So a girl walks into a bar with an FE and SB-28 ...

...and the barman says -- you can't take any photos in here unless you drag that

shutter!

 

Seriously. ;-) I've gone back to using my Nikon FE exclusively and am having

problems with the flash/camera connection (flash reads a different lens/aperture

combination than what is really there). However, it's not a big deal, the

readings are 'close enough' if not exact. I know this sounds like a stupid

question, but I'm usually a natural light kind of girl, and am trying to improve

my flash photography skills (which are almost non-existent), but I haven't found

the answer I'm looking for on photo.net or any of the nikon sites, or in the

manual for the fe.

 

Anyway, I was just wondering if it's possible to drag the shutter on a manual

camera like the FE, or if the shutter will just automatically trip at the

beginning of the flash (like it does in the default setting in most automatic

cameras). And if it's not possible to drag the shutter, is there a way of

mimicing that effect by other means?

 

Thanks in advance!

Couple things going on there. FE's don't have TTL flash circuitry, so your SB-28 is on its own for metering, which may account for the disagreement in exposure readings. SB-28's also don't allow setting rear-curtain-sync on the flash unit itself; by the time they were marketed, the circuitry had been built into the camera bodies. You might look around for a used SB-24, which does have a rear-curtain switch on the flash itself. Metering is still going to be a bit of a trick though.

 

Good luck,

HWD

Absolutely. Not familiar with the FE or SB28, but, any camera that has manual mode can

drag the shutter.

 

Dragging, is simply using a longer shutter speed than the camera's synch speed. So, if

you FE synchs at 1/125, anything slower than that is technically considered dragging.

 

In practical terms what you usually want to do is capture ambient light in the background

and let the flash take care of the foreground/subject. Exposing for the background or the

overall ambient room light will result in kinda overlit pictures if you use your flash, but you

should try it. Personally, if I am going to use flash inside; I determine the ambient

exposure, then underexpose that setting by a stop or two and then add my flash.

 

Example: you are in a house, exposure is 1/8 @ 4.0 -- change that setting to 1/15 or

1/30 @ 4.0, set the flash to 4.0 and rock and roll.

 

Gotta go get my kid, good luck.

As Dennis mentioned, dragging the shutter isn't the same as rear curtain sync. Use non-TTL auto flash with your SB-28 at an aperture that suits the situation and set a slower than sync shutter speed to catch some ambient light as mentioned above. You could use manual flash, too, but that would be much less convenient.

Apologies for my misunderstanding the 'dragging' term. The previous posters are correct as to slow-synch flash. I can't get my SB-24 to rear-synch on the FE (or FE-2 either, which is TTL), anyway.

 

HWD

Pretty doubtful that the FE has rear curtain sync regardless of flash unit. While I'm sure there were ways to do that in the past, it's only been in recent years that it's been common.

<...am having problems with the flash/camera connection (flash reads a different lens/aperture combination than what is really there).> The FE does not communicate any data (neither lens focal length nor aperture setting) to the SB-28. Each is set by using the buttons ('zoom' and '+' / '-', respectively) on the back of the SB-28. Regretfully the FE doesn't offer TTL flash metering either.

 

The FE simply tells the flash when to 'pop' and the 28 will tell the FE when it is refreshed and ready for the next shot. Note the 'Flash Ready Light' above the viewfinder.

 

In addition to shutter-dragging I'll go out on a limb and suggest that you might like to dial in a bit of negative flash-comp to keep your f'gound/subject from having that look of a full-blown flash <POP!>. e.g let's say you want -1 flash comp (that's negative one) and you want to use an aperture of f5.6 for sufficient depth of field. Set lens ap to 5.6. Rather than set 5.6 on the SB-28 set it to f4. Conversely +1 flash comp would have the SB-28 set to f8 (when against highly reflective surface, white wall, etc.). Mind the distance scale on the 28.

 

Do experiment with the negative flash comp as it lends a nice look even outdoors in full-blown sun (-.7) to keep shadows (under eyes) from getting blocked-up or if shooting in shade (-1.7). These are round numbers suggestive of a starting point.

Rear curtain sync requires camera support. No MF camera except the F601m supports it.

 

To the original poster, set the flash to A, dial in the ISO and aperture on the flash and you'll be good to go. The FE doesn't communicate anything with the flash beyond a flash trigger and the ready light. The Nikon flashes are really good auto flashes, so enjoy (I use my SB-24 and 26 all the time as auto flashes, on all sorts of cameras from my Nikon EM to my 1956 Super Ricohflex)

Hi everyone,

 

Thanks -- some of the posters picked up on what I was trying to ask, but didn't -- the possibility of rear-curtain sync on the camera, and how to drag the shutter (I had them confused when I was writing the post -- apologies). You confirmed what I already thought of, I'll just have to do more experimenting and see how it goes.

 

Cheers all.

Another option is to get a modern camera that supports rear-curtain synch. A used F601, F70, or F90 won't cost you much and will do the job. The F801 probably will too.

 

I have a pair of FEs with MD-12s, among other bodies. When I travel to cities, they are the cameras I tend to take. I love them.