I would like to correct a few errors in my book on flash photography. It seems no matter how many times the work is cross-checked, mistakes do slip by.
1. One mistake that a few people have pointed out to me, is on p.107 – plate 14-14 .. the camera settings are incorrectly given. (They are correct in the actual text on p. 106). The correct description for plate 14-14 (p.107) should read:
Adjusting my camera settings, I dropped the ambient light and left the couple illuminated mostly by flash. Settings: 1/250th @ f2 @ 320 ISO
2. The image on p.71 (plate 10-13) has a slight error. It says that I bounced the flash to my right .. but as should be clear from the photograph, I did indeed bounce the flash to my left. (I have a life-long tendency to confuse left and right when I give directions or descriptions, and it unfortunately crept in there as a typo with that image.)
Neil vN
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Doesn’t such an error make it a collectors item?… like a back to front pic on a dollar note etc :-)
Though it must be frustrating given the work that went into it.
DavidA
Comment by David Akesson — September 7, 2009 @ 5:42 am
Sorry, the link to “my book on flash photography.” doesn’t work. Can you tell me where to find the book. Thanks.
Comment by Lothar — September 7, 2009 @ 6:45 am
Well, since we are on the subject of errors.
Page 13, section about battery packs, “the battery pack can be screwed onto the onto…”. Hopefully, helpful for the next reprint of the book.
However, far less errors than most books.
:)
Comment by Jeff — September 7, 2009 @ 9:28 am
Comment by Neil — September 7, 2009 @ 1:39 pm
Great Book. I am about halfway through it now. Some of the metering tips in the first couple of chapters was worth the price of admission.
I had meant to email before I saw this thread. I don’t have the book in front of me, but there is a table that is supposed to show the different range of flash as you change settings. It shows aperture, shutter speed and ISO, but unless I am missing something, no range.
At any rate, great read. Highly recommended
Comment by Darryl Brooks — September 8, 2009 @ 12:52 pm
Comment by Neil — September 8, 2009 @ 1:03 pm
Hitting myself in head with flash gun.
Thanks
Comment by Darryl Brooks — September 8, 2009 @ 6:58 pm
Comment by Neil — September 8, 2009 @ 8:33 pm
I have complete confidence that the book will warrent a multiple number of reprints.
Out of curiosity, do they keep you updated with the number of copies that have sold.
And, when does part two come out? :)
Comment by Jeff — September 9, 2009 @ 7:37 pm
Comment by Neil — September 9, 2009 @ 10:03 pm
Hi Neil,
Somewhere in your book (Page 60 — plate 9-15; 9-16; I read that you set shutter speed at 1/300 second. I guess your camera can sync above 1/250; is it true or was it typo?
Comment by CHIEU LE — September 9, 2009 @ 11:12 pm
Comment by Neil — September 9, 2009 @ 11:15 pm
Neil -
With your having been an electrical engineer in a former life, you will note that there is another slight error in your book. On page 44, near the top, is the sentence, “Changing the flashgun’s mode also dissipates the light, transforming it from a fast, high-energy pulse to a lower-energy continuous one.” Actually, you should use the word “power” instead of ‘energy”. Energy (in joules) is power (in watts) times time (in seconds), and in this case the two alternatives might well have the same energy – that is, the product of a high power times a short time could be the same as the product of a low power times a long time. In fact, the maximum energy available from a flash is proportional to C*V*V, where C is the capacitance of the capacitor in the flash, and V is the voltage to which the capacitor is charged. The units of C*V*V are also those of energy. It is this value that begets the Guide Number of the flash unit, or alternatively, its rating in joules or watt-seconds. For a maximum energy flash any values of power and time are acceptable as long as their product is equal to the maximum energy stored in the capacitor. For a less-than-maximum energy flash, the capacitor is simply not discharged completely – i.e. not all of the energy in the capacitor is used.
Comment by Ken Bures — September 10, 2009 @ 11:28 am
Comment by Neil — September 25, 2009 @ 2:41 am