I found that I almost always want to use bounce flash when I'm taking pictures of my kid indoors. The results are SOOOO much nicer.

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The best shot you take is with the camera that you have with you.

Hey Texchappy, looks like you're figuring it out, and you've gotten a lot of good advice.

For a faster lens indoors, I'd also look at the Sigma 19mm f/2.8 and Sigma 30mm f/2.8. Both lenses are $200 each, which is a bargain. I have the 30mm and it's very nice.

Now, the main reason for my post is to recommend a book to you. Scott Kelby's "The Digital Photography Book" (Vol. 1, though the other volumes are good, too) is a great book for the questions you're asking. It's not camera-specific, but it talks about the settings to use for various shooting situations. Each topic is one-two pages so it's not very deep, but it gets right to the point. I found it to be a great overview.

Another book if you want to get more into it is Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure". If you read these two books, you'll be able to tackle pretty much any photo situation, and understand if it's you or the equipment that's limiting you.

Good luck, have fun, and keep shooting and asking questions!

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Russ (in) Houston
Even bad photography can be fun.

Just to follow-up my post about bounce flash indoors; here are some results:


Using GH2 and 14-140mm lens.


Using GH2 and Oly 45mm f/1.8 lens.


Using GH2 and Pany 25mm f/1.4

And just for a bit of change, this was taken without flash, using the GH2 and the Pany 25mm f/1.4 lens, indoors at a somewhat dim fencing studio (Jedi lightsaber academy class ).

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The best shot you take is with the camera that you have with you.

Sprinke -- what flash are you using?

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EM5; 9-18, PL25, 100-300 and some others.
(also, 6D + RX100)

Mainly the Metz 50 AF-1, on-camera but bounced at walls or ceiling, using manual settings on the flash.

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The best shot you take is with the camera that you have with you.

Spinke, do you use any type of diffuser for those great shots? :)

+1 on the Metz 50.

Plenty of power for bounce and diffuser and support for m43 cameras.

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Pax,
Richard
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I hate cameras. They are so much more sure than I am about everything. ~John Steinbeck

If you count the wall as a diffuser ... With bounce flash, you are making the entire room your softbox. So no, there is no diffuser on the flash head itself.

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The best shot you take is with the camera that you have with you.

How would shutter priority compensate for backlighting issues?

It wouldn't. You need to either dial up the exposure compensation (ending up with properly lit face, but probably overexposed background); use spot metering (with the same result as exposure compensation); or use a flash to fill in the lighting...