Turn off Red-Eye reduction

The pre=flashes are for reduction of red eye and also for TTL indormation for camera to wotk properly with flash. Read Flash manual and some info in camera manual

Press Right on the cursor button (marked with the lightning bolt icon) to switch the flash setting. Your choices are AUTO, AUTO/Red-eye reduction, Forced ON, Forced ON/Red-eye reduction, Slow sync/Red-eye reduction, and Forced OFF.

Do you have the flash set for red-eye reduction?

on some cameras (like sony) there is a very fast double flash .. you see only one .. the first sets up the shot the second takes the picture ... its not likely that your vivitar has this feature so i am thinking that your "noticable" double flash is caused by "red eye reduction" being turned on .. on my vivitar (dc8600) the flash mode including red eye reduction is selected by the 4 way switch .. by pressing the right tilt you can cycle thru all the flash modes ... that includes no flash, forced flash, automatic flash and red eye reduction..maybe other modes as well .. the flash is in fully automatic mode when no sysbol appears on the screen .. thats probably where you want to be ... that will flash only once per shot and only when needed .. ..

This question is answered for you in the 800si user manual. By pressing the program-reset button, marked with a P top right, this will re-set all camera fuctions, but not red eye reduction-data memory-and ISO setting. To turn on red-eye, press the flash-mode button in the inside of door, turn front or rear dial untill a small "eye" appears in data panel. When selected, the flash will fire a series of small bursts before the main burst, causing the pupils to close slightly, so reducing red-eye. To turn off red-eye, select another flash mode. Resetting all custom fuctions, press and hold the ajust button in door of panel, slide main switch to LOCK then return it to ON.

Greetings mccombs7,

There should be a button corresponding with a lightning bolt symbol. When red eye reduction (pre flash) is on, then there is a symbol with an eyeball next to it. Depress the button until you get to the desired setting, which should be the lightning bolt alone.

I hope this helps!

Dorothy
Go Ahead. Use Us.

If the red-eye reduction is turned on, and you can verify that the pre-flash is functioning, you may need to think about shooting technique. With ultra-compact cameras, the flash is necessarily placed close to the lens. This is the worst design possible to avoid red-eye. To reduce red-eye as much as possible, ensure the red-eye reduction system is turned on (and functioning properly), and get close to the subject. I mean "physically" close, not just close by zooming. Use as little zoom as possible. If the subject is small, move closer, without relying on the zoom lens to make the subject appear closer.

RED EYE is caused by the sudden flash from your camera and the eyes reflex reaction to the sudden light. So what the red eye reduction does is to double flash to counter the reaction. You can try adding an external light source to to your subject. in addition to the following procedures for your camera in the manual, the indicator location on page 64 Flash On Flash Off Red-eye reduction C REC modes on page 52, Snapshot; pg 64, have the flash fire automatically when required (Auto Flash) * Turn off the flash ... recording with flash, reducing the chance of red-eye in the image (Red- eye reduction) In this case, the flash fires automatically; Also, be aware of the following: The approximate effective range of the flash is shown below. Wide Angle Optical Zoom: Approximately 0.4 to 2.9 meters (1.3´ to 9.5´) (ISO Sensitivity: Auto) Telephoto Optical Zoom: Approximately 0.4 to 1.6 meters (1.3´ to 5.2´) (ISO Sensitivity: Auto) * Depends on zoom factor

Hold down the flash button and turn either wheel. Select a flash mode that doesn't have the "eye" (red-eye reduction) symbol visable on the display.

The red-eye reduction feature causes the flash to blink on and off rapidly, then flash normally. This may cause over exposure and subject discomfort in the macro mode.