rear sync flash did not fire at end of exposure

babygodzilla

Hello,

I have a question about my setting on my SB900. As far as I understand, rear sync flash means that the camera will first accumulate ambient light, and then the flash will fire at the end of the exposure to freeze the action. Is that right? Because I tried to use rear sync flash yesterday and the flash fired at the beginning of the exposure. I know this because I hit the button, the flash fires, and then 3 seconds later the shutter clicks. I'm thinking it should be I hit the button, the shutter opens for 3 seconds, and the the flash fires after 3 seconds. Can anyone tell me what I did wrong?

Thanks

Qarik

babygodzilla wrote:

Hello,

I have a question about my setting on my SB900. As far as I understand, rear sync flash means that the camera will first accumulate ambient light, and then the flash will fire at the end of the exposure to freeze the action. Is that right? Because I tried to use rear sync flash yesterday and the flash fired at the beginning of the exposure. I know this because I hit the button, the flash fires, and then 3 seconds later the shutter clicks. I'm thinking it should be I hit the button, the shutter opens for 3 seconds, and the the flash fires after 3 seconds. Can anyone tell me what I did wrong?

Thanks

your reasoning is correct. There is a pre flash though at the beggining of the shutter release so don't let that fool you. But the primary setting for rear synch should be on camera not the flash.

babygodzilla

on camera? how do i set it on the camera? i tried looking for rear sync setting on the my D5000 but couldnt find it. also couldnt find it in the manual. perhaps ill look again.

Qarik

babygodzilla wrote:

on camera? how do i set it on the camera? i tried looking for rear sync setting on the my D5000 but couldnt find it. also couldnt find it in the manual. perhaps ill look again.

page 72 of your manual

A Flash Modes

The flash modes listed on the previous page may combine one or more of the following
settings, as shown by the flash mode icon:

• AUTO (auto flash): When lighting is poor or subject is back lit, flash pops up automatically
when shutter-release button is pressed halfway and fires as required.

• Y (red-eye reduction): Use for portraits. Red-eye reduction lamp lights before flash fires,
reducing “red-eye.”

• j (off): Flash does not fire even when lighting is poor or subject is back-lit.

• SLOW (slow sync): Shutter speed slows automatically to capture background lighting at night
or under low light. Use to include background lighting in portraits.

• REAR (rear-curtain sync): Flash fires just before shutter closes, creating a stream of light behind
moving light sources (below at right). If this icon is not displayed, flash will fire as the
shutter opens (front-curtain sync; the effect this produces with moving light sources is
shown below at left).

Front-curtain sync Rear-curtain sync

A Choosing a Flash Mode

The flash mode can also be
selected by pressing the M

button and rotating the
command dial (in P, S, A, and M

modes, raise the flash before
using the M button to choose
the flash mode).

+

M button Command
dial
Information display

A The Built-in Flash

For information on the lenses that can be used with the built-in flash, see page 196. Remove
lens hoods to prevent shadows. The flash has a minimum range of 60 cm (2 ft.) and can not
be used in the macro range of macro zoom lenses.
The shutter release may be briefly disabled to protect the flash after it has been used for
several consecutive shots. The flash can be used again after a short pause.

A Shutter Speeds Available with the Built-in Flash

The following shutter speeds are available with the built-in flash when vibration reduction