Flash compensation is used to alter flash output by from –3 EV to +1 EV in increments of 1/3 EV, changing the brightness of the main subject relative to the background. Flash output can be increased to make the main subject appear brighter, or reduced to prevent unwanted highlights or reflections.

Press the M (Y) button and rotate the sub-command dial until the desired value is displayed. In general, choose positive values to make the main subject brighter, negative values to make it darker.

M (Y) button

Sub-command dial

±0 EV

(M (Y) button pressed)

–0.3 (–1/3) EV

+1.0 EV

At values other than ±0.0, a Y icon will be displayed after you release the M (Y) button. The current value for flash compensation can be confirmed by pressing the M (Y) button.

Normal flash output can be restored by setting flash compensation to ±0.0. Except in SCENE mode, flash compensation is not reset when the camera is turned off (in SCENE mode, flash compensation will be reset when another mode is selected or the camera is turned off).

Live View

In live view, the selected value is displayed in the monitor while flash compensation is being adjusted.

See Also

For information on:

  • Choosing the size of the increments available for flash compensation, see A > Custom Setting b2 (EV steps for exposure cntrl, 0 EV Steps for Exposure Cntrl).
  • Choosing whether flash compensation is applied in addition to exposure compensation when the flash is used, see A > Custom Setting e3 (Exposure comp. for flash, 0 Exposure Comp. for Flash).
  • Automatically varying flash level over a series of shots, see “Bracketing” (0 Bracketing).