SB-800 speedlight: Manual setting can't go as low as TTL?

LiveAwake

Hi all,

I'm pretty new to the world of flash photography, and as I am trying to learn how best to use my Nikon SB-800, I have run into a strange phenomenon. I took two shots with all settings identical (same ISO, Aperture, shutter speed, rear-curtain flash, focal length, distance, position etc.) but the only difference was that in one I had my speedlight set to manual at the lowest output (1/128) and the other I had it set to TTL -1.0.

I will post pictures once I get back home to my computer, but the shot using manual 1/128 output was washed out with too much light, while the shot with TTL -1.0 was about right for fill flash. Again, all other settings were identical!

Unless I'm really missing something, this means that the SB-800 is actually capable of putting out even less than 1/128 power, but you can't do this in manual mode?? :scratch Why would they do this?

ziggy53

LiveAwake wrote:

... this means that the SB-800 is actually capable of putting out even less than 1/128 power, but you can't do this in manual mode?? Why would they do this?

Not too unusual. Remember that you can usually use either ISO or aperture to adjust for flash exposure, and you can add either scrims or diffusion to the flash to further trim the output. It's not as limiting as you might think.

LiveAwake

ziggy53 wrote:

Not too unusual. Remember that you can usually use either ISO or aperture to adjust for flash exposure, and you can add either scrims or diffusion to the flash to further trim the output. It's not as limiting as you might think.

Yeah, I'm sure there are ways to get by it, it just seems really counterintuitive that I should be unable to dial down my flash to the lowest setting that it is already capable of. And it adds an extra step that I have to take in order to get the right exposure. I do most of my shooting on the move, so to speak, so I like to carry as little extra equipment as possible.

ISO adjustment would make sense, except that my goal with this shot was actually to do exactly the opposite - I was increasing my ISO and decreasing my flash output in order to allow more ambient light to come through and balance the flash without decreasing my shutter speed below hand-hold range.

It's always possible to bounce, diffuse or otherwise remove some light from the picture, but to my mind this is a pretty poor design choice that wouldn't have cost Nikon anything at all to remedy. I wonder if that could be corrected in a firmware upgrade somehow . . . . ?

Art Scott

with the D300 set your flash function to rear curtain sync...the front shutter opens and stays open for the duration of the exposure and the flash fires towards the end of the exposure and the REAR SHUTTER CLOSES ....this allows for more ambient light to balance the scene......read all about it in Joe McNally's HOTSHOE DIARIES...............

LiveAwake

Art Scott wrote:

with the D300 set your flash function to rear curtain sync...the front shutter opens and stays open for the duration of the exposure and the flash fires towards the end of the exposure and the REAR SHUTTER CLOSES ....this allows for more ambient light to balance the scene......read all about it in Joe McNally's HOTSHOE DIARIES...............

Yes, I frequently shoot with rear-curtain flash (and in fact was dong so in this shot). That works fine when you want enough flash output to really light up the subject and overpower the slightly blurred image with the sharp one, but that's not always the case. I was going for a slight fill-flash just to soften some shadows but to leave the ambient lighting mostly intact even on my main subject. In this case, the longer shutter speed required to get the same exposure at lower ISO isn't acceptable.

It's not a problem I expect to run into all that often, but now and then I will want less than 1/128 output from my flash. Since the flash is already capable of putting out the lower light, I just wish I could tell it to do so manually. I just wrote Nikon to find out if there is a way to achieve this in manual mode, or if it is possible to upgrade the firmware to achieve this etc. My hopes aren't too high, but I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Art Scott

some ND filters for the flash dunno

LiveAwake

Art Scott wrote:

some ND filters for the flash dunno

Here is the response I got from Nikon:

In manual mode the SB-800 is limited to 1/128 power but as you have seen in TTL mode the flash may be able to reduce it's output even further. Nikon is always interested in feedback from our users and we'll pass your comments along to our design group for consideration in a future update or new product.