Nikon Coolpix L3

[Jeff B]

I just purchased my first digital camera: Nikon Coolpix L3. I would like to shoot some photos of my layout to post here. Any tips would be
greatly appreciated.
Jeff

[Colonel]

I guess the most important tip is to ensure the flash is disabled before use. The flash will make the background dark while overexposing the model.

Since you have a digital camera the best thing to do is practice and it wont cost you a sent. Maybe if you take some photos and post them here I'm sure some of the keen photographers will offer some ciritical advice.

[Jeff B]

Thanks Colonel,
How do I post photos? I have been here a while but never got to the point of posting photos.
Jeff

[MK]

Disable the flash and use a tripod. Also, use the correct white balance so things don't look yellowish (incandescent) or bluish (flourescent).

[jwaldo]

Jeff, if you do need the flash, fold up some white paper and cover the flash with it. This will diffuse the flash so it doesn't was out the detail. The more you fold the paper, the more it diffuses the light.

Also, unless I plan on editing the photo, I don't use the included software. I just use Windows explorer to copy the pix from the camera to my hard drive.

[Pete Nolan]

Be careful not to put the white paper--or anything else--in direct contact with the flash. You can blow out a flash tube--I've done it twice in 40 years. Both tubes may have been defective, but they were relatively new

[MK]

Be careful not to put the white paper--or anything else--in direct contact with the flash. You can blow out a flash tube--I've done it twice in 40 years. Both tubes may have been defective, but they were relatively new

Pete,

You are correct. If you must diffuse with paper, make an "umbrella" so the paper is not touching the flash unit. I've heard people say that the reason the flash tube gets blown is the paper traps the intense heat inside the flash and doesn't allow it to dissipate fast enough. Over time, this kills the flash.

[jwaldo]

I only held it right up against the flash once. The alarming explodey noise it made taught me to keep it farther away :o

[Pete Nolan]

I blew the built-in flash on my Nikon D100 when I was using my thumb to wipe away rain drops and I clicked the shutter. I knew it was gone the instant I heard the sound. My thumb felt nothing. Luckily, that was under warranty.

I blew a small independent flash almost the same way about 25 years ago. I triggered it as I was wiping it down. Same noise. Same result.

BTW, I've used the SB-800 outdoors with great success. When it's cloudy and rainy, I've found it has a remarkable range. When it fires at full power, there's almost a recoil from it.:teeth:

Here's a shot where I used it to light up Mt. Sanford, almost 40 miles away:

http://www.trainboard.com/petenolan/2820Dome-H-AspenglowLow.jpg

Just joking, of course.

[Michael R, New York]

I blew the built-in flash on my Nikon D100 when I was using my thumb to wipe away rain drops and I clicked the shutter. I knew it was gone the instant I heard the sound. My thumb felt nothing. Luckily, that was under warranty.

<SNIP>

Just joking, of course.

Personally, and unofficially, I'd recommend the 3 ply filter...

3 Ply is 3 sheets of 1 ply toilet paper or 2 ply plus 1 half of a 2 ply.

Tends to diffuse very nicely and dissipate heat rather well with flashes of those sizes....can be held on with just fingers....

Michael

[Pete Nolan]

I love the dome diffuser on the SB-800. Michael, do the built-in flashes on the new camera pop up higher than the D70? Are they high enough to use with the 12-24 zoom at 12mm?

The SB-800 seems impervious to rain. It rains a lot in Alaska, so I often need it for fill flash, to get some of the dreariness out of the foreground subject. Obviously I try to keep things reasonably dry but, when it's coming down in buckets, that's hard. A strong flash really helped this shot.

http://www.trainboard.com/petenolan/2980OldCaribou.jpg

I wish I'd saved the non-flash shots, but they were darker, and I trashed them.

[Michael R, New York]

Nope-you can't cover 18mm (equiv.) of the 12-24 with the built-in pop up. Even if it was higher, the tube is not wide enough and doesn't diffuse wide enough...

Michael

[Pete Nolan]

Nope-you can't cover 18mm (equiv.) of the 12-24 with the built-in pop up. Even if it was higher, the tube is not wide enough and doesn't diffuse wide enough...

Michael

Well, Michael, 12mm is pretty ridiculously (in the good sense) wide at 94 degrees field of view. For those who don't have this lens, I was referring to the fact that, at 12mm, the field of view is so wide that the lens barrel will cast a cone of shadows in the bottom half of the picture when you use the built-in flash. Using something mounted higher, like my SB-800, the problem goes away.

When I'm shooting a picture at 12mm, I usually bounce the flash. That works very well.