Flash in auto mode

Bluemark

New member
My flash activates in auto mode even when I’m outdoors on a sunny day with my lens aperture fully open. I know there are various methods in turning it off, but I can’t figure out why it is even activating when there should be sufficient ambient light to not require a flash. Is this normal with the 7200 or is there a menu item I’m missing. I can turn the flash off using the flash button and back dial but as soon as I turn the camera off and back on, the flash goes back to auto mode and activates on bright, sunny days. I’m confused!

Please don’t respond by saying to use a different mode. I normally shoot in manual, but was trying something recently in auto and noticed this. I also know that turning the dial one notch to CCW is basically auto mode without the flash, but I’m curious why auto mode would call for a flash if the light sensor is indicating sufficient ambient light.
 
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Bikerbrent

Senior Member
Welcome aboard. Enjoy the ride.
We look forward to seeing more posts and samples of your work.

This is pretty well normal behavior in auto mode. The camera wants to be ready in case it suddenly goes dark. ;)
 

nickt

Senior Member
The flash pops up if it thinks fill flash is needed. If the scene is bright and evenly lit, it won't pop up. If there is a brighter area in the frame, it will pop up.
I just tried it on my living room wall. Brightly lit wall, no flash. I moved the camera slightly to include a sunny window with the same wall and the flash popped up.
 

Bluemark

New member
The flash pops up if it thinks fill flash is needed. If the scene is bright and evenly lit, it won't pop up. If there is a brighter area in the frame, it will pop up.
I just tried it on my living room wall. Brightly lit wall, no flash. I moved the camera slightly to include a sunny window with the same wall and the flash popped up.

I can be outdoors in a snow covered field in a bright sunny day and my flash will pop up.
 

Bluemark

New member
It’s not a huge deal as I’m normally in manual mode, but only a curiosity as it seemed odd to me as to why the flash would pop when clearly, it was not needed.
 

nickt

Senior Member
I can be outdoors in a snow covered field in a bright sunny day and my flash will pop up.
I'm not convinced a snowy field still doesn't appear as a back lit subject to the camera. I'm not saying its a good. Nikon is very eager for that flash to pop up if there is any chance of improving a beginer's shot. The slightest hint of dark areas or brighter areas, uneven lighting, etc and it will pop up for fill flash. Snap a shot of the sky in auto and see if the flash stays down. A light colored brightly lit plain wall or blue sky should keep it down, almost any other scene and it will pop up for fill. Even if the darker areas are hopelessly far away to benefit from flash.
 

Bluemark

New member
I'm not convinced a snowy field still doesn't appear as a back lit subject to the camera. I'm not saying its a good. Nikon is very eager for that flash to pop up if there is any chance of improving a beginer's shot. The slightest hint of dark areas or brighter areas, uneven lighting, etc and it will pop up for fill flash. Snap a shot of the sky in auto and see if the flash stays down. A light colored brightly lit plain wall or blue sky should keep it down, almost any other scene and it will pop up for fill. Even if the darker areas are hopelessly far away to benefit from flash.

Funny you suggest snapping a shot of the sky.......believe me, I’ve Tried various bright, evenly lit scenes including the sky. I only used the example of a white snowy field as I couldn’t think of a brighter real world scene (Hard to think of snow when it’s 90+ outdoors). I will try a reset as the previous poster suggested.

I often go shooting with someone with a Pentax K-70. I know different brands are created differently, but when set with similar settings and shooting the same scene, her flash does not activate. All this being said, there have been times it does not activate when I think it should. It’s just peculiar to me, but perhaps normal. I won’t argue that the camera is likely smarter than me! This camera is my first foray into DSLR’s, so just trying to understand from other Nikon users, what is normal for these cameras. Thanks for all the help.
 

nickt

Senior Member
Funny you suggest snapping a shot of the sky.......believe me, I’ve Tried various bright, evenly lit scenes including the sky. I only used the example of a white snowy field as I couldn’t think of a brighter real world scene (Hard to think of snow when it’s 90+ outdoors). I will try a reset as the previous poster suggested.

I often go shooting with someone with a Pentax K-70. I know different brands are created differently, but when set with similar settings and shooting the same scene, her flash does not activate. All this being said, there have been times it does not activate when I think it should. It’s just peculiar to me, but perhaps normal. I won’t argue that the camera is likely smarter than me! This camera is my first foray into DSLR’s, so just trying to understand from other Nikon users, what is normal for these cameras. Thanks for all the help.
A reset might help. I doubt it would be a permanent problem since your metering otherwise works. I was playing earlier with my d7200 and I tried Auto a few more times. The sky, even with some white clouds keeps the flash down, and pointing down at my deck boards in full sun also keeps it down. If I move the camera at all to introduce a brighter or darker element to the scene, the flash pops up. Flower pot on the deck or a shadowed area, or a little bit of a tree as I point to the sky and the flash will pop up.
One of my early wonders back with my d3100 was why auto popped the flash up so much and raised the iso. Seemed unnecessary.
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
How do you do a 2 button reset? Sorry for the dumb question, but my flash does the same thing.
Press and hold the ISO button and the Exposure Compensation button, together, for a few seconds. These two buttons have a green dot by them indicating they're the two-button reset buttons. Once you've pressed them together for a few seconds the control panel will turn off briefly and come back on. That's the reset indication.
 
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