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We have a Sony RX100 camera.
We chose it because we can point it at stuff, press a button and what comes out looks nice. It's meant to be a pretty good camera, but in our hands (ahem)......
That is the beginning, middle and end of my photography knowledge!
It is solarider jnr's 1st birthday on Sunday (where has that year gone?!) and we have a family dinner in a fairly dimly lit room. The flash is a bit useless (either washes everything out or too dark), and we often get blury images indoors.
In very simple layman/idiot's terms, what do I need to adjust to get clear, nicely exposed images? The presets dont seem to do it (unless I am missing something?). Any other tips?
Thanks all!
Not a bad camera, actually. Set ISO to 1600 and you'll be fine.
On proper cameras, the flash varies in brightness accordingly. On many compacts it seems it doesn't.
You could try taping some white plastic in front of the flash. It sounds crap but apparently it's the sort of things that pros do. Milk bottle perhaps, and you could maybe make it curve to spread the light better.
Or tape (or hold) a white piece of plastic at an angle, to bounce some of the flash off the ceiling (or a wall) and let some through.
Half a ping pong ball also popular.
Googling for 'RX100 flash diffuser" results in some people trying to sovle the same issue:
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/42247873 (no pics but a description of how to try and bounce the flash off the ceiling, which is another option.)
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3366392
For 'normal' photos put it in 'intelligent auto' mode ( camera icon with an i next to it). For difficult situations ( low light, backlit, family dinners, ...) put it in superior auto mode ( camera icon with an i and a +) next to it. Put the picture quality to' jpeg fine' and maximum resolution. When you take the photo, half press the shutter button and wait for focus to lock on then press down harder to take the photo.
It's a great camera but complex for a non- photographer. Lots of reading and maybe some hands on help from a local photo guru ( night school class maybe) will improve things no end.
Re diffusers, on the rx100 you can gently tilt the flash upwards with a finger and bounce it off the ceiling. This softens the shadows a lot.
Woops - just what molgrips said at the end.
leave the flash off, select shutter priority, adjust shutter speed, you can leave it open longer if people are still and smiling for the camera, if you're trying to catch people moving/kids running about, you'll need to go for a faster shutter, If I can capture fast moving bikes in a forest this way, some people at the dinner table should be doable.
Maximum aperture reduces quite a lot on that camera as you zoom in so you may get better results in low light if you keep it zoomed out.