Built in flash for D70

When I use built in flash of my D70 for indoor pictures, pictures are

usually underexposed unless

I stand very close (4 - 5 feet) to the subject. I've not yet tried

with flash exposure compensation.

Anyone with same experience? Any thoughts or solutions?

yes yaron hints probably in the right direction - dont expect anything more than a weak light from the tiny little thing :-)

cheers

walter

Your problem is caused by the low power of the on camera flash. Some ways you can deal with this is to, shoot at higher ISO settings (400-800), shoot at the largest aperture possible, and watch your distance. The best answer is to get a high power external flash and forget about using the on camera flash.

FYI, the low power flash was a marketing decision, not a ploy to get you to buy the SB-600 or SB-800. Marketing said that the D70 would not sell without an on camera flash, the sad thing is the lousy peanut flash hogs the space for a decent sized viewfinder prism. When you buy your external flash make sure to tell the salesman that Nikon should have left the flash OFF the D70, maybe word will get back and Nikon will build a version with a good viewfinder at this price point.

I have been using my SB-24 on my D70 and it works quite well. I do have to give up some of the convenience features and it does not give me a TTL capable flash. Being able to instantly review and check the histogram has made perfect exposures extremely easy and predictable. Here is how I set things up. I set the flash on Auto so that it reads the lighting through the flash mounted light sensor. I set the flash head at 28mm because the link between the camera lens zoom setting and the flash head does not work. Setting the zoom head at 28mm allows it to cover the full range of my 18-70mm lens and I have not seen any falloff at the 28mm setting with the lens set at 18mm. Not having the flash zoom with the lens is one of the convenience features that you lose. I also set the flash for either f5.6, or f8, and use the Aperture Mode on the camera to lock the lens to match. After the flash and lens are set, I take a test shot of the setting and check the histogram and display image. If the flash is too strong, or weak, I dial in a bit of compensation by shifting the ISO setting on the flash to compensate and take another test shot to confirm my settings. You could also shift the aperture setting on the flash to dial in compensation but I like having the aperture on the lens and flash to match, it'a a personal choice, just in case I bump the aperture dial. Once it's dialed in I have found that I can shoot freely and get perfect exposures for 95% of the time. Depending on your ISO setting on the camera, this can get you out to 20 to 40 feet. If I find myself shooting a series at a longer distance and lens focal length I will zoom the head on the flash to give it more reach but you have to be careful about doing this, zoom the lens back to 18mm with the flash head set at 50mm or 85mm will cause a lot of falloff in the lighting. One thing to watch out for is white wedding gowns, they can cause under exposed images and I always test before shooting the bride full length. Black tuxes can also cause over exposure so you do have to use some judgment of how your subjects can influence how the flash responds. Once you gain experience, a temporary swing of the aperture can allow you to balance the lighting to your subject.

Using a non TTL flash does require a bit more work and thought but I am getting excellent results and the instant review tells me very quickly when I get it wrong. Good enough that I may never buy the SB-800, I have heard the preflashes used for the I-TTL can cause closed eyes due to the subject blinking.

I do not know if using a flash like the Vivitar 285HV would be safe for the D70, but it may be worth checking out because they are so inexpensive. Ever since the high sinc voltage problems in the 80's I have only used the SB-24 on my AF bodies, probably paranoid but safe. I have 2 of the 285HV flashes that I commonly use on light stands with umbrellas and trigger with with slaves for my set shots. It is about the only time that I use the on camera flash, by dialing the output of the peanut flash to a low level it works very well for triggering the slaves and puts a tiny bit of catch light into the eyes.

Add a flash compensation of either .3 or .7 and you'll find that you'll have no problems indoors at all.

Additionally, the latest White Wedding curve was designed specifically to handle these flash situations. You might well consider installing the curve.

Jim

Good points on the mini Flash, but I do think it's good Nikon put a small flash on the D70

for a pinch. You raise a very good point about using the Vivitar 285 HV flash on the D70,

or any other Digital camera with a hotshoe. The answer about voltage safety is...it

depends. A few years ago, I came across this site:

http://www.botzilla.com/photo/G1strobe.html

It gives some very useful information about how to test the voltage of your flash using a

simple Radio Shack voltage meter. My 285HV tested out at 5.9 volts, which is within the

safety range. Late model 285HVs seem to be fine, but test first!!

Since I've never had a TTL flash, I don't miss it. The 285HV allows you to dial power down

in increments.