A dark shadow appears at the bottom of images recorded using a flash.

When shooting an image using a flash, light from the flash may sometimes be blocked by the length of the lens or an attached lens hood and causes a dark shadow to appear at the lower, bottom portion of the picture. In shooting situations where this occurs, remove the lens hood (if one is attached) or try shooting your subject from a little further away. The light also tends to be blocked as the shooting angle widens if high magnification zoom lenses are used.

When using a zoom lens, dark shadows can be avoided by adjusting the tele-side of the camera.

Some cameras have a Lens Compensation function for corner shading that can help correct this issue. If your camera has this function, turn it on. However, this function is neither available on every camera nor compatible with every lens.

IMPORTANT:

• When moving further away from your subject, be careful not to move beyond the effective range of the flash.
• This issue will also occur when using the mount adapter on an E-mount camera with some A-mount lenses.
• It is not recommended to use the built-in flash with the following lenses:
  • SAL-16F28
  • SEL-20F28
  • SAL-135F18Z
  • SAL-300F28G
  • SAL-1635Z
  • SAL-2470Z
  • SAL-70200G
  • SAL-70400G
  • SAL-1118
  • SEL-16F28
  • SEL-1018
  • SEL-18200
  • SEL-18200LE
  • SEL-1855

NOTES:

• A dark shadow or a shaded area can be avoided when shooting using a bounce flash.
• The effective flash range depends on the ISO sensitivity. Further information about ISO and flash range is available in the instruction manuals supplied with the camera. Manuals are posted on your model support page.
• For NEX models, a shadow may appear on the picture even if the conditions listed above are satisfied an A-mount lens is attached using a mount adapter.
• For NEX models, the perimeter of the image darkens if using a wide angle lens like the SEL1018 because the flash cannot cover such a wide area.
• Try using an external flash as an alternative.