Annoying AF assist flash on 300D??

[oaynuj]

paisey newbie here...juz wondering if there's anyway to avoid the annoying flashes of light the pop-up flash emmits when autofocusing in lowlight conditions on the 300D? It's known as the AF-assist beam right?
if so how does the cam autofocus with the popup flash down in low light?
And also are the AF-assist beam on external flashes the same?

[mervin420]

paisey newbie here...juz wondering if there's anyway to avoid the annoying flashes of light the pop-up flash emmits when autofocusing in lowlight conditions on the 300D?

nope, dun think so

It's known as the AF-assist beam right?

Yes it is.

if so how does the cam autofocus with the popup flash down in low light?

it trys to hunt for a point to focus on with the availiable light. if none is found, then it will not focus. ie. autofocus will fail.

And also are the AF-assist beam on external flashes the same?

yes it works the same way but uses an IR beam instead.

for most of the new SLR... including EOS series... will be set to auto pop up and snap..

to enable it?? the only way i know is u use manual to take your pic... but once again... taking pic manually is a challenge for most of us...

[loupgarou]

if you shoot in the creative modes, the flash will not auto pop up (P.Tv.Av.M.Adep)

[oaynuj]

the white AF-assist has to go lar. Scare animals at the night safari only haha~
any cheap small external flashes (3rd party also can) to reccomend? hopefully can cover all the AF points on the 300D.
how much for the Speedlite 420EX ar?

[teL]

Originally Posted by ferrari taking pic manually is a challenge for most of us...

Sorry ... a little OT here... but why is that a challenge? Photography is basically painting with light... to paint with light, you need to understand it, ie. you need to know exposure control. And if you understand exposure basics, there shouldn't be any reason why you cannot take pictures manually. Unless you take the easy way out and ignore the basics, letting the camera expose for you.

I have never believed in auto/semi-auto modes and use them only when really necessary. Otherwise, 99% of the time, the dial on my 300D (and on my earlier G3) stays at M.

[ST1100]

The 420EX is a bit under $400. It covers (widest end) 28mm, so should be ok on the 18-55, unless you are using a lens wider then 18mm.

i didn't realize the popup flash doubles as the AF assist on the 300D. Another creative way to cut costs. Amazing.

[Ah Pao]

Originally Posted by ST1100 i didn't realize the popup flash doubles as the AF assist on the 300D. Another creative way to cut costs. Amazing.

Most new EOS cameras introduced after 2000 uses the pop-up flash as the AF assist. Not only it scares the subject, it gives nasty surprises to me too...

I miss the IR-beam AF assist on the EOS50...elegant and professional.

[Helbreath]

Originally Posted by oaynuj the white AF-assist has to go lar. Scare animals at the night safari only haha~ any cheap small external flashes (3rd party also can) to reccomend? hopefully can cover all the AF points on the 300D. how much for the Speedlite 420EX ar?

420EX is ~330 w/gst and it is the only flash that covers all 7 AF points

[loupgarou]

animals can see infrared too..

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which is annoying since the fish/bird can get startled and move.

[ST1100]

BTW, is that beam really infrared? Looks like a pattern of red lights to me. i don't think the AF of the camera can see infrared.

[ST1100]

Originally Posted by Ah Pao Most new EOS cameras introduced after 2000 uses the pop-up flash as the AF assist. Not only it scares the subject, it gives nasty surprises to me too... I miss the IR-beam AF assist on the EOS50...elegant and professional.

Really? i thot most of them have a dedicated white assist light, instead of using the popup flash. i must be really outdated.

[chriszzz]

Originally Posted by ST1100 BTW, is that beam really infrared? Looks like a pattern of red lights to me. i don't think the AF of the camera can see infrared.

It's not infra-red. It's just red. Humans can't see infra red anyway, but you sure can see the red pattern flashing on the wall.

[chriszzz]

Originally Posted by ST1100 Really? i thot most of them have a dedicated white assist light, instead of using the popup flash. i must be really outdated.

The 300D and 10D do the popup-flashflashflash thing, one of the dumbest things I've ever seen Canon do. Why can't they just use the Sony style laser AF light ? This stupid flash only serves to make people scrunge up their faces because its too bright.

[Ah Pao]

Originally Posted by ST1100 Really? i thot most of them have a dedicated white assist light, instead of using the popup flash. i must be really outdated.

The white light is used exclusively for red-eye reduction and self-timer countdown.

In response to the IR AF assist, yes, it's not true IR but near IR ("dim" red light).

[sehsuan]

Originally Posted by ST1100 i didn't realize the popup flash doubles as the AF assist on the 300D. Another creative way to cut costs. Amazing.

it was the case with the 10D already, but there's a CFn to turn that off.

[dkw]

I don't think it will pop up unannounced if you don't use the Auto modes. As far as I can tell, the 300D focuses decently in low light, and I've never had to use AF assist (but FEL, now that's ANOTHER matter!). Put it in P, if you're a bit lazy, or M.

Btw, I'd rather save the pennies than have a laser AF assist built in.

Cheers