Flash options on the Canon Eos 1300D or Rebel T6

Like most digital SLR cameras, the Canon Rebel T6, or Eos 1300D, has a built-in flash as well as a hot shoe for an external flash. The built-in flash is great for casual photography, perhaps of family or friends. It has a GN (guide number) of 90, which means it is effective at a distance of about 2-3 meters at normal settings (ISO 100, f4). The advantage of the built-in flash is that, being built into the camera, you always have it with you and it automatically works to produce the best exposure, using the camera’s ETTL (Evaluative Through The Lens) system, which means that the camera shares its exposure settings with the flash so the image looks good. This is particularly useful if you are using the flash to fill in. The other bonus is that if you’re using the basic modes (auto through to night portrait), the camera will decide if flash is required, so you don’t have to think about it.

There’s also an option to make the flash fire even if the camera thinks you don’t need it. The options you can change are limited compared to external flash, but a useful option is front curtain or rear curtain, because this will have an effect on how action pictures are taken. if the flash is set to first curtain, the flash will fire when the shutter is released. If the flash is set to rear-curtain, it will fire just before the shutter closes. This may not seem important, but if you’re shooting fast-moving subjects, firing the flash first will make the subject appear to be moving backwards (because the flash freezes the subject and then there’s ghostly movement as the subject moves backwards). ahead). If the flash fires at the end of the shot, ghosting occurs first and the flash freezes the subject, making the subject appear to be moving forward.

You can also change the exposure compensation setting and the ETTL by choosing between evaluative or average. In this case, Evaluative will set the flash based on the light on the subject, while Average will set the flash based on an average of all the light in the frame. Because the flash uses ETTL, it knows the setting of the lens, so it will focus the light from the flash if the lens is magnified (50 -100mm) or scatter the light if the lens has a wide focal length (24mm, for instance).

There are more creative options for external flash, although that depends to some degree on the flash gun you have.

With both, you have the option of changing the flash timing to either the front (1st) curtain or the rear (2nd) curtain. The front curtain fires the flash when the shutter is released, and the rear curtain fires the flash just as the shutter closes. If the subject is stationary, this won’t matter much, but if the subject is moving, when the flash fires it will affect the impression of movement in the image. External flash options can also offer high-speed sync, allowing you to shoot in bright light with a shallow depth of field. With both flash options, you get Flash Exposure Bracketing (FEB), which lets you group your shots: take the same image with different flash intensity, then choose the one you prefer.

If the external flash has ETTL settings, it will also respond to the zoom setting of the lens. This is very useful as if the lens is on a wide angle setting the flash will try to spread its light over a wide area, while if the lens is on a long setting then the flash will narrow the light beam to try to get more distance. In many cases, the external flash will also function as a slave flash, meaning you can position the flash away from the camera and it can be triggered by the camera’s built-in flash.

The Canon 1300D, or Rebel T6, is an excellent camera for learning how to use flash in your photography. Watch this video here or visit my website for more information.