Using SB-800 as commander with SB-R200 on D850

I've been using a pair of SB-R200's with my D610 and its built-in flash just fine.

 

I'd like to set up the SB-200's with my D850 using an SB-800 as a commander. So far I've been able to set up the SB-800 to control the SB-R200's except (big except) I can't select "Flash cancelled" when in Master mode - the option no longer shows up - so the SB-800 continues to fire.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks

From the SB-800 manual:

Commander function

The “Commander function” in Advanced Wireless Lighting enables the SB-800 to act as a commander unit during wireless multiple flash shooting to trigger remote flash units without firing itself. To activate the “Commander function,” set the SB-800 as the master flash unit and set its flash mode to “Flash canceled (---)”. This operation will normally not affect the correct exposure of the subject.....

 

Does that not work?

The setting needs to be performed on the speedlight, not in the camera menu.

 

Maybe a two-button reset of the SB-800 is in order?

When I set the SB-800 as the master flash unit, I can no longer set the flash mode to "Flash canceled ..." Great idea to reset the flash; alas it made no difference.

Does the SB-800 do the same thing when fitted to your D610?

 

Any firmware update for the D850 that relates to flash issues?

It's been a while and I don't have my SB-800 in front of me, but IIRC, once you set the SB-800 to master, you need to go to set the output level comp values -- the screen that shows, M (master), A, B, C with comp values from -3.0 to +3.0. Set the M to --- which cancels the flash.

 

What might be happening is that you have the flash comp setting for M to TTL.

 

Again, it's been a while so I could be way off on this.

 

Do report back.

It's been a while for me as well, but I agree with photo_galleries, I think. I'd always used the on-camera flash to trigger my SB-600s (which, of course, can't of themselves trigger) with my D810, but just gave up and bought some third-party radio triggers for the D850. Which is, of course, more expense and another load of stuff to carry around.

Which is, of course, more expense and another load of stuff to carry around

"Load of stuff" is a bit of an exaggeration Andrew.

My 3 YongNuo RF603n triggers live in the small (4"x3"x2") box they came in, along with their camera connecting cables.

Total cost was under £50, which is far less than you'd pay for almost any Nikon-made accessory. Worth it for the assurance that the flashes are going to fire every time, and that's not a given when using CLS.

I'm trying to remember why I chose the Godox X1T-N and X1 N over the Yongnuo RF-603N series. Am I right in saying the RF-603Ns don't support HSS or varying the flash intensity from the transmitter (or TTL flash metering in general)? I used that with the optical CLS solution, so I'm quite glad to have it on the Godox solution. I know this group are fairly dismissive of flash automation, but I use flash sufficiently infrequently that I'm grateful for it; besides, my house is cramped, so once I've set up a flash arrangement it's not always trivial to get at the flashes to change their power settings without tripping over things. The X1T-N seems to have been replaced with the XPro-N, which looks nicer to use but seems to be slightly larger and costs more, and possibly doesn't have a pass-through shoe should I ever want one.

 

Unlike the YongNuos, the Godox triggers all use a couple of AA batteries, and are upscaled accordingly. I store the three I own (£32 each) and the X1T-N (was £37, the XPro-N is £60) stacked in each other's hotshoes. They're somewhat bigger than an SB-600, though slightly smaller than two. They stick out at 90 degrees to the flash, so storing them on the flashes is awkward; using them means disconnecting them all, inserting batteries (because I don't usually leave batteries in things I rarely use), hooking up the flashes, remembering that the result is cantilevered a bit more than the flash used to be (unhelpful if I'm using a gorillapod to position the flash) and it's offset relative to where the flash is expected for my umbrella... It's not much more of a faff compared with sorting out flash stands and modifiers in the first place, but I still wish that if Nikon didn't want to have an integrated flash on the D850, they'd both integrated the radio flash trigger and left an SU-800-style IR ring around the front of the prism (which wouldn't have needed to be hinged to avoid being obstructed by the lens). If Nikon's own wireless solution was cheaper or less clunky, I'd be using it.

 

So... not huge (or even 200-500-sized), but enough paraphernalia that it nearly doubles the amount of flash-specific stuff I'm carrying unless I carry all three SB-600s, and it did in total cost me about what I last paid for a used SB-600. The YongNuos look smaller and cheaper, but (unless I'm confused) a bit less automated.

The YN RF-603n is indeed a simple 'dumb' trigger, but all my speedlights have auto aperture mode if I need flash automation. I find it works very reliably, unlike i-TTL, which continues to fail to impress me in terms of exposure consistency.

 

For more elaborate lighting setups, I usually use a meter or just guesstimate the power settings needed and chimp it - when you've used the same brolly or softbox a few times you get to know what power/distance/aperture combo you're going to need.

 

I also have a set of 3 Godox speedlights that take neat little clip-on triggers. Those do allow remote power control from the transmitter, which is quite useful when the flashes are hidden away in softboxes. But again it's all manual control stuff with no TTL flakiness involved.

 

My flashmeter is the largest individual item among those triggers BTW. And none of the flash hardware is anywhere near as bulky as the bag of lighting stands, softboxes, small boom, etc. that go with 'em.

Edited April 30, 2019 by rodeo_joe|1

Yes, I guess the remote power control is more important to me than metering - I can always chimp and tweak. Stands and modifiers are definitely far more unwieldy, but I rarely move them far; I've been known to carry a couple of flashes around and dangle them from small gorillapods, though (or just sit them on their feet), so it depends how seriously you're into it.

 

Still, given the choice of "carry extra kit" and "don't", I'd prefer things integrated.

Still, given the choice of "carry extra kit" and "don't", I'd prefer things integrated.

Well, that's a perpetual dilemma or conflict. Small, lightweight, versatile powerful and affordable are often oxymoronic adjectives when applied to almost any equipment.

 

I'd love a compact and lightweight f/2 24-1000mm distortionless zoom that cost under 300 quid, but that just ain't gonna happen. In fact my lenses and cameras seem to be getting bulkier and heavier by the week as I get older. Ho hum.:(

Oh, agreed. I'm perfectly happy for the D3500 not to integrate a wireless flash trigger. I'm less pleased that the D850, which is already expensive, big and heavy and replaces the D810 that did have a way to trigger off-camera flash, didn't integrate it. Adding 10% to the weight and cost of the D3500 is significant; adding 2% to the weight and cost of a D850 is a tax that I'm prepared to impose on people who never use remote flash (given that I don't use it much myself).

Third party triggers typically have their battery inside, in both the transmitter and receiver, and then you have to either keep spares around or a charger, which does add up to a lot of stuff. I waited until Nikon presented their radio trigger solution because I didn't want those extra cables and batteries, and it is a bonus that the Nikon system is very reliable. For studio flash, I still have to use third party triggers but at least the receivers are integrated into those flashes when I use the same manufacturer of trigger as the flashes themselves. Personally I find the most annoying thing the management of the batteries and so I want as much integration as possible and the receiver should use the flash's battery, and the transmitter the camera's battery. When the amount of extra stuff increases, changes that something doesn't work or otherwise goes wrong also increases.

 

A perturbing antenna seems to be required for radio controlled flash to work correctly in all circumstances. In Elinchrom's earlier implementation, the receiver antenna was integrated into the flash unit and there was no external perturbation, which lead to problems in triggering flashes behind people and in environments with concrete walls. The solution was to increase the flash trigger power or/and add a small perturbation to the flash unit which houses the antenna in such a way that it enables better pickup of the radio signal.