If you can get it without adding extra then all the better. The issue with plates is they reflect back to the source, so yes external will work best if right next to it.
Someone did a test here and it didn't take being offset too much before the plates were not visible to the camera.
I suspect the smooth stream is another noise reduction type feature, so you would have to see if the default or lower works better.
Someone did a test here and it didn't take being offset too much before the plates were not visible to the camera.
I suspect the smooth stream is another noise reduction type feature, so you would have to see if the default or lower works better.