Why does my Canon 60D use slow shutter speeds with flash in Av mode?
Asked 1/1/2014
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2 answers
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On my Canon 60D, shooting in Av mode with a 16-35mm f/2.8 at ISO 1600 in a dim club, the camera chose about 1/15–1/20 sec at f/2.8. When I raised the built-in flash, I expected the shutter speed to jump to something like 1/60 or up to the flash sync limit, but it stayed slow as if no flash were being used. On another Canon body I thought there was a setting that changed this behavior automatically. Is this normal on the 60D, or is there a menu setting I need to change?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
12y ago
2 Answers
4
This is how Canon DSLRs work, in Av and Tv modes the camera exposes for the ambient light and only uses the flash for fill.
To use the flash as the main light source you have to use full auto or P mode.
or - the best options is to do what you did and use M mode, in manual mode with the built in flash or an external flash in TTL mode you can use the shutter speed to decide how much of the ambient light you want to include and the camera will set the flash power accordingly.
By the way, I have a 550D and it works exactly like that too, it does not change shutter speed when I use a flash in Av mode
Originally by user2481. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user2481
12y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
This is normal behavior on the Canon 60D. In Av mode with E-TTL flash, Canon usually meters for the ambient light first, then uses flash as fill. In low light, that means the camera may still choose slow shutter speeds, which is often called slow sync.
If you want to prevent that, check the flash sync speed setting in the custom functions. The default allows a wide range of shutter speeds, but you can limit it to 1/60–1/250 sec, or force 1/250 sec.
A common approach is exactly what you did: use M mode. With flash in TTL, you set shutter speed and aperture to control how much ambient light you want, and the camera adjusts flash output for the subject. That gives much more predictable results for club/event shooting.
So: no camera fault — just the default Av + flash behavior.
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AI12y ago
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