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Nikon SB600 - Underexposed when using as slave to D70s
I've just got myself a SB600 flash to go with my Nikon D70s. The SB600
works fine normally, but I'm having problems when using it off-camera as a slave to the D70s. I've gone through the settings many times, researched the 'Net and read through all the various tips in both the SB600 and D70s manuals, but I can't find the problem. The problem is that the result is a very underexposed picture. Both flashes fire but it looks quite dim to the eye, which is backed up firstly by the underexposed picture and also by the fact that the SB600 recharges instantly. It's as if the flash is firing at it's minimum setting for some reason. I've tried putting the flash in various locations, always pointing away from the camera lens so the pre-flashes don't mess things up, but I never get a good result. I've tried at various aperture settings too. I'm using a CPU lens (the 18-70mm that came with my camera). I've tried the camera set to both A and P. Metering is set to matrix, D70s flash mode set to Commander-TTL. I have tried Commander Mode-Manual, at full power just to see what happens, and the flash fires properly with a very overexposed picture. The SB600 is set to Wireless channel 3, group A, and I've tried resetting it in case I have some other weird setting in there somehow. I don't have any exposure compensation set on either the flash or the camera. There is just one slight clue to the problem, which is that the 'analog exposure display' in the viewvinder shows the maximum underexposure, but isn't that to be expected seeing as it isn't taking into account the slave flash? So I'm sure it's nothing. In fact I think it only shows that in A mode, not P, and I have the same problem in both modes. It's hard to see that there is a fault because it all works fine when the flash is on the camera. So the matrix metering must be working, the flash works ok otherwise, and the flash is picking-up what setting to use from the camera because it flashes properly in slave/manual mode. So am I missing something painfully obvious? Thanks for any help, Geoff. |
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Nikon SB600 - Underexposed when using as slave to D70s
On Tue, 27 Dec 2005 16:41:05 +0000, Geoff
wrote: I've just got myself a SB600 flash to go with my Nikon D70s. The SB600 works fine normally, but I'm having problems when using it off-camera as a slave to the D70s. I've gone through the settings many times, researched the 'Net and read through all the various tips in both the SB600 and D70s manuals, but I can't find the problem. SNIP Thanks for any help, Geoff. Have you tried Ken Rockwell's instructions? They work for me. http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/ittlslave.htm#d70 Jack |
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Nikon SB600 - Underexposed when using as slave to D70s
Jack Dale wrote:
On Tue, 27 Dec 2005 16:41:05 +0000, Geoff wrote: I've just got myself a SB600 flash to go with my Nikon D70s. The SB600 works fine normally, but I'm having problems when using it off-camera as a slave to the D70s. I've gone through the settings many times, researched the 'Net and read through all the various tips in both the SB600 and D70s manuals, but I can't find the problem. SNIP Thanks for any help, Geoff. Have you tried Ken Rockwell's instructions? They work for me. http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/ittlslave.htm#d70 Jack Yep I've tried that. There are so few settings even needed, so it's hard to see where I could have gone wrong. I've been through kenrockwell's quide more than once anyway. Thanks Jack, Geoff. |
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Nikon SB600 - Underexposed when using as slave to D70s
Just to add to my first post....I wonder if I'm misunderstand what the
slave is supposed to do. I've done some more experiments and the camera's own flash barely seems to fire at all. It does enough pre-flashes but I can't tell if it's flashing for the actual picture or not, but if it is it certainly isn't making much difference. I tried a shot of something not far from the camera, and I placed the SB-600 in the space behind the subject. I imagined the SB-600 would light up the part of the room behind the subject, and the camera's built-in flash would light up the subject itself. Is that not what's supposed to happen? Well the room was lit up but not that well, and the subject was totally dark. How on Earth can that be right? Even an oil-lamp would have lit the subject up more than the camera managed to. The only way I was able to get the slave SB-600 to have much effect was by standing it quite a way from the subject I was taking, pointing at the ceiling bit in front of the subject. I then actually got a nicely exposed subject and the background looked ok too! No thanks to the built-in flash though. Maybe I'm totally misunderstand what's supposed to be happening. Geoff. |
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Nikon SB600 - Underexposed when using as slave to D70s
"Geoff" wrote in message ... Just to add to my first post....I wonder if I'm misunderstand what the slave is supposed to do. I've done some more experiments and the camera's own flash barely seems to fire at all. It does enough pre-flashes but I can't tell if it's flashing for the actual picture or not, but if it is it certainly isn't making much difference. I tried a shot of something not far from the camera, and I placed the SB-600 in the space behind the subject. I imagined the SB-600 would light up the part of the room behind the subject, and the camera's built-in flash would light up the subject itself. Is that not what's supposed to happen? Well the room was lit up but not that well, and the subject was totally dark. How on Earth can that be right? Even an oil-lamp would have lit the subject up more than the camera managed to. The only way I was able to get the slave SB-600 to have much effect was by standing it quite a way from the subject I was taking, pointing at the ceiling bit in front of the subject. I then actually got a nicely exposed subject and the background looked ok too! No thanks to the built-in flash though. Maybe I'm totally misunderstand what's supposed to be happening. Geoff. In the commander mode, the flash on the camera signals the slave to fire. It does not add any light to the scene, however. Prove this to yourself by turning off the SB600 and firing the flash with the camera in the commander mode. To light the area behind the subject AND light the subject using Commander/TTL mode, you'll need another SB600 to light the subject. |
#6
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Nikon SB600 - Underexposed when using as slave to D70s
Geoff wrote:
Just to add to my first post....I wonder if I'm misunderstand what the slave is supposed to do. I've done some more experiments and the camera's own flash barely seems to fire at all. It does enough pre-flashes but I can't tell if it's flashing for the actual picture or not, but if it is it certainly isn't making much difference. The built-in flash is not used for the exposure. -- Jeremy | |
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Nikon SB600 - Underexposed when using as slave to D70s
Wilhelm wrote:
In the commander mode, the flash on the camera signals the slave to fire. It does not add any light to the scene, however. Prove this to yourself by turning off the SB600 and firing the flash with the camera in the commander mode. To light the area behind the subject AND light the subject using Commander/TTL mode, you'll need another SB600 to light the subject. Thanks for that, and also to Jeremy. This major detail doesn't seem to be made particularly clear in all I've read! lol. I would think most people would be thinking the same as me. I have all sorts of questions going through my mind about this but for now I'll just accept that the camera doesn't flash. A shame but at least it now makes sense. I'll mess with it some more tomorrow and see exactly what advantage this feature WILL give me without having to fork out more money. Thanks guys, Geoff. |
#8
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Nikon SB600 - Underexposed when using as slave to D70s
"Geoff" wrote in message ... Wilhelm wrote: In the commander mode, the flash on the camera signals the slave to fire. It does not add any light to the scene, however. Prove this to yourself by turning off the SB600 and firing the flash with the camera in the commander mode. To light the area behind the subject AND light the subject using Commander/TTL mode, you'll need another SB600 to light the subject. Thanks for that, and also to Jeremy. This major detail doesn't seem to be made particularly clear in all I've read! lol. I would think most people would be thinking the same as me. I have all sorts of questions going through my mind about this but for now I'll just accept that the camera doesn't flash. A shame but at least it now makes sense. I'll mess with it some more tomorrow and see exactly what advantage this feature WILL give me without having to fork out more money. Thanks guys, Geoff. I landed up with 2 SB800s to solve the problem you're having. Get the money ready! |
#9
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Nikon SB600 - Underexposed when using as slave to D70s
Geoff wrote:
I've just got myself a SB600 flash to go with my Nikon D70s. The SB600 works fine normally, but I'm having problems when using it off-camera as a slave to the D70s. I've gone through the settings many times, researched the 'Net and read through all the various tips in both the SB600 and D70s manuals, but I can't find the problem. The problem is that the result is a very underexposed picture. Both flashes fire but it looks quite dim to the eye, which is backed up firstly by the underexposed picture and also by the fact that the SB600 recharges instantly. It's as if the flash is firing at it's minimum setting for some reason. I've tried putting the flash in various locations, always pointing away from the camera lens so the pre-flashes don't mess things up, but I never get a good result. I've tried at various aperture settings too. I'm using a CPU lens (the 18-70mm that came with my camera). I've tried the camera set to both A and P. Metering is set to matrix, D70s flash mode set to Commander-TTL. I have tried Commander Mode-Manual, at full power just to see what happens, and the flash fires properly with a very overexposed picture. The SB600 is set to Wireless channel 3, group A, and I've tried resetting it in case I have some other weird setting in there somehow. I don't have any exposure compensation set on either the flash or the camera. There is just one slight clue to the problem, which is that the 'analog exposure display' in the viewvinder shows the maximum underexposure, but isn't that to be expected seeing as it isn't taking into account the slave flash? So I'm sure it's nothing. In fact I think it only shows that in A mode, not P, and I have the same problem in both modes. It's hard to see that there is a fault because it all works fine when the flash is on the camera. So the matrix metering must be working, the flash works ok otherwise, and the flash is picking-up what setting to use from the camera because it flashes properly in slave/manual mode. So am I missing something painfully obvious? Thanks for any help, Geoff. Goeff, A real long shot, but try fresh batteries. Also, check the LCD display on the back of the flash after the failed shot. See if it shows an underexposure (negative EV displayed). |
#10
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Nikon SB600 - Underexposed when using as slave to D70s
On Tue, 27 Dec 2005 20:31:24 -0800, "Mike G."
wrote: Geoff wrote: I've just got myself a SB600 flash to go with my Nikon D70s. The SB600 works fine normally, but I'm having problems when using it off-camera as a slave to the D70s. I've gone through the settings many times, researched the 'Net and read through all the various tips in both the SB600 and D70s manuals, but I can't find the problem. The problem is that the result is a very underexposed picture. Both flashes fire but it looks quite dim to the eye, which is backed up firstly by the underexposed picture and also by the fact that the SB600 recharges instantly. It's as if the flash is firing at it's minimum setting for some reason. I've tried putting the flash in various locations, always pointing away from the camera lens so the pre-flashes don't mess things up, but I never get a good result. I've tried at various aperture settings too. Another thing to try: Put the camera in M (manual) mode, meter the background, put the flash in ttl (not ttl bl), and the d70 in "slow sync" mode. ( Probably should have the camera on a tripod.) The camera will expose for the background, the flash will handle the subject (foreground). See what kind of exposure that gives you. Ken |
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