ricardo lago Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 Shooting with an SB800 mounted on a D200, using any lens, any focal length, any shooting mode (P, A, S, M), all is well. Using the SB800 as a remote and the D200's built-in speedlight as commander, all shots are underexposed by 1 f- stop, using any lens, any focal length, any shooting mode (P, A, S, M). What am I doing wrong, or is this normal? I am setting the flash menu to have the built-in be the commander only and the SB800 to TTL, 1/1. Thank you for any help. Ricardo Lago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_leck Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 Why are you using the built-in flash as commander while the SB-800 is mounted to the camera? This makes no sense as the built-in flash cannot raise properly with the SB-800 mounted. Besides, the SB-800 needs no commander when mounted directly to the camera. If the SB-800 actually is mounted off-camera, try increasing it to +1 EV (or whatever is necessary), although this is slightly cumbersome to do via the D200 menus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricardo lago Posted November 4, 2006 Author Share Posted November 4, 2006 I'm not using the built-in flash as commander while the SB-800 is mounted to the camera. What I'm trying to say is this: SB800 on camera, all OK. SB800 off camera and used as remote with D200 sppedlight used as commander, all 1 stop unerexposed. Yes, increasing +1 EV fixes the problem, but it makes no sense that exposure is OK with the SB800 on camera and exposeure is 1 stop under with SB800 off camera with no settings changed except to change speedlight settings in the D200's menu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curt wiler Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 I'm still a little confused by the question here. The remote SB-800 must be set to "Remote" not "TTL", and the same channel as the Commander ("Master"). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rombon Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 I have the same experience. I got used to it and I simply dial +1EV in my D200 custom setting menu (e3) for a remote flash group A. Regards, Marko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricardo lago Posted November 4, 2006 Author Share Posted November 4, 2006 Thank you Marko, I do precisely the same thing to compensate. The question is why do we have to compenste, is there a flaw in the system or are we doing something wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwcombs Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 Where you locate your SB800 off-camera might have something to do with it. Where are you placing your speedlite when using as a remote? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricardo lago Posted November 4, 2006 Author Share Posted November 4, 2006 BW, The first test I do is to hold the remote SB800 directly above the hot shoe to see if location has anythng to do with it. It doesn't. The object 6 feet away that was properly exposed when the SB800 was on camera is now -1 EV underexposed when the SB800 is remote and commanded by the built-in and sitting within an inch of the hot shoe. I've written Nikon about this and will post their answer if/when it comes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark pav Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 Hi Ricardo, I haven't noticed the same problem with my D200 and SB800. Perhaps this is something that Nikon needs to adjust for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwcombs Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 Well, so much for distance and angle being a culprit. I've got a shoot tomorrow, and will give it a go to see if I can duplicate your problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twmeyer Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 When I configure the D200/SB800 like that, I get the same results. I just leave it on +1... doesn't bother me too much, since all else is fabuloso. I might be concerned if all I had was +1, but it goes all the way to +3, which seems way more than I'd ever need on TTL. <p>Let us know if Nikon has anything useful to say. If it's just calibration, why worry? You've self calibrated... t Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricardo lago Posted November 4, 2006 Author Share Posted November 4, 2006 Tom, I'm happy to see that I'm not the only one having the problem. I will post Nikon's answer if/when they have one. Thus far, they have asked for photos as examples of the problem and I have complied. Their response was to tell me that the white wall visible in the examples could affect exposure and added a canned response about lighting/grey cards, etc. They came up with this answer because two examples (SB800 on hot shoe, SB800 as remote with +1EV comp) had a well-exposed wall. Another example (SB800 as remote) had, guess what, an underexposed wall--a clear demonstration of the problem. They missed the point of my question entirely. I restated the problem and am now waiting for their next response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davlam Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 hi, nothing really to add to this except i am also experiencing the same issue with an SB600. As i'm new to flash, i thought it was just my lack of understanding but having tried to find a solution for a few days now i am now finding a few cases where others are having the same problem. My search so far has led me to a few fora but as yet no answer so i'm keen to watch this thread for progress. FYI : My experiments and feedback so far can be seen in my forum at the following thread. http://www.digitalimaging-uk.co.uk/photoforum/viewtopic.php?t=1711 regards, dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricardo lago Posted January 4, 2007 Author Share Posted January 4, 2007 <b>The answer from Nikon</b> <p>"...the metering system calculation is slightly different between on-camera and off-camera flash exposure calculation and there will be slight differences in each." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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