SB-28 and Nikon D200

[brad_herman1]

Hi All;

 

I currently own a Nikon F100, FM3a and a Speedlight SB-28. I'm

looking into a D200 and was wondering what functionality would be

lacking with an SB-28 compared to say a SB-800. If I've read the

forums correctly, it will still do some sort of TTL, but the later,

most recent TTL would not be available with the SB-28.

 

Could those of you who are expert on the Nikon flash systems please

elaborate?

 

Would the extra features and functionality be woth a $300.00

expenditure in your opinion? Would the SB-800 work well with the

F100 and FM3a?

 

Thanks, Brad

[michaelkh]

Hm. I thought the D200 was an i-TTL camera. If this is the case, unless it has some special

backward compatibility for older flash units, you will get manual and automatic modes only

out of the SB-28. i-TTL uses a series of preflashes rather than off-the-film/sensor metering;

the older gun can't do this.

 

By contrast, as it has a plain TTL mode, the SB-800 should work as well on an F100 and FM3a

as an SB-28 would.

 

This is just a well-educated guess, though - can anyone confirm?

[bruce_rubenstein___nyc]

The SB-28 will NOT do any form of TTL with the D200. The SB-28 can be used in Auto and Manual modes. The Auto mode does not wark as well as iTTL (I've tried it with a D200 compared to using a SB600 in iTTL mode). The SB600 works fine with earlier, film cameras.

 

One of Nikon's great strengths is its flash. I would get a decent flash to take advantage of it. For most folks the SB600 is more than adequate.

[frank_skomial]

It is unfortunate what you read: "If I've read the forums correctly, it will still do some sort of TTL,"

 

The is no "sort of TTL on D200", there is only one, and that is iTTL.

[jack_kennedy3]

<p>I just found my old SB28 from film days and would like to use it with the D200. I shoot outdoor action and would like to include night shooting in a lit arena but need the help of a flash. When I look at the manual it wants to know what camera group my D200 is in. Only film cameras are listed. This seems to be important for using the manual. Any help on this would be appreciated.<br>

Jack</p>

[richard_noyb]

<p>Well it does not do TTL at all. But if you read the D200 manual, it states that it is "compatable" in A mode. Well I don't know what that means, it will flash :) In A mode on the flash, there are almost no functions that work compared to the SB800.<br>

When I use the sb28 (not the dx model) on my N90s, when you change the focal length, you can year the motor in the flash and it adjusts the zoom on the flash and, flash is adjusted. This does not happen on the D200 so it appears no focal length info is sent to the flash. During testing, I find the flash internals do not make any adjustments at all. If I change subject distance, the flash does not compensate for distance. It over exposes at near objects and underexposes at far objects. The red dot does not flash show underexposure so it is not the flash running out of power.<br>

First when you turn the flash on, you must press the plus/minus button to adjust for ISO, this information is not transmitted from the d200 like on the N90s. As the manual states, you must then manually adjust the Fstop to what the fstop is on the D200. Usually after doing this it is pretty close but I still have to adjust the Fstop on the flash body to suit exposure. I have not tested this against my flash meter though to tell how close the setting are. The manual says to use the M mode or a mode on the camera, but if you uses the A mode, though I can adjust aperture I cannot get higher than a shutter speed of 60 so I use S mode, set it to like shutter speed of 250 and away I go.<br>

So I would say that in A mode S mode and P mode on the camera, the flash still operates as a manual flash. You must make adjustments on the flash body itself because it appears that there is no communication at all between the two except for flash sync. The flash says it has smarts that in <br />A mode on the flash that it will analyze the image through its own sensor and cut the flash short if it senses over exposure according to the settings on the back of the flash but I have found this not to be the case. The manual says "<br>

In Non-TTL Auto Flash shooting, the SB-28’s light output automatically changes to match the flash-to-subject distance. The light, however, is not measured through the lens, but is measured by the light sensor on the front of the SB-28.<br>

But I can't see it do that, at a distance of 20 feed at 70mm the images always seem underexposed and it is consistent. But at 3-5 feet it is usually pretty close and that is consistent. So I am not sure what it is doing if anything. Again I would have to test it against my flash meter. But I don't have enough time to do that so when I use the d200 and sb28, I chimp and adjust manually. I also use the SB600 which works very well, because it uses TTL. That is my experience anyway.<br>

.</p>