Why does my Canon 60D choose very slow shutter speeds with a Metz 58 AF-2 in Av mode?
Asked 4/7/2013
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I’m using a Metz 58 AF-2 on a Canon 60D in E-TTL/E-TTL HSS. In Aperture Priority, especially indoors with the flash tilted for bounce, the camera often selects very long shutter speeds (around 1–2 seconds) at fixed ISO, and some images look underexposed. If ISO is set to Auto, it instead tends to choose around 1/60s and raise ISO significantly. The camera does recognize the flash and can control it from the menu. Is this normal behavior, and how can I make the camera use a faster shutter speed when flash is attached?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
5
This behavior is perfectly normal for a Canon 60D, and most other Canon EOS bodies. When you select Av Mode with E-TTL in lower light environments, the camera assumes you want to expose the entire scene correctly for the ambient light and then use the flash to illuminate your subject in the foreground.
If you wish to disable this slow sync feature, use custom function C.Fn. I-7 and select either option 1 (for Tv of 1/60-1/250 sec) or 2 (for Tv of 1/250 sec.). What you descibe in your question is the result of the default option 0, which will allow shutter speeds between 30 sec and 1/250 sec.
It is all on pages 130 and 253 of your 60D user manual.
Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user15871
13y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—this is normal behavior on the Canon 60D in Av mode with E-TTL flash. By default, the camera meters the ambient light for the whole scene, then uses flash mainly to light the foreground subject. In dim light, that often means slow shutter speeds (“slow sync”), especially when bounce flash reduces effective flash intensity.
On the 60D, this is controlled by Custom Function C.Fn I-7 for flash sync speed in Av mode:
- default setting: allows slow speeds from 30s to 1/250s
- option 1: limits shutter speed to 1/60–1/250s
- option 2: fixes it at 1/250s
So your flash is not being ignored; the camera is behaving as designed. If you want faster shutter speeds, change C.Fn I-7 to option 1 or 2, or use Tv or M mode instead of Av. Also note that bouncing the flash off the ceiling reduces the amount of light reaching the subject, which can contribute to underexposure if the room is large, dark, or the ceiling is high.
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