DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register) 
 

DPChallenge Forums >> General Discussion >> Nikon SB-800 use
Pages:  
Showing posts 1 - 16 of 16, (reverse)
AuthorThread
 02/19/2009 06:15:04 PM · #1
Hello everyone,

I recently bought the Nikon SB-800 Remote Flash unit. When I want to use it as a remote flash I have to have the pop-up flash on my camera fire, to fire my SB-800.. I was wondering if there is a way around using the pop up flash to fire the SB-800 off camera? Also, I'm not to sure how I control the Flash output from the SB-800.. How do it lower or raise the intensity of the flash when it is off of the camera?

thanks for you time,
Maver.
 02/19/2009 06:17:41 PM · #2
The pop-up flash needs to fire in order to trigger the speedlight. You can limit it's effect on the exposure by shielding it with your hand (nasty, but it works). You control the intensity of the flash through the camera menus.
 02/19/2009 06:19:57 PM · #3
ok i'll give that a try Lonni, thanks a lot for the info.
 02/19/2009 06:25:06 PM · #4
No worries. Sorry I can't be much help on specifics, because I have never used a D300.
 02/19/2009 06:34:27 PM · #5
Actually with the D300 and D700 you can go into the menu of the camera and set it so that you can use the camera as the commander without firing the pop up flash.
 02/19/2009 06:36:05 PM · #6
Originally posted by Lonni:
The pop-up flash needs to fire in order to trigger the speedlight. You can limit it's effect on the exposure by shielding it with your hand (nasty, but it works).

The pop-up flash won't have any effect on the exposure anyway, since it doesn't fire during the exposure - it only sends a series of very fast pre-flash pulses to communicate to and trigger the remote flash/es.
You can test this by taking a shot with the camera in commander mode, but leave the remote flash off. What you'll get is a dark frame (since the pop-up flash doesn't fire during exposure, but before the exposure).
Important note: remember to turn the commander mode off when you're not using the remote flash (i.e. shooting with the intention of actually using the pop-up flash), otherwise the pop-up flash won't actually be firing during your exposure (you'll see the pre-flashes firing, and think that it's working, only to chimp down and see a dark/poorly lit exposure on the LCD).

As for controlling the flash output, Lonni is correct about using the camera menus. But there are two options: either you can shoot in TTL-Commander mode, in which case the flash output is determined by the camera's TTL functions - you can then control the intensity of the flash by using the flash compensation button and the command dial to bump the flash up or down a few stops.
The second option is to put the remote flash into Manual-Commander mode: in this case you can set the flash intensity (from 1/1 to 1/64) directly on the camera menu.

Actually, after Cryan's post, I realised that since the D200 on you can actually set the pop-up flash to fire during the exposure as well, but I think by default it is set not to fire during the exposure, just like the older Nikons (but it still uses the pre-flashes)

Message edited by author 2009-02-19 18:46:10.
 02/19/2009 06:36:21 PM · #7
Wow - another reason for me to get a D700. Camera envy here now :)
Sorry for the dodgy info...
 02/19/2009 06:38:02 PM · #8
Another way to fire off-camera without using the built-in flash...
 02/19/2009 06:42:59 PM · #9
On the D300 you have 3 settings for the pop up flash in commander mode; 'TTL', 'M' and '--'. Switch it to '--' and although the metering flash will fire (I think it needs to), it won't quench. Its as good as turning it off but it will still trigger the SB800, don't forget though that you still need the pop up flash physically popped up..

Regards

Phil
 02/19/2009 07:00:56 PM · #10
Originally posted by Lonni:
Wow - another reason for me to get a D700. Camera envy here now :)
Sorry for the dodgy info...


Works exactly the same on the D80 as the D90, D300 and D700. Same menu settings; might even be the same CSM menu option.

Originally posted by Tazzers:
On the D300 you have 3 settings for the pop up flash in commander mode; 'TTL', 'M' and '--'. Switch it to '--' and although the metering flash will fire (I think it needs to), it won't quench. Its as good as turning it off but it will still trigger the SB800, don't forget though that you still need the pop up flash physically popped up.


Agreed -- that is precisely correct.

This is a common point of confusion (as several, some very recent, threads here attest to).
02/19/2009 07:57:31 PM · #11
The built in flash will always trigger, even on the D700 just at very low intensity. This is only a problem if you are shooting reflective subjects and I have found 2 solutions to this:

1. The free solution, place a piece of tissue / paper in front of it, this will diffuse the flash and make it much less noticeable, this is useful is you want to use the on camera flash in conjunction with the off camera flash, for example as a front on fill.

2. The not so free solution, Nikon sells a little plastic device that sits in your flash hotshoe and covers the on camera flash without blocking the IR trigger signals. I don't know how much it costs individually, I got it as part of my R1 speedlight kit.
 02/19/2009 11:25:03 PM · #12
D90 also does this.

Originally posted by cryan:
Actually with the D300 and D700 you can go into the menu of the camera and set it so that you can use the camera as the commander without firing the pop up flash.
02/20/2009 12:02:46 AM · #13
Originally posted by Covert_Oddity:
The built in flash will always trigger, even on the D700 just at very low intensity. This is only a problem if you are shooting reflective subjects and I have found 2 solutions to this:

1. The free solution, place a piece of tissue / paper in front of it, this will diffuse the flash and make it much less noticeable, this is useful is you want to use the on camera flash in conjunction with the off camera flash, for example as a front on fill.

2. The not so free solution, Nikon sells a little plastic device that sits in your flash hotshoe and covers the on camera flash without blocking the IR trigger signals. I don't know how much it costs individually, I got it as part of my R1 speedlight kit.


That's probably the reason for my confusion. I have had difficulty with reflective black subjects in my light tent - the on board flash definitely was causing some unwanted reflections - covering it with my hand seemed to solve the problem, although if I shielded it completely the slave wouldn't fire.
 02/20/2009 12:57:38 AM · #14
This topic was recently discussed. You can find three related threads: here or here or here
 02/20/2009 04:00:35 AM · #15
Originally posted by Lonni:
Wow - another reason for me to get a D700. Camera envy here now :)
Sorry for the dodgy info...


Lonni I believe the D80 does this too, my D90 definitely does! Should be able to set the pop-up to mode TTL,M, or - -, just set it to "- -", if you are close to a subject you may get some after glow from the pre-flash, if thats the case just use a bit of exposed film over the flash.
 10/24/2010 08:46:45 PM · #16
I realize this is an old thread, but I've been scouring the net for information on how exactly the remote flash triggering works, and I just want to clarify for people like me who might stumble upon this in the future.

When using the pop-up flash as commander, it will always fire during the exposure, at a low level. In bright scenes or with distant subjects (most of the time) the effects of the flash will be unnoticed. However, for close subjects, or particularly for reflective surfaces, it can be seen.

The reason for this is that the remote flashes are synchronized to the shutter by a flash pulse from the commander. First, the commander sends out encoded data and requests a monitor flash (sometimes two monitor flashes) from each active group. It measures the return from these monitor flashes, and decides what power level each group should fire at. It then sends one more encoded flash sequence with the commanded power levels. There is then a delay of around 70ms, during which time the remote flashes are awaiting a flash pulse to trigger themselves (just like a "dumb" optical slave would). The camera then opens the shutter, and fires a low-energy flash which triggers the remotes (it looks like there is only a 3-15us delay between the commander flash and a slave SB-600 firing).

It looks like the best solution to this is to put the IR-pass filter on the pop-up, which will block most of the visible energy, while allowing the longer IR wavelengths of the flash to pass. I think the receivers in the remote flashes are only really sensitive to the IR wavelengths of the commander, and your lens has IR blocking filters so the camera is only sensitive to the visible wavelengths.

Pages:  
Current Server Time: 12/22/2024 06:44:58 PM

Please log in or register to post to the forums.


Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2024 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 12/22/2024 06:44:58 PM EST.