Should I use flash indoors with an Olympus Stylus Epic, and what film speed should I choose?
Asked 6/4/2017
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I’m new to film photography and recently bought an Olympus Stylus Epic. I mainly use it for photos of friends, plus some occasional landscapes. For indoor shots, do I always need to turn the flash on, or can the camera still make usable photos without flash? I’m also unsure what film to buy. Right now I’ve tried Fuji 200 and Agfa 400, but I’d like to know what ISO film makes the most sense for this camera and for indoor versus outdoor shooting.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
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You could just rely on the automated exposure/metering system of the camera, and put the flash on Automatic mode, so that it will turn on the flash when it thinks it's needed, and you don't have to worry about it.
Given that your camera is a film point-and-shoot with a fixed 35/2.8 lens, and is fully automatic without giving you any explicit control over ISO, aperture, or shutter speed, it may not be worth your while to, say, put a metering app on a smartphone and see how much light you have to determine whether or not to turn on the flash. :)
As for which type of film to get, the ISO rating is mostly what you have to worry about, and it's a tradeoff between low-light sensitivity vs. grain in the final shots. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive the film is to light, but the larger the film grains are.
Originally by user27440. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user27440
9y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
With a fully automatic point-and-shoot like the Olympus Stylus Epic, the simplest approach is to let the camera handle it and use the flash in Auto mode. It will fire when the camera thinks there isn’t enough light.
Indoors, photos can sometimes work without flash if the room is fairly bright and both the camera and your subjects stay still. In lower light, though, you risk blur from camera shake or subject movement. Flash helps freeze people, but built-in flash can also cause red-eye, harsh light, and strong shadows.
For film, the main choice is ISO:
- lower ISO (like 200) = finer grain, better in brighter light
- higher ISO (like 400, 800, or 1600) = better for low light, but grainier
For friends indoors, ISO 400 is a reasonable starting point. If you want to try more available-light indoor or night shots without flash, use a faster film such as 800 or 1600 if you can find it, and keep the camera very steady. For daylight and landscapes, ISO 200 is usually a better fit.
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