SB28 on D70

[joe_margetts2]

I have just bought a D70 and have to admit, I'm pretty impressed

with it.

 

My question though is about the flash compatibility of the SB28. Not

the DX version. I use the SB28 on my F4 with great results on fully

auto TTL mode. What limitations are there to using this flash on the

D70. I've yet to find this question addressed in either the SB28 or

D70 manuals (that's not to say it's not there - I've just not found

it yet.) I know the DX version was designed to offer TTL on the D1

body but I understand the D70 not to be compatible with either the

SB28DX or non DX versions.

 

Joe

[hayward]

Search this site for a complete answer, but the SB28 does not work in fully auto TTL mode with the D70. Buy the SB800.

[don_cooper]

Your answer is right there on page 188 of the manual. No TTL, but works fine in the 'A' and 'M' modes.

[michael_spencer3]

Joe,

 

To understand this issue you need to remember that there are three different technologies involved. For a long time TTL was the preferred mode for flash metering. This involved reflecting the flash off the film and quenching the flash when sufficient light was recieved "through the lens" hence "TTL".

 

With the advent of digital cameras the Nikon engineers decided they could not get enough light reflected off the sensor to make TTL work, to they invented d-TTL. This changed the principle of metering and required all new equipment. With D-TTL the flash emits some pre-flashes which are then read by the camera and an appropriate flash level is pre-computed. Then the shutter is released and the flash goes off for the pre-computed time. Only two flash units could participate in this new methodology: the SB50dx and the SB80dx.

 

This D-TTL didn't exactly win rave reviews so the engineers went back to the drawing board and revised the equipment once again. The new version is called i-TTL and comes with your D70. i-TTL is similar to d-TTL but I am guessing they changed the exposure sensor placement and some of the computer processing, but Nikon is reticent on these points so I don't know exactly what they did. Anyway, most folks seem to think i-TTL works a whole lot better than d-TTL. Two new speedlights were introduced with i-TTL: the SB800 (master) and and SB600 (slave). These replaced the SB80/50DX models which were discontinued. If you want i-TTL you have to have one of these four flash units. Remember, plain old TTL is not available with the D70.

 

Any flash metering methods not dependant on TTL are still available with the D70 and so you can use older flash units with these methods.

 

Mike Spencer

[msitaraman]

Just try it and see, Joe.

 

I've used my SB-28 on auto on my D100 with results indistinguishable from my SB600 in DX mode.

[diana]

Sooo, do you all feel that the D100 is compatable with the i-TTL SB800 ?

<P>

Thanks!<P>

 

<a href="http://leovilletownsquare.com/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Number=608453">Nikon Fanatics at Leoville</a><P>

[michael_spencer3]

Diana M. asked: "Sooo, do you all feel that the D100 is compatable with the i-TTL SB800 ? "

 

Well, the answer is yes, but only in d-TTL mode since the D100 can not operate in i-TTL mode. i-TTL involves different engineering and software so if you want it you have to buy the camera bodies that support it. But the SB800/600 are the current speedlights for the D100 having replaced the previous SB80/50dx speedlights. For a nice compatibility chart on the SB800 see ...

 

http://www.nikon-euro.com/kdb/en/2003/6513/sb800.htm

 

Mike S