SB-800 problems II

<p>I tested everything. I tested the with my 2 D200 and the problems remain the same : images are almost dark output of the flash is not enough. Both D200 are doing well with pop-up flashes.<br>

I reseted my flash a few times, change nothing. I changed the batteries, change nothing.<br>

When using the red button Flash on the SB-800, it goes full blast but not when shooting!!!???<br>

What can I do except sending it for repair?</p>

<p>thanks</p>

<p>Is there a chance you can post a image (695 pixels wide) with the camera data intact?</p>

<p>Unless you are shooting a white wall, your SB-800 should give enough light for most subjects, but without knowing what the camera settings are....? Is the D200 in 'S' mode or 'M' mode?</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Pierre,</p>

<p>Are the contacts on the bottom of the flash foot dirty or damaged?</p>

<p>What shutter speed are you set on?<br>

Kent in SD</p>

<p>I'm in Aperture mode, like usual form, speed is to 1/60 wich is under the sync. speed so should be ok.<br>

No dirt on the contacts but the contact in the center is lower than the three others, I dont know if it is normal or not. <br>

Communication between the D200 and SB-200 seems ok because when the changing the zoom focal it also changes on the lcd panel of the SB-800 and I also heard it zooming in the head of the SB-800.<br>

I'm shooting a chair in my studio and with SB-800 almost all dark and when using pop-up flash in the same situation image is ok.</p>

<p>test 0001 is image metadata with SB-800<br>

test 0002 image metadata with pop-up flash<br>

here is the second file with metadata of image with pop-up flash : </p>

<p>

<p>Pierre,<br>

I just checked the contacts on my SB-800 and they are all the same length, including the center contact. Could this center contact not be making a good connection with your camera?</p>

</p>

<p>Pics with EXIF would help, but in the absence of that, please check:<br>

1. Mode: what mode is set on the SB-800? (Change with mode button). Should probably be TTL with some other options after it.<br>

2. Flash output compensation. With the SB-800 and D200 on, if you hit the + and - buttons on the selector, do you see a number changing on the back of the SB-800? If so, adjust until it says "0 EV".<br>

3. Exposure compensation on body: are you setting any exposure compensation on the D200?<br>

4. Also, take the diffuser off the front of the SB-800 and make sure that the angle of the SB-800 is 90 degrees (one step before maximum bending), assuming your subject is in front of you (which is simplest for testing).</p>

<p>what i see as exif data for the first image where we see the back of a D200 (pop-up flash) is D200 exposure bias = +/-0EV, light source = unknown, flash = strobe return light not detected<br>

what i see as exif data for the second image where we see only black (SB-800) is D200 exposure bias = +/-0EV, light source = unknown, flash = strobe return light detected<br>

thanks for your help</p>

<p>The D200 exposure bias is different from the SB-800 flash output compensation, and different from the D200 flash exposure compensation. I don't know offhand if flash output compensation is encoded in the EXIF or other metadata. Please answer questions 1. and 2. in my comments. I've seen dark images when either this is set low, or batteries are weak, although yours seems much darker than anything I've ever seen.<br>

Also, your jpg seems to have been generated from RAW by Adobe software, and also uses Adobe RGB. This adds unnecessary complexity. I'm less familiar with them and unable to analyze on my system. More importantly, your sample jpg (I only looked at the dark one) is missing a lot of fields. For example, my JPG generated out of my D200 with SB-800 says:</p>

<p>$ exiftool xxxx.jpg | grep -i flash<br /> Flash : Fired, Return detected<br /> Flash Setting : Normal<br /> Flash Type : Optional,TTL<br /> Flash Exposure Compensation : 0<br /> Flash Exposure Bracket Value : 0.0<br /> Flash Mode : Unknown (3)<br /> Flash Info Version : 0101<br /> Flash Source : External<br /> External Flash Firmware : 1.01 (SB-800 or Metz 58 AF-1)<br /> External Flash Flags : [1]<br /> Flash Commander Mode : Off<br /> Flash Control Mode : iTTL-BL<br /> Flash Focal Length : 105 mm<br /> Repeating Flash Rate : 10 Hz<br /> Repeating Flash Count : 1<br /> Flash GN Distance : 2.0 m<br /> Flash Group A Control Mode : iTTL-BL<br /> Flash Group B Control Mode : Off<br /> Flash Group A Exposure Comp : 0<br /> Flash Group B Exposure Comp : 0<br /> Flashpix Version : 0100<br /> $<br>

Your jpg simply has:<br>

Flash : Fired, Return detected<br /> Flash Fired : True<br /> Flash Return : Return detected<br /> Flash Mode : Unknown<br /> Flash Function : False<br /> Flash Red Eye Mode : False<br>

which is not as complete as the in-camera jpg.</p>

<p>Also, one more question: does the red LED on the back of your SB-800 flash for a few seconds after you take a picture? This indicates flash output was insufficient as far as the SB-800 is aware.</p>