​​​​Achieving Consistent ExposuresUpdated 6 months ago

Use The Mechanical Shutter 

One of the leading causes of what seems to be random over or under-exposure in your images is your camera setting choice of the shutter mode. If your camera has a “Mechanical” shutter option, that option should be selected when using flash.  Use of the electronic shutter, electronic front curtain or auto settings may produce the occasional overexposed image even when using manual flash power levels and consistent exposure settings.   

Manually Adjust the Shutter Mode 

Use your camera’s menu system to select the proper Shutter mode.  Some cameras models may automatically transition to use of the mechanical shutter mode when a flash or trigger is detected in the hot shoe.  Many do not. This is an important step in your camera set up.  Cameras that appear on the Westcott FJ compatibility list but do not have a mechanical shutter option should be set to electronic front curtain or auto.   

Disable Silent Shooting 

Even with the camera set to Mechanical, the electronic shutter will become active when using the silent shooting or silent shutter settings. When utilizing the strobes in the FJ system, turn off all silent shooting settings in the camera menus. 

Save Custom Menu Settings 

For convenient access, recent cameras allow you to store specific settings into a Favorites or Custom menu.   Storing all your preferred settings will allow you to easily recall your Best Practice settings like Mechanical Shutter and Silent Shooting (OFF), when using the Westcott FJ gear. 

For more detailed information on optimizing High-Speed Sync (HSS) and TTL settings, refer to the article on Optimizing HSS and TTL on Your FJ Gear.