Sony P10

[Norbert]

I've had a Sony P5 digi for a while and it's been a great camera with the underwater housing.

Just got a P10 with housing as an additional camera for trips etc. and notice that the flash fires twice in quick succession, which the P5 doesn't do.

Doesn't seem to hurt the images and the external strobe seems to work OK (although it fires twice too).

I can't find anything on this either in the Sony manual that came with the camera or on the net.

Anyone got any ideas and are you all also getting the twin flash effect?

[sch]

Not got the P10, but have seen it on other cameras as an 'anti-red eye' thing. It's usually settable in the flash settings.

[Norbert]

I thought that may be it, but its not.

There is a red-eye reduction setting, but that's set to "off" and this is a definite twin flash - both the same intensity.  

The red-eye reduction flash is more of a flicker and then the full flash goes off.


Thanks for the thought though!

[sbuccilli]

have got a p10 but cant seem to get it to flash twice or not that i can notice.
but on the instructions for my external flash it does say that there is a pre flash that you have to adjust for on the external one,which is a ysdx25
hpe this helps

[Norbert]

How weird!

I've just got hold of a mate's P10 and it does the same (thought it may be mine being a bit funny).

It fires a flash and then fires again when it takes the actual picture.

I'm sure there must be a setting I can adjust in there somewhere, but for the life of me can't find it!

[Tim Ingmire]

Some digcams fire a preflash before taking the picture - its used, I believe, to get a more accurate exposure reading which then controls how long the second flash will fire.  This has been a problem using external strobes if they were used as the slave because the pre-flash would fire the external strobe which wouldn't have then recycled for the exposure.  So new strobes have been developed for digi use which ignore the pre-flash and then fire once the main flash goes off.  Some cameras allow you disable the pre-flash.

[Norbert]

Thanks Timing - interesting stuff.

The even weirder thing is that the strobe I have (Sea and Sea YS90) also fires twice in synch with the P10 via the optical cable.

I didn't think it would recycle the chrage in time, but it does and even using it in the Red Sea last week, all the shots came out OK.

Bit bizarre if you ask me?

[Tim Ingmire]

OK.  Well if it works then thats cool.

[sbuccilli]

sounds ok to too