How to Use the Red Eye Feature in Digital Cameras

Video Transcript

"Today I'm going to tell you a little bit about how the red-eye function works on your camera. I got my son Dylan here as a model, so we will see how that goes. First I want to talk a little bit about what causes red eye. Now we have more red-eye problems at night because our pupils are wide open and gives us more of a reflective surface for the flash to reflect into. I also wanted to show you the main reason why we get so much red-eye with the smaller cameras is because the location of the flash on the camera is very close to the location of the lens. So the light as it flashes into your eyes at the same angle and it's much easier for the lens to capture that reflection. Now our pupils are more dilated in dark areas or in the evening. So you get more red-eye in the evening. Now most of these cameras have terrific built in red-eye functions. Sometimes they flash multiple times, which works as a way to reduce the size of the pupil right before the shot. Mine actually does not do that. I believe it is because it uses a light to do the auto focusing when it's darker, so that light shining in your eye actually helps to reduce the red-eye, giving that the subject is looking at that light when it's flashing. It's very simple to turn red-eye on and off, so on the fly you can just go into the menu and then mine is just the fourth one down and I can choose red-eye on or red-eye off. It's very simple. I tend to just leave it on, just in case I'm in that situation and it's already all setup for me."