 ANN VARELIS |
using external flash Help!I have a nikon d70 and I was never satisfied with the built in flash so I bought the SB800 expensive external flash unit.I read the mannual,set it up and yet I really dont see the difference between the sb800 and internal flash!!my sports indoor pictures at iso400, with standard lens about 40 feet away still come out way too dark!!I use speed of about 1/250 to freeze action at about f3.5 or so.I'm convinced there something about the flash that I'm doing wrong.
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Kerry L. Walker |
Lower your shutter speed. The fact that your camera will sync at that speed doesn't mean you should always do so. Shooting at a slower shutter speed will increase the ambient light and will, through the flash, increase you effective shutter speed, thereby stopping the action. You may also have to open the aperature a bit more too. At 40' you are losing a lot of your flash power.
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John Rhodes |
Ann, You probably aren't doing anything wrong, with the possible exception of expection far too much from any flash. The efectiveness of the flash will likely fall off shorted than 40'. I don't know what the range is for your external flash, but Nikon should be able to advise. You may need to increase the ISO setting even further. Best of luck. VR John
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John Rhodes |
Sorry about the lack of editing above. I need a proofreader I guess. John
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ANN VARELIS |
But the panel of my external flash sais that I'm good until 60 ft! I dont want noise so I avoid raising the ISO more than 400.I open the aperture as much as is possible at 1/250 speed.To get good exposure at 400 I have to shoot at 1/60th and I want to freeze action not blur
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John Rhodes |
Ann, after reading your posting, I saw the very next question raised the same issue. Take a look at the question "Shooting action pictures indoors" for additional responses on the question. VR John
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Kerry L. Walker |
Don't feel bad John. I need both a typist and a proofreader. Ann, I agree with John on the ISO setting. You might also want to use a zoom or telephoto lens too. The flash will zoom with the lens. The SB800 is expensive because of its versatility, not because of its power.
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ANN VARELIS |
oh great, I just spent $600 for versatility I probably wouldn never use. What do you mean "flash will zoom with the lens?" please elaborate...I'm not very familiar with flash photography, but now I need to photograph action from about 40ft indoors. thank you all
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Kerry L. Walker |
Ann, the flash will freeze the action. The average flash will be on for anywhere from 1/1000 of a second to 1/50000 of a second. THAT is what freezes the action. The more ambient light you have, the less light the flash has to provide so the shorter the burst. Also, learn to follow the action. If you are panning, the subject will be in focus even if the background has enough ambient light to show up and be out of focus.
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Kerry L. Walker |
If you paid $600.00 for the SB800, you must have paid full retail. You need to be shopping at B&H. I don't want to tell you the price there because you would be sick. The SB800 is a zoom flash, meaning its field of view, so to speak, changes with the field of view of the lens attached to the camera. The longer the lens, the narrower the beam of light it emits. The narrower the beam, the longer the throw. Besides, from 40' with a normal lens, you are not going to get a very close view of the action.
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ANN VARELIS |
well, $600 CDN funds but in Airmiles points actually.Still was expensive. I dont know what's B&H, is it American? I'm in Canada-shipping,handling & exchange all count. Thank you for the explanation on zoom. I do have a 300mm zoom lens. I will experiment some more.
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Kerry L. Walker |
It wwould be about $400 CDN. B&H is in NYC. Shipping wouldn't bee too bad I don't imagine. I live in the southern US and it is still cheaper for me to get my supplies from B&H, even with shipping. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
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John C. Schwentner |
Im just curious, does this flash not have a power level setting? I have the Minolta maxxuum 5600d which does, and all I need do is up the power and this fool thing will light up close to 100 feet.
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ANN VARELIS |
John, you know what, I really dont know. I just purchased it and all I did is set it on my camera and started shooting. The manual looks very complicated so I havent read the whole thing yet but I will certainly find out about what you suggested. Thank you.
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Kerry L. Walker |
Ann, the problem with camera equipment manuals is that they are written by people who don't speak English. (Heck, I don't speak English either. I speak Southern.) However, you really should read the manual. It can give you a lot more information than I can. John, I think the power on the Minolta 5600d is a lot greater than on the Nikon SB800. You got the power!
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John C. Schwentner |
Yeah, it really does have a kick to it, but I assumed with her flash being so expensive, even more than mine, that is probably does have that power setting. Hope so.
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Kerry L. Walker |
The price on both flashes is about the same. (The 400 was CDN, not US). Yours shows a guide number of 184 whereas hers has this same guide number only when fully zoomed to the degree of a 105mm lens. With her using a normal lens, it isn't nearly that powerful.
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ANN VARELIS |
what happens after 105mm? what if I use a 300mm lens? will it be more powerful or it doesnt work after 105mm?
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Kerry L. Walker |
Your flash will work fine above 105mm. That is just the maximum IT will zoom. The field of throw for your flash will be greater than the field of view of your lens but that won't matter. It only matters in reverse, when the field of throw of your flash is less than the field of view of your lens (extreme wide angle).
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ANN VARELIS |
so let me undersand: if 105mm is the maximum it will zoom then after this it looses power, correct?
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Kerry L. Walker |
No, that is not what I mean. Think of your flash as a zoom lens. You have two zoom lenses, one that zooms to 300 and one that zooms to 105 (this is the one that represents your flash.) If you put them on identical cameras side by side, the 105 zoom stops zooming before the 300 does. The 105 still works fine but it won't narrow the field of view anymore. This is the same for your flash. It still works fine but the beam of light won't narrow any more. It will work fine with the 300mm lens but the area of the flash will be wider than the field of view of the lens. I hope this helps. Just use your long lens and zoom the flash to 105mm and you will be fine.
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ANN VARELIS |
Kerry, you must think I'm totally out of it with this flash business! Thanks so much for your help. One last question(I promise), 1/If I use my long lens will it automatically zoom to 105mm or I have to set something in the flash? 2/if the object(lets say lion's head) is 30ft away and my 300mm lens zooms in to fill the lens with the lions head then the flash will cover the lions head also(+more area which I wont see)BUT would the lion's head look brighter than if I used a 105mm lens with the same flash and all other settings were equal? Thank you
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John C. Schwentner |
Thats right, Kerry. My 5600 has the built in diffuser for w/a down to 17mm to compensate for that flash beam, but as you say this benefit is for the wide angle end of the spectrum. I read my manual (tough) and I memorized all the junk, but it slips away, I dont remember what my max gn really is, my cam zooms to 380mm. The flash does have auto zoom but only to 85mm I think, and after that the beams going to widen out, but then I can kick in the extra power, but I have to be in manual then. Geez I dont know if this stuff helps poor ann or confuses her more.But Im getting some feedback too thanks
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Kerry L. Walker |
As far as your flash automatically zooming, it depends. If you are using a newer Nikon lens (one that has all the contacts to match your camera so the camera can read the size of the lens) it should. The fact that the flash won't zoom any further will not affect the exposure, only the distance it will throw. The TTL mechanism in your camera will stop the flash when the exposure is correct. I have a suggestion to help you understand how the zoom works. Put an adjustable nozzle on a water hose. As you adjust it, the stream gets smaller and goes further. It is still putting out the same amount of water, it just goes further.
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Kerry L. Walker |
John, I have been meaning to tell you that I really like Cheroke Morning. That is a beautiful shot.
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ANN VARELIS |
Thank you all for your help. This week I am going to photograph a martial arts competition in an indoor gymnasium, the parents want to buy pics of their kids in action so I'm crossing my fingers that I can get the flash&camera to cooperate. I'll be pretty close to the action(within 10-15ft) so hopefully things will work out.
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Kerry L. Walker |
At that distance, it will work fine with the normal lens. The TKD picture in my gallery was shot from a little further than that with a flash with a GN of 100 and it worked fine.
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Debby A. Tabb |
I DON'T KNOW IF THIS WILL HELP BUT I TOOK THESE BETWEEN 9-10:30 AT NIGHT -THE BMX NATHIONAL - WITH A D70 AND SB800. THE FLASH WAS USED OFF CAMERA-IT IS IN THE DOWN SIDE OF THE HILL POINTING TOWARD THE CURVE THE DIRT ON A FOOT WITH A POCKET WIZARD. THE CAMERA WAS JUST ON THE ACTION SETTING. ANY WAY , I USE SLAVED LIGHTING IN SPORTS AND WEDDINGS TO PUT EXTRA LIGHTING ABOUT WITH OUT IT ON MY CAMERA. JUST ANOTHER IDEA.
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