D300 and SB-800

Just got a D300 and a SB-800 flash. In the advertisment I have read that its

possible to place the flash unit off the camera and trigger it with the camera

flash, but I dont get it. I looked over the manuals again and again, doesnt work

for me. So please someone with experience can give me a hint how to set the

flash and the camera or do I need this wireless trigger? Thanks and Kind Regards

Martin

You need to go into the menu on the camera that controls the built-in flash. Put it in commander mode. Note the channel and group assignments. Then go to the SB800, and put it in slave mode, making sure that it's on the same channel, and that you know which group's settings on the camera will be talking to it. Then, make sure that the light from the pop-up strobe on the D300 is going to be "seen" by the sensor on the SB-800 (line of sight). It's easy once you do it the first time.

Matt, thank you, got it now, didnt find it the manual. I love it, Nikon babies are very fine in flashcontrolling.^^

Matt, hope you are still in town, how can I reduce the SB-800 power?

In the camera's commander menu, you can set the exposure compensation up or down for all of the devices in each of groups A, B, and C. If you lower the value to, say, -2 for all of the items in Group A, then your SB800 (if it's listening on group A), will have its output reduced by two stops.

 

Another helpful point: you'll see that one of the adjustments you can make in the commander menu is the power of the built-in flash. That flash has to be up in order to control the remote strobe, but you can set its power to "--", which means that it will only barely contribute any light to the actual exposure. Have fun!

Matt, Thanks, I think I got it.^^ <br>This weekend I will study the manual, but I was very greedy to tryout this feature first. For sure I will have a lot of fun, <br>

Thank you and have a nice weekend too.<br>Martin

Matt, just visited your website, very nice work. Maybe I am allowed to give a little add-on to your Uplandia-Enzyclopedia, I live in very eastern Austria, 5 miles from hungarian border, and I am interested in dogs, so for sure I know there are different kinds of the Magyar Vizsla, they are also completly black or golden. Martin

Hey, thanks, Mag! That web site is still very much a work in progress (oh, for some more time). If you ever get a shot of one of those black Vizslas, I'd gladly put it up there with a photo credit to you, and a link to any web site of your own that you'd like.

<br><br>

My wife (who was born in Frankfurt, and spent much of her childhood living in Vienna) is glad to know I could help out someone in Austria! She says I'm supposed to say something like "Grüß Gott!" to you. Have fun with the new equipment.

Hi, Mag--

 

Glad to see you've gotten some very good advice on using your SB-800 in this way! It's lots of fun. I picked up a Westcott Micro Apollo in the clearance bin at a photo store. I shoot lots of clubs in London, and I walk around with the flash in my hand & softbox on--the lighting can be really cool with this setup. Taking it off camera in this way is really nice, too, as you can use the autofocus assist light on the camera, which is much handier in the pitch darkness of a club.

@Matt, "Gr�ߠGott", how did you manage to write this on an US keyboard? "Handkuߢ to your wife. Here around is heavy fog for the last 6 weeks, wet and cold, I hope my hungarian neighbours dont send their dogs outside the house this days. I see your kind offer as a big honour and on my next trip to hungary I will try my best to take some pictures, but its a real challenge as this dogs are very fast, ^^<br><br>

 

@Bernhard, thanks for the hint on the Westcott Micro Apollo, I found some pictures, it really seems to be the perfect add-on to my purpose. Only drawback, I didnt find a reseller here in Austria or Germany, maybe you could be so kind to give me a link to a UK-reseller or internetshop.<br><br>

 

Thanks and have a busy week.^^<br>

Martin

Well, I actually picked mine up at Roberts Imaging in Indianapolis, Indiana. However, I am sure I have seen them on the shelf at Calumet (www.calumetphoto.co.uk) here in London, in the Drummond Street store. I don't see them listed on the website, but you might try contacting them and see if they have them, or something very similar.

 

Best of luck!

Ummm, actually the Lumiquest Mini Softbox listed for ?20.95 on Calumet's website looks like an even better contraption than the Westcott.

Thanks for the link; <br>I have had a hard time ordering this item from calumet shop, hope it worked. ^^<br> But I like Calumet as they are connected to Cambo and this was my first 5x7 or 13x18 in centimeters camera. <br>Kind Regards<br> Martin<br>