The return of the built-in flash
Whahoooo… as Yukon Cornelius would say. Panasonic is finally giving us a stills oriented camera that brings back the built-in, on-camera, flash. Hallelujah, and Gloriosky as my mama often sings.
However you describe it, I’m extremely happy about this development. The only thing that would make it better is if it were a G9 with a built-in flash. But the newly announced G90 will fill the void nicely and be a great addition to my camera bag as a wonderful tool for people pictures
Let’s see the same on a revised Lumix G9
About the only disappointment I had with the release of the Lumix G9 is the fact it was missing a built-in flash. I’ve heard from both Nikon and now Lumix that pros don’t want a built-in flash, and I say bunk in triplicate. Build it tough, build it stout, and I would buy a camera with one over a camera without every time.
Above is an image of the newly announced Lumix G90 showing the built-in flash. Why is an onboard flash so important? Because having even a small amount of electronic light can make or break a photograph. Having it built into the camera but hidden means you have extra light as long as you have the camera. I regularly bring a camera and forget or don’t want to carry a flash. But having even just a small amount of electronic flash can be extremely helpful for filling in shadows, for both people and animals, under tough lighting conditions.
Introducing the Lumix G90
Panasonic DC-G90 Specs
| Imaging | |
|---|---|
| Pixels | Actual: 21.77 Megapixel Effective: 20.3 Megapixel |
| AV Recording | |
|---|---|
| Aspect Ratio | 16:9 |
| Focus | |
|---|---|
| Focus Mode | Continuous-Servo AF (C), Flexible (AFF), Manual Focus (M), Single-Servo AF (S) |
| Autofocus Points | Contrast Detection: 49 |
| Viewfinder/Display | |
|---|---|
| Viewfinder Resolution | 2,360,000 Dot |
| Viewfinder Eye Point | 20 mm |
| Viewfinder Coverage | 100% |
| Viewfinder Magnification | Approx. 0.74x |
| Diopter Adjustment | -4 to +4 m |
| Exposure Control | |
|---|---|
| Metering Method | Center-Weighted Average, Multiple, Spot |
| White Balance | Auto, Cloudy, Color Temperature, Daylight, Flash, Incandescent, Shade, White Set 1, White Set 2, White Set 3, White Set 4 |
| Continuous Shooting | Up to 9 fps at 20.3 MP for up to 30 Exposures (Raw Format) Up to 6 fps at 20.3 MP for up to 30 Exposures (Raw Format) Up to 2 fps at 20.3 MP for up to 30 Exposures (Raw Format) Up to 9 fps at 20.3 MP for up to 600 Exposures (JPEG Format) Up to 6 fps at 20.3 MP for up to 600 Exposures (JPEG Format) Up to 2 fps at 20.3 MP for up to 600 Exposures (JPEG Format) Up to 30 fps at 8.3 MP (JPEG Format) |
| Flash | |
|---|---|
| Flash Modes | Auto, Auto/Red-Eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced On/Red-Eye Reduction, Off, Slow Sync, Slow Sync/Red-Eye Reduction |
| External Flash Connection | Hot Shoe |
| Power | |
|---|---|
| Battery | 1 x DMW-BLC12 Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery Pack, 7.2 VDC, 1200 mAh (Approx. 290 Shots per Charge) |
| Operating Temperature | 14 to 104°F / -10 to 40°C |
| Operating Humidity | 10 to 80% |
| Kit Lens | |
|---|---|
| Angle of View | 84.05° to 20.44° |
| Minimum Focus Distance | 7.87″ / 20 cm |
| Maximum Magnification | 0.27x |
| Optical Design | 11 Elements in 9 Groups |
| Diaphragm Blades | 7, Rounded |
| Image Stabilization | Yes |
| Dimensions (D x L) | 2.60 x 2.80″ / 66 x 71 mm |
Fill flash to the rescue for outdoor people pics
Using a flash to fill in the shadows under, let’s say a baseball cap, is a huge benefit. Not only are you filling in the shadows, but you’re also balancing the flash with the ambient light. Below is an example my wife Tanya shot of me several years ago. I was on a boat under the protective canopy. She shot one with no flash. I suggested she pop the built-in flash up which is the next exposure. The third and final exposure is the first one that looked very dark. To lighten it I made adjustments to the image in Mylio basically giving it a +2 stop exposure increase.
Below is another example of adding just a small blip of light that changes the entire image. Keep in mind, this image of Tanya is a long hike into the backcountry of Colorado. I had no interest in hauling an external flash, but when we got to this basin I realized a little flash would be very helpful. I popped up the
It works for wildlife as well
Often times a pop-up flash can also be extremely helpful for wildlife. Keep in mind that when I use flash with animals I’m only using a very low output we call fill flash. Some people feel that flash should not be used on animals, but they base that critique on the fact they were at a party somewhere and were photographed in a dark room with their pupils adjusted for the dark and all of a sudden, POW! A flash goes off and
However, that’s not how
That said, there are some animals and or birds that just don’t like the flash going off. It can scare some creatures, and if that’s the case no picture is worth disturbing or harming your subject. You simply close the flash and make sure the animal is comfortable before carrying on.
Let’s finish up with macro
Whenever I used to think about macro photography I associated it with a kinked neck, sore knees, and clothing that gets stained and muddy. None of that ever stopped me from shooting macro, but with the new Lumix cameras, especially the ones with a built-in flash, macro has become a lot more fun.
This setup works well with plants and small creatures like frogs. Below are a couple of examples of the kind of lighting I get with an external flash that has a an attached Lumiquest bounce diffuser.
Lots of pre-release video reviews
As is always the case, there are a number of much more successful bloggers and YouTube pundits than me that get pre-release versions of the new cameras. That’s ok by me since I really don’t think you can tell anybody what a camera is truly like by only having it in your hands for a few days. For those who read this blog, you know that I typically don’t do a major review until long after the others have filled the air with semi-reviews. And as you can see from this post it wasn’t meant to be a review of any kind. I wanted to write this as more of an announcement and a celebration we finally have a new Lumix body that has a built-in flash. This post really became mostly about the flash and that was intentional.
I’ll finish this off with a little history of how and what influenced my purchases of Nikon cameras. When I was shooting Nikon I only ever had one of their top tier bodies, D2, D3, D4, D5, specifically because they didn’t have an onboard flash. I would always have two second-tier bodies, D300, D7000, or whatever, specifically because they DID have a built-in flash. I personally think one of the main reasons people don’t have a desire for a built-in flash is due to their lack of understanding of how to use it properly. It’s a fabulous tool and I’m more than elated that we finally have a new L
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