Digital Camera with Long Flash Range

[Stue Pididiot]

I want to get my wife a second digital camera to get good indoor pictures. We're interested in one with a long flash range indoors. We're looking for maybe 3 - 5 megapixels. Anyone remember any models like that with a long flash range?
Thanks for the help!

[zippyjuan]

A "long flash range" for indoors? Are you think like school plays or sports? Pretty much any of the built- in flashes have a limited range- they are intended for closer range shots in part because their lenses do not reach that far and won't need it. The light reaching a subject decreases in an inverse square ratio- if it is twice as far away, only a quarter of the light reaches it as would have reached it at the original distance so to get farther away, you really need a strong flash which is more than what is built into the cameras. Or said another way, a flash has to be four times as powerful to reach twice as far. Anything far away won't be sharp anyways. To get a more powerful flash will probably mean that you need a camera you can add an external flash to.

[Stue Pididiot]

Thanks zippyjuan. I've seen digital cameras with their built-in flash specs that are very different. Some cameras say their built-in flash range is 7 or 8 feet, some say 15 or 16 feet. I don't know if this is just stretching the truth by the manufacturer or some have stronger built-in flashes. Our current camera's built in flash seems to die at about 7 feet, even after playing with exposure, and other menu options. It doesn't take good indoor pics unless we get right in front of the kids which isn't always practical. So that's why we were hoping to find a camera that actually had a longer flash distance, if such a thing exists.

[MrGreg]

The Canon Powershot G7 has a hotshoe on it, but at that point you're a significant portion of the cost towards a d-slr. There are some pretty good prices around on the Rebel Xt (previous generation).

[johnnymk]

When using a flash, people's faces appear very white, almost like a corpse. Is there any way to reduce this effect?

[Jeffbx]

Bounce the flash (http://home.comcast.net/~dougsmit/bounceflashtoys.html)

[redcolours]

The Canon Powershot G7 has a hotshoe on it, but at that point you're a significant portion of the cost towards a d-slr. There are some pretty good prices around on the Rebel Xt (previous generation).


dell's got some good deals on the rebel XT and XTi just very recently. may still be on...

[clutchy]

When using a flash, people's faces appear very white, almost like a corpse. Is there any way to reduce this effect?


set the white balance to *flash*. it makes a pretty big difference.

either that or bounce it.