoom on the lens, these are different settings, although they are interconnected) – adjusts the propagation angle and the range of “finishing off” the impulse from the flash. It is generally recommended to set the zoom value of the external flash according to the selected focal length of the lens. So, the larger the focal length of the lens used to shoot, the smaller the viewing angle, but the greater the distance from the shooting point to the subject. Accordingly, for normal illumination of the frame when shooting with a long-focus lens, you need a light pulse that will reach a greater distance. At the same time, the light beam itself may be narrower - there is no need to illuminate objects at the edges of the frame that are not involved in the shooting scene.
On the contrary, when shooting with it, it is more important to illuminate a large area of the scene, because Wide-angle lenses have a larger viewing angle. In this case, the shooting objects are much closer to the shooting point, so the light pulse must be designed for a short distance.
Manual flash control mode Almost all external flashes have it and even some built-in flashes have it. There are fully manual flashes (they are usually much cheaper) that only work in manual mode.
Manual flash mode, just like manual mode on a camera, requires not only an understanding of the settings, but also some experience. If the flash zoom setting in manual mode can be set based on the focal length of the lens, then the pulse power parameter is set mainly experimentally.
Flash power value depends on the following parameters:
— lighting conditions(evening, night, twilight, room with insufficient light, shooting at sunset, etc.)
— distance to subject(the closer the subject is, the less power is needed to illuminate it normally with a flash) - remember the law of light distribution in space
— exposed exposure settings(shutter speed, aperture, ISO) – you can already let in a sufficient amount of ambient light by adjusting the exposure parameters, and only light up the foreground a little with the flash (power 1/16 - 1/64). Usually such photos look more natural. But if you need to get a brightly lit main subject in the foreground against a black background, set the maximum impulse (1/1 - 1/4) and select the exposure settings based on this impulse
— use of directed (directly at the object, without attachments), reflected or diffused light– when using bounce flash or using diffuser attachments (diffuse caps, mini-softboxes) it reduces the intensity of the light flux. Therefore, most often, for reflected or scattered light from a flash, you can choose a more powerful pulse than when using directional light from a “naked” flash
TTL flash mode
TTL mode, which may be lettered differently depending on the manufacturer. The meaning is the same - this is a mode for automatically selecting flash settings. In modern Canon flashes this mode is designated ETTL, in Nikon – i-TTL.
Abbreviation TTL comes from "Through The Lens", which literally translates as “through the lens.” This means that automatic exposure metering to select the flash power setting occurs by assessing the illumination in the frame through the lens of the lens. To do this, a preliminary evaluation pulse is used, which allows the exposure to be measured. The advantage of this method of exposure metering allows you to take into account the characteristics of the lens used - during metering, corrections are made for screwed filters and attachments and the viewing angle.
TTL technology has undergone several modifications during the development of photographic equipment. Thus, in older film SLR cameras, infrared pulse metering technology (A-TTL in Canon cameras) was used for automatic flash control, then modified to pre-pulse metering (ETTL in Canon cameras). The latest modification (ETTL-II in Canon cameras) also takes into account the distance from the shooting point to the object in the frame.
When choosing a flash, pay attention to whether it supports TTL technology(your manufacturer, respectively). So, there are manual flashes that do not support automatic operation at all. There are also flashes that support, for example, older technology than your camera. For example, you have a new camera with ETTL-II mode, but the flash only supports ETTL. This doesn't mean they are not compatible; equipment that works on more advanced automatic metering technologies usually supports less advanced ones. Thus, you will be working with ETTL technology, not ETTL-II.
The reverse situation looks similar. For example, you put the latest model of flash that supports ETTL-II on an old camera. If the flash is “native” (i.e. to a Canon camera – Canon flash, etc.), then the “camera” - “flash” system will automatically orient itself and determine the technology available for interaction.
Flash photography in auto mode, in fact, resembles shooting in the “Auto” mode on a camera. Your camera measures the exposure and selects the appropriate (in its opinion) flash power value and the “zoom” parameter depending on the type of lens (the set focal length is determined automatically even when using a zoom lens). Moreover, it is not at all necessary to use flash in TTL mode, only when the camera is set to automatic or semi-automatic mode. These two modes are in no way tied to each other. You can safely shoot in manual mode M on the camera and use automatic flash control mode.
In most cases, the flash will fire normally for the given scene. But it should be understood that automated photographic equipment cannot take into account all the subtleties and features of shooting. The automatic calculation is based on the average illumination of medium-gray objects in the frame. Moreover, calculations in automatic exposure metering to adjust the flash work normally only when the flash is directed “head-on” and the flash is used either on a “hot shoe” or on a synchronizer with TTL mode support. The task for automation becomes more difficult when flash is reflected– it is automatically difficult to calculate how the reflected light will fall on the object. The camera cannot estimate at what angle and distance the flash light will be reflected. As a result, the settings are set approximately.
There are also many situations where it makes sense to switch to manual flash control. Most often I work in manual flash mode - it’s easier for me to control the process. TTL mode Suitable primarily for novice photographers who find it difficult to understand the settings, as well as for situations when you either have no time or simply don’t want to think about flash settings, and the subject changes very quickly (reportage shooting, travel, etc.) .
Even in TTL mode it is possible to make adjustments to the flash operation. To do this, there are flash compensation settings, which are similar to the exposure compensation settings in the camera. Flash compensation allows you to set the pulse brighter or weaker than the automatically calculated value. In this case, you manually set the value on the scale (from -3 to +3 exposure steps) by which you compensate for the flash power. So, if, when shooting in automatic flash mode when shooting a test frame, it seems to you that the flash did not fire powerfully enough, set the exposure compensation to positive, and vice versa.
For built-in flash There is a similar setting that can be set in the camera Menu. Menu -> Flash Compensation or Menu -> Flash Control -> Built-in Flash -> Flash Compensation. The path to the settings may differ depending on the camera manufacturer and model. If you cannot find these settings at random, open the instructions.
Also in the camera settings Menu -> Flash control exists setting exposure metering when using flash. If you have a scene with complex lighting (shooting against the sun, for example) or you need to correctly illuminate and expose only one part of the frame using the flash, choose spot or partial metering mode. Otherwise, the camera measures the illumination over the entire area of the frame, and all objects become equal. As a result, the selection of settings may result in underexposure on some objects or overexposure on others.
More often flash in TTL mode gives a fairly powerful impulse, especially when shooting at night. As a result, the photo shows white faces, a black background, and the flash fires at maximum power, which leads to rapid overheating and battery consumption. The solution is to learn to shoot in manual mode or skillfully use flash compensation.
ModeMulti
If in Manual and TTL modes the flash fires only one pulse during the exposure time, then in Multi flash mode fires several times while the camera shutter is open. As a result, you can get interesting effects - several images of the same object in one frame, without using any processing.
Multi mode is also a mode that completely controlled manually. But in addition to the flash power and flash zoom parameters (as in M mode), you need to set 2 more parameters:
Number of pulses– how many times the flash will fire
Pulse frequency ( in Hz) – the higher the frequency, the shorter the time interval between two adjacent flash pulses
Not all flashes support Multi mode. I will say more - most flashes usually do not have this mode. But this mode is used mainly for specific or experimental shooting. This mode is useless in daily work. If you have it in your flash, great, you can have some fun! If it’s not there, don’t despair, the loss is not that great. I talked more about shooting with flash in Multi mode in my online course “Digital Photography Made Easy!” First level.
Learn more about working with flash in Manual mode indoors, see the MK entry “Working with an external flash indoors.”
We were working on location during which we photographed performer Mindy Gledhill and her tour bus. It was a beautiful sunny day, so one side of the bus was fully lit. This provided us with an excellent opportunity to test the performance of our Profoto B1 and B2 off-camera flashes in TTL mode.
TTL is an abbreviation for "Through-The-Lens" flash metering. By mounting either the Air Remote TTL-C or the Air Remote TTL-N to the camera, photographers can set up their lights, turn them on and fire to get the perfect flash exposure. Then, with the press of a few buttons, the photographer can adjust TTL exposure compensation directly on the camera itself, and when working with different groups, can increase and decrease the power of those individual groups (A, B, C) regardless of the camera in TTL mode or manual mode.
LIGHTING SCHEME
Our main lighting setup included a B2 with an off-camera softbox (OCF Softbox 2x3) as the main light, another B2 with a zoom reflector to light the hair, and two B1 off-camera flashes to light the shadowed side of the tour bus behind Mindy. . Additionally, to make sure we had complete control over the lighting of our subject, we used a gold/white folding reflector as a flag to shade her from the sun. Our main light and hair light were set to the left to match the direction of the sunlight. The background lights that shined onto the bus were installed only to subtly fill the shadow at the front of the bus.
TTL MODE
Our first flash shot was taken entirely in TTL mode with no flash exposure compensation. Our lighting fixtures were divided into three groups. A: main light. B: Light falling on hair. C: Background lighting at the front of the bus. Even with the extremely bright deceptive light coming from the bus, the first TTL shot was very close to what we needed. The main light was perfect and the hair light was 2/3 of a stop brighter than I would have liked. The only group that didn't suit me was the background lighting at the front of the bus. It was technically correct that the flashes tried to match their exposure to the rest of the bus, but this resulted in the front of the bus being too bright to look like a natural shadow. But ultimately, the Profoto AirTTL System created a very accurate initial exposure. Which now had to be adjusted according to our preferences.
SWITCHING TO MANUAL MODE
The Profoto Air Remote TTL-C system allows full TTL control and manual flash control in three groups (A, B and C), and manual flash firing in three additional groups (D, E and F). In our lighting scheme, only the first three groups were used. After our first test shot, we assessed the resulting image and determined that some manual adjustments were needed. So we switched the Air Remote TTL-C from TTL mode to manual mode and began making our adjustments by pressing the up and down buttons on the group remote. Hair Light Group B was 1/3 of a stop too bright, so we pressed the power down button three times (each press corresponded to a 0.1 stop reduction). Our Group C bus background light was 2 stops too bright, so we pressed the power down button twice, holding it down long each time (each long press represents a full stop). Once the settings of each flash in the respective groups were changed at our command via the remote control, we began shooting. The results were exactly what we wanted.
CONCLUSION
Using the B1 and B2 off-camera flashes in TTL mode makes the lighting testing phase of a shot incredibly efficient. After receiving the initial exposure calculation via TTL, I quickly switched the Air Remote TTL-C to manual mode and made the necessary power adjustments. And lighting decisions are then made during the shooting process. I now find myself using TTL in some way on almost every shoot I do because TTL helps me get my bearings faster and allows me to spend more time and attention on other aspects of the shoot.
P-TTL- flash control mode. Immediately before taking a picture, the camera automatically fires a very short pre-flash and, having assessed the exposure using sensors inside the camera, automatically adjusts the flash power and duration to capture the picture itself. For this mode to work, both the camera and the flash must support P-TTL.
Let us remind you what TTL is. TTL (Through the lens)- “through the lens/objective” is a concept in photography that means the camera receives information about the scene being photographed through the camera lens. In a narrower sense - the operating mode of the flash.
The abbreviation P-TTL is used mainly in cameras Pentax And Samsung. Other manufacturers have different names for this flash mode. For example: Canon - E-TTL, S igma - S-TTL. All these modes (unlike the TTL mode), despite the similarity of the operating principle, are not compatible with each other according to the data exchange protocols between the device and the flash.
There are various methods for controlling a photoflash. For example, by a series of preliminary pulses of different powers, by distance to an object, by matrix measurement, and a host of others. But each method has its drawbacks, for example, the presence of a pre-flash leads to the fact that some people, when shooting, have time to react to the pre-flash and blink, as a result of which their eyes appear closed in the photo. The TTL flash mode does not have this drawback, where there is only one shooting impulse.
The transition of photographic equipment manufacturers from TTL metering systems to metering systems with a preliminary pulse made it possible to abandon the installation of an additional sensor in cameras ( P-TTL uses the main metering sensor during the preliminary pulse). P-TTL metering is potentially more accurate than TTL, because it does not depend on the nature of light reflection from the film or matrix of the device and makes it possible to better take into account external illumination.
Let's consider the principle of operation P-TTL using the example of a flash PENTAX AF-360FGZ:
With Pentax MZ-S and Pentax MZ-6 cameras, this flash works according to the P-TTL. Before the main radiation is triggered, a preliminary pulse is emitted. This allows the multi-segment exposure meter sensor to determine the distance to the photographed object, its brightness, the presence of backlighting, etc. The resulting data is used to calculate the output power of the main flash.
Chinese manufacturers have announced the release of their TTL flashes, which will be produced for Canon (TR-332, with support E-TTL II) and Nikon (TR-331).
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