Dummies' Guide to the SB-800... Help!

[losfp]

Thanks to Birdy, I am now the proud owner of a SB-800 flash! I now consider this an essential part of my kit, and I don't know how I managed for so long without an external flash (going back into my P&S, prosumer digital camera days). I haven't had to photoshop red-eye out from any of my shots since getting the SB800.

The included "examples" brochure is a great starting point, but the user manual, even though reasonably thorough, is surprisingly stingy with flash basics. Tells you a lot about what things do, but doesn't tell you WHEN you should use them.

Some stuff I have already worked out, and some stuff I am not sure about:

- TTL mode, I usually just set it on this mode and somehow it automagically just works! The only time I tweak it is to change flash comp to allow for bounce flash, different distances, heights etc.

- TTL/BL - I think this is the same as TTL except it tries to balance exposure for the background and the foreground?

- Manual, A, AA modes. I wouldn't have a clue when to use these - anyone? Should I even be using them with the D70s, or are they more useful for older cameras?

- The display usually has a bunch of stuff about apertures, focal lengths, distances etc.. Should I be taking notice of these, or just ignore them if I set it on TTL?

- Metering. Normally without the flash, I can tell whether something will be over/underexposed by looking at the exposure meter thingie. Doesn't seem to work with the flash?

- Shutter-speed seems to make sod-all difference to the exposure of the subject. Aperture makes a difference though, as does ISO.

- What's the difference between the advanced wireless mode and the other wireless mode whose name escapes me at the moment? Wireless is pretty cool, but I think I may want to buy an additional flash (probably an SB600) down the line so I can use multiple wireless flashes.

So many questions.. so much experimenting to do  PS: thanks to Birdy, who was kind enough to lend me one of his personal SB-800s over christmas/new year when mine didn't arrive in time after the mad 30-minute sales... Much appreciated mate!

[Onyx]

This one could result in a huge long post... If you notice looking at the D70 and SB800 manuals, the latter has more pages than the former.

Starting off with the basics -

Just as there are no one correct way to take photos, there are no one correct mode for flash use. eg. I wouldn't dare to say you can't take landscape pictures in shutter priority mode for instance; just as there are no rules for when you should use iTTL, or AA or repeating flash mode, etc.

TTL mode (through the lens): as its name implies, this means flash metering is determined through the camera. Flash metering is completely separate system from exposure metering - but Nikon's implementation of both are the industry's best - Matrix and iTTL.

TTL-BL implements enhancements from the matrix meter for a correct balanced exposure (ie. ideal for daylight fill flash). Using this mode at night will result in underexposed flash pics.

A/AA (auto exposure and auto aperture modes respectively): a camera will only support either 1 of these modes. The D70 and other digitals can only support AA (Auto aperture) mode. In this mode, the SB800 flash unit itself automatically determines the flash exposure via a sensor on the front of the unit (the 'hole' like a pencil sharpener you can stick your pencil in). This mode of automatic flash exposure does not use on the camera to determine the correct exposure - the flash unit does so independently via its light sensor, combined with the lens' set aperture (and focus distance information for D and G lenses) automatically communicated to the flash by the camera.

A (auto exposure) mode is supported when the SB800 is mounted on really old camera models (or on competing brands' cameras). It automatically determines flash exposure based on the front mounted sensor as in AA mode, but the user must manually input the aperture used on the lens. You will not be able to access this mode when the SB800 is mounted on a Nikon DSLR or virtually any Nikon camera made in the last 15 years.

GN (guide distance manual), RPT (repeating flash) and M (full manual) modes I won't go into - as I doubt these are used for legitimate image making. You'll probably only want to experiment in these flash modes, and it's more fun to find out for yourself how they function and what they do - suffice to say it's all covered in sufficient detail in the manual.


The Wireless system is another potential big long post...

[losfp]

Thanks Onyx - that clears up some of the confusion around A/AA etc

Just gotta experiment I think.. good old digicams.. You don't worry about wasting film, that's for sure!

[Alpha_7]

GN (guide distance manual), RPT (repeating flash) and M (full manual) modes I won't go into - as I doubt these are used for legitimate image making.

That could be a bit of an exageration....

But thanks for the breif summary of the main modes CHI, it's a helpful resource to all us SB-800 newbies!

[Onyx]

Wireless: aka CLS (Creative Lighting System)

If you have just 1 iTTL capable speedlight (SB800/SB600) and wish to use it off camera, you'll need to set it to Group A Channel 3 for it to be remotely controlled by the D70's in built flash.

The inbuilt flash will fire communicative pre-flashes instructing the off camera speedlight to fire and for what intensity, but it will NOT contribute light to the image. ie. you will not have 1 flash light from the camera and another flash from your SB800/SB600 off camera. Your image will be solely lit up by the off camera flash. The D200 does not have this limitation, and its built-in flash can be combined with off camera speedlights in flash exposures.

If you have multiple external speedlights, mount 1 on the camera's hotshoe set as 'master' and the rest setup as 'remote' on the same channel to use the master to wirelessly control the others. You can have as many multiple off camera speedlights as you like, but they can only be arranged in upto 3 groups (A, B, C). You can adjust the intensity of flash for each 'group' independently from the master on your camera.

SU-4 mode: When you set up the SB800 in SU-4 mode, it detects any flash sources in the area and fires imitating the flash intensity. It does so indiscriminantly, ie. it WILL be set off by other people's flash. You should not use this mode in the presence of other photographers. You should not use this mode in combination with your D70's inbuilt flash in iTTL mode, as the SB800 will mistakenly fire when the D70 does its preflashes and may not recharge in time to contribute to the main flash exposure. SU-4 mode will perform best when other flash units are used in full manual mode, ideally with studio strobes, etc.

It is also the 'cheating' way of getting both the D70's inbuilt flash and your off camera SB800 to light up an image. eg. set the D70's flash to fire say 1/16th power, and setup the SB800 in SU-4. Upon releasing the shutter, the D70's flash and the SB800 mounted off camera will both contribute to the flash exposure of the image.

Lastly, may I suggest reading the manual. Just like atomic theory cannot be summarised beyond a certain point without cutting out huge chunks of the essentials, the many features of the SB800 cannot all be covered in depth in mere paragraphs. The SB800 really is featureful - and its 126 page SB800 manual is really a primer. It covers everything, but only very briefly. It's not bogged down in any jargon, has full illustrations and diagrams explaining everything. It is very easy to understand... I believe most are put off simply by the length of it, and the number of words on each page. If you give it a chance, it will reward you. Currently, there is no better source (Thom Hogan goes more indepth).

[core-logic]

true, in fact, ive read both the D70s manual and the SB800 manuals from front cover to rear cover. took a good few days of on and off reading whilst bored. but i admit, i wasnt 100% alert most of the time i was reading. at least i know where to look when i need help =]

apart from that, im still a beginner at using it, but am learning more and more as the need to use different/more advanced features arises- like the D70s and its different locks and when i should use them. really helped to shoot a concert at school- http://www.gilroy.parra.catholic.edu.au ... music.html

regards
Julian