photographydreams Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 hi, i have so far always used manual setting on my flash, but am thinking of getting the SB600 for my Nikon DSLR. Now I'm wondering, in any of its automatic modes, does the flash recognise when you're bouncing off a wall or ceiling, or does it assume you're trying to photograph the ceiling? Thanks!Sarah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_fisher6 Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 I use a Canon flash, but most TTL flashes know whey you are bouncing and vary the light output accordingly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce_rubenstein Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 The sensor, either the meter in the camera or in the flash body, is aimed at the subject, measures the light reflected by the subject and doesn't care about the path that the light took to the subject. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen dohring Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 Ok I am shaking my head. There is no lens in the flash so no it does not know you are photographing the ceiling, the camera deosn't know what it is photographing either, the person in the viewfinder knows. Ok enough of being a smart ass, but better than a dumb ass right? You can use you camera in manual mode and use TTL with the flash, that is the best way. The camera can reduce flash power to get the proper ttl exposure but cannot make the flash go more powerfull than it is manufactured for. So it is all about the lens/camera seeing the light no matter where it is bounced from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Naka Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 The way some camera/flash know you are bouncing is if there is a switch on the flash that turns on/off when the flash head is moved from the straight ahead position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viet_ngo Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 I use canon ttl-ii (580ex) and I know that it fires a preflash to measure then the camera adjusts the second burst flash accordingly. I'd say the camera knows when you bounce the flash, not the flash itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce_rubenstein___nyc Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 Nikon flashes also know when they are being bounced (the head is tilted or rotated) to change how they handle the pre flash in iTTL mode, but it's all transparent to the photographer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alec_myers Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 "There is no lens in the flash so no it does not know you arephotographing the ceiling" - no, but it knows that it's no longer in the straight ahead position. Canon flashes, for example, change their zoom position to full wide since when you bounce you no longer need to (and shouldn't) track the angle of the flash to the angle of view of the lens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photographydreams Posted March 1, 2007 Author Share Posted March 1, 2007 Thanks everyone for your responses! :-) Sarah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmel Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 The flash will adjust for the quantity of light reflected back from the subject. But it doesn?t end there. Cameras setting are crucial and perfect focus is a must to get accurate exposure. It doesn?t end there. With bounce (assuming off ceiling) the height and color will need to be considered. To get consistent I would recommend a light modifier. Omni Bounce (very simple} and Lumiquest which has a complete line for most situations are two but there are many more. Also with a modifier a predetermined amount is bounced and some is direct which usually creates a more pleasing photo especially with portraits. One last note TTL (at least with Canon) is far from perfect and Auto and Manual settings should be mastered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjogo Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Just place your flash on auto ( with some type of bounce card ) --and open your F stop 1 & 1/2. So, if you place the strobe on f8 AUTO at 7 feet away you should receive roughly > about a soft 5.0 light Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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