High ISO no flash questions/advice

teamracephotos

These are a couple of images from my D200 Nikon with 105mm macro lens no flash ISO 800.
I have always shied away from higher ISO on my D200, never really like the look it produced. Most of my images are captured at dusk do to my work schedule. This past couple of weeks I packed up the flash and decided to try using higher ISO and bigger f stops to see what I can come up with.

Questions: Are the images correct with the settings used?
First one is f4.5 50th of a second ISO 800.
Second one is f8 30th of a second ISO 800.

Anybody using the D700, do you think I could benefit from its higher ISO?

Thanks for your time. Mark

jeffreaux2

These appear underexposed to me......was flash used here?


...and are you using the flash in a TTL (auto) mode?


Id reccomend using the flash to side light your subject rather than from the shoe. If you have no means to get the flash off the camera then swivel it to the side and use a piece of foam core posterboard to reflect it. There should be no need for a HIgh ISO if you are using a flash. F8, ISO100, 1/200 second should be fine.....let the TTL flash metering drive the flash harder to provide the light for the exposure.

Your BG is likely to go to black with the above settings.

teamracephotos

jeffreaux2 wrote:

These appear underexposed to me......was flash used here?


...and are you using the flash in a TTL (auto) mode?


Id reccomend using the flash to side light your subject rather than from the shoe. If you have no means to get the flash off the camera then swivel it to the side and use a piece of foam core posterboard to reflect it. There should be no need for a HIgh ISO if you are using a flash. F8, ISO100, 1/200 second should be fine.....let the TTL flash metering drive the flash harder to provide the light for the exposure.

Your BG is likely to go to black with the above settings.

Thanks for your advice. I agree flash and ISO 100 is the ticket. My sb800 flash is being repaired. Most of the time I am using flash on a movable bracket. I am going to try your suggestion of bouncing the flash off from the side.
While waiting for my flash to be repaired I was playing around with Higher ISO. This is natural light at dusk in an over grown lot just across the street from my house so the back ground is already pretty dark. Would like to see the same image captured with a D700 too see if the High ISO is really that much better. Thanks again for the great input. Mark