Kodak DCS500 manual Using Exposure Modes with E-TTL, A-TTL and TTL flash

Suitability of A-TTL and TTL for the DCS 500 Series camera

The A-TTL and TTL flash systems were originally designed for film cameras. They rely on the ability to monitor reflections from the film surface during exposure. This is a practical system for a conventional camera, because film has a relatively matte surface with reliably consistent reflection characteristics. However, digital cameras like the DCS 500 Series camera replace film with a CCD and glass cover plate which is much shinier than film. The reflection characteristics of the CCD and glass plate are inconsistent relative to film, with the result that flash exposures controlled by A-TTL and TTL tend to be erratic and are often inaccurate. Although the DCS 500 Series camera is set up to be compatible with Speedlites that feature A-TTL and TTL, we do not recommend the use of these modes with this camera because of the limitations outlined above.

If you plan on using A-TTL or TTL with the DCS 500 Series camera, you may find it necessary to use Flash Exposure Compensation for best results. The degree of compensation may vary from shot to shot, especially with direct flash. We suggest verifying the accuracy of each exposure on the built-in color LCD monitor.

Using Exposure Modes with E-TTL, A-TTL and TTL flash

The following table shows how aperture and shutter speeds are set according to the camera’s shooting mode when used in E-TTL, FE Lock, FP flash, A-TTL and TTL with EOS dedicated Speedlites:

Camera Mode	Shutter Speed	Aperture
Program AE (P)	Automatically set	Automatically set
	(1/60~1/250 and up)
Aperture-priority AE (Av)	Automatically set	Manually set
	(30 sec. to 1/250 and up) *
Shutter-priority AE (Tv)	Manually set *	Automatically set
Manual (M)	Manually set *	Manually set

*The camera automatically resets the shutter to 1/250 sec. if a faster speed is set, except in FP flash mode.

8-52