Minolta Dimage S304 Instruction Manual page 16

AUTO-RECORDING MODE
FLASH MODES
To set the flash mode, sim-
ply press the flash mode
button (1) on the back of
the camera until the
desired mode is displayed.
1
LCD Data
monitor panel
Autoflash
Fill-flash
Flash cancel
Autoflash with
red-eye reduction
Fill-flash with
red-eye reduction
Red-eye reduction - the flash fires twice before the
main flash burst to reduce red-eye; an effect caused
by light reflected from the retina. Use in low-light con-
ditions when taking photographs of people or ani-
mals. The pre-flashes contract the pupils of the sub-
ject's eyes.
30
Autoflash - the flash fires automatically
in low-light and backlit conditions.
Fill-flash - the flash fires with each
exposure regardless of the amount of
ambient light. Fill-flash can be used to
reduce harsh shadows caused by strong
direct light or sunshine.
Flash cancel - the flash will not fire.
Use flash cancel when flash photogra-
phy is prohibited, natural light is desired
to illuminate the subject, or the subject
is beyond the flash range. The camera-
shake warning may appear when flash
cancel is selected (p. 31).
FLASH RANGE - AUTO-RECORDING MODE
The camera will automatically control the flash output. For well-exposed images, the
subject must be within the flash range. Because of the optical system, the flash range
is not the same at the lens' wide-angle position as it is at the telephoto position.
Wide-angle position
Telephoto position
FLASH SIGNALS
The orange flash lamp next to the viewfinder indi-
cates the status of the flash. When the lamp
glows steadily, the flash is charged and ready to
fire. When the lamps blinks quickly, the flash is
charging and the shutter will not release. The
flash lamp is also used as a camera-shake warn-
ing, see below.
CAMERA-SHAKE WARNING
If the shutter speed falls below the point where the camera can be safely hand held,
the camera-shake warning will appear on the LCD monitor and the orange focus lamp
will blink slowly. Camera shake is slight blurring caused by subtle hand motion and is
more pronounced at the telephoto setting of the lens than at the wide-angle setting.
Although the warning appears, the shutter can still be released. If the warning appears,
the following steps can be taken:
• Place the camera on a tripod.
• Use the built-in flash.
• Zoom the lens towards the wide-angle position until the warning
disappears.
0.5m ~ 3.5m (1.6 ft. ~ 11.5 ft.)
0.9m ~ 3.0m (3.0 ft. ~ 9.8 ft.)
31