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July 21st, 2021
 We know you guys like taking photos of your rifles at the range. And, if you’re selling a rifle, scope, front rest, or rear bag, you need good photos to post in our Forum classifieds. Here’s a basic photography tip that can help you produce dramatically better photos. Use your camera’s ability to add “fill flash” even in daylight.
There’s plenty of light on a bright day. But bright light also means strong shadows. The shadows can leave parts of your subject literally in the dark. Daylight flash will help fill in those dark spots. In addition, if you are on a covered firing area, and want to include the range in your photo, you can benefit from using flash. This will prevent the foreground subject from being too dark while the downrange background is much too bright.
Photo without Flash
The photo above was taken without flash. As you can see, the rifle is too dark so details are lost. At the same time, the background (downrange) is over-exposed and washed out. The second photo below is taken with daylight flash. The difference is dramatic. Now you can see details of the rifle, while the background is exposed properly. Note how much easier it is to see the the targets downrange and the colors of the front rest. NOTE: these two photos were taken at the same time — just seconds apart.
Photo with Daylight “Fill-Flash”
Be sure to click on the larger versions of each photo.
How to Activate Daylight Flash
Most digital cameras have daylight flash capability. Some cameras have a separate setting for “auto fill flash”. On other cameras, you’ll have to set the camera to aperture priority and stop down the aperture to force the flash to fire. Read your camera’s manual. On many Canons, a menu that lets you set the “flash output”. For “fill flash” we like to set the flash at 30% to 50% output. This fills in the shadows sufficiently without “killing contrast” or creating too much reflection on shiny metal. Below is a photo taken with 30% flash output. Note the rich colors and how the exposure is balanced between foreground and background. Without flash the sky and target area would be “washed out”.
Here’s another tip for Canon owners. If you like deep, rich colors, use the “Vivid” setting in the effects menu. This punches up saturation and contrast.
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February 20th, 2019
We know you guys like taking photos of your rifles at the range. And, if you’re selling a rifle, scope, front rest, or rear bag, you need good photos to post in our Forum classifieds. Here’s a basic photography tip that can help you produce dramatically better photos. Use your camera’s ability to add “fill flash” even in daylight.
There’s plenty of light on a bright day. But bright light also means strong shadows. The shadows can leave parts of your subject literally in the dark. Daylight flash will help fill in those dark spots. In addition, if you are on a covered firing area, and want to include the range in your photo, you can benefit from using flash. This will prevent the foreground subject from being too dark while the downrange background is much too bright.
Photo without Flash
The photo above was taken without flash. As you can see, the rifle is too dark so details are lost. At the same time, the background (downrange) is over-exposed and washed out. The second photo below is taken with daylight flash. The difference is dramatic. Now you can see details of the rifle, while the background is exposed properly. Note how much easier it is to see the the targets downrange and the colors of the front rest. NOTE: these two photos were taken at the same time — just seconds apart.
Photo with Daylight “Fill-Flash”
Be sure to click on the larger versions of each photo.
How to Activate Daylight Flash
Most digital cameras have daylight flash capability. Some cameras have a separate setting for “auto fill flash”. On other cameras, you’ll have to set the camera to aperture priority and stop down the aperture to force the flash to fire. Read your camera’s manual. On many Canons, a menu that lets you set the “flash output”. For “fill flash” we like to set the flash at 30% to 50% output. This fills in the shadows sufficiently without “killing contrast” or creating too much reflection on shiny metal. Below is a photo taken with 30% flash output. Note the rich colors and how the exposure is balanced between foreground and background. Without flash the sky and target area would be “washed out”.
Here’s another tip for Canon owners. If you like deep, rich colors, use the “Vivid” setting in the effects menu. This punches up saturation and contrast.
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November 27th, 2009
It’s Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year. That means there are some spectacular deals available out there on name brand electronics and optics. You can fight the crowds at the malls, or shop online from the comfort of your home. Here are some great deals we found on Amazon.com.
Canon SX20-IS Digital Camera, $349.00
The Canon SX20-IS is an amazing still and video camera for the price. It takes still images up to 12.1 megapixels, using a 20X optical zoom. As you’d expect from Canon, it offers built-in image stabilization and outstanding color and contrast. But here’s what makes this camera special — it shoots HD movies in 16:9 (wide) format, plus SD movies in standard 4:3 format. And the movies are stored to an SDHC memory card, which you can easily transfer to your computer. Heck of a camera for $349.00 with FREE Shipping on Amazon.com. |
Canon PowerShot SX20IS 12.1MP Digital Camera with 20x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch Articulating LCD |
Samsung 10″ Netbook computer, $339.99 (Windows XP)
This is the netbook used by your Editor. It has a very sharp screen and a battery rated for 9 hours. I’ve been able to get about 7.5 hours run-time from the battery. I really like this unit because it has a great keyboard (probably the best in class) and a rubberized shell that adds to durability. The built-in networking is excellent (it automatically logs on to nearby Wi-Fi hubs), and this computer isn’t stuffed with useless “bloatware” you have to remove. Note, if you want/need Windows 7, look for another brand, such as the latest Toshiba. |
Samsung GO N310-13GB 10.1-Inch Midnight Blue Netbook – 9 Hour Battery Life |
Manfrotto 410 Geared Head, $196.99
If you have an expensive spotting scope, this geared head is well worth the money. It permits you to make precise elevation or tracking (horizontal) adjustments without getting way off target. With most tripod heads you have to fiddle with a bunch of controls to move the scope, but then it usually goes too far and you have to start all over again. With the Manfrotto 410 head you can move the viewing point smoothly, in very small increments. Want to raise your view up 1 MOA at 1000 yards, without touching the horizontal position? No problem. Once you get one of these geared heads you’ll wonder how you lived without it. |
Manfrotto-bogen 410 Compact Geared Head with Quick Release – Supports 11.1 lbs
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June 5th, 2008
The short videos we have produced for this site have been very popular, and readers have requested more (and better) video offerings. Thanks to Adorama, a large camera and optics retailer, we will be getting a new Canon FS10 video camera. With the new Canon we will be able to shoot higher resolution videos, with better colors, and much improved audio quality.
 The Canon FS10 is part of Canon’s new line-up of Flash-memory video cameras. There are no tapes to fuss with, and you don’t have to worry about internal hard drives or DVD systems. The new Canons record to Flash memory cards so there are no moving parts. This has numerous benefits. Flash-based cameras are less sensitive to shock and vibration and the camera can start recording almost instantly. Importantly, with Flash memory, batteries last much longer since there are no electric motors to run. And the FS10 can record up to 5 hours of video on an 8 Gig SDHC memory card.
After looking at a wide variety of camcorders, we chose the Canon FS10 because it has a number of important features. First, of course, is the Flash memory. Second it has a “microphone in” jack. Using an external microphone will help us reduce background noise when filming interviews or shooting sessions at the range. Third, the camera offers internal image stabilization, and a built-in movie light. Both those features will produce better quality in low light situations. Adorama.com sells the Canon FS10 (item CAFS10) for $419.95, with FREE shipping.
The model FS10 records in standard definition both 4:3 and 16:9 (wide) aspect ratios. We considered Canon’s new High Definition camcorders but these cost twice as much and the AVCHD video files they produce are not yet compatible with most video editing software. Also true High Definition video files are “overkill” for the web — they need to be highly compressed for web use. However, if you’re looking to playback your videos on a High Definition television then Canon’s HD option makes sense. We recommend the Canon VIXIA HF10 for those who want High Definition output. It’s available for $819.95 at Adorama.com.
Adorama has provided a Canon FS10 to AccurateShooter.com in return for promotional considerations.
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