SB800 and d80

[skiphunt]

Recently picked up a Nikon SB800 flash. I really don't ever light anything

unless it's a commercial product.. I mostly prefer available light with possibly

only scrims and or reflectors.

 

All I can say is WOW! I can't believe I waited so long. I've used small strobes

before, but it's been a looooooong time. I pretty much only use my Elinchrom

studio strobes only when it's absolutely necessary. I had no idea how

sophisticated these little strobes had gotten. I'm just scratching the surface

on what it can do, but I'm just floored that with my d80 and simply via it's

menu.. I can dial the onboard flash down to almost nothing, and trip the SB800

remotely. Then, if I need the SB800 up or down a couple stops.. I can control

it's output from the camera's menu! I can just sit the until in another room and

it works flawlessly. Nice even light too. And seemingly very accurate. And, if I

understand it correctly.. I can control several flashes remotely in just the

same manner as I'm controlling the SB800.

 

Now I'm thinking of getting another one or two for a light/portable mobile

setup. But, I'm thinking 2 more SB800s might be overkill since the output of the

SB800 as a main seems plenty sufficient. I know the d80 and SB800 will control

an SB600 too.. but for extra fill strobes.. are there other cheaper Nikon

strobes that can also be output controlled and tripped remotely like the SB800?

Or are these features ONLY available with the SB800/600?

 

Please excuse.. I don't really understand all the TTL, Advanced lighting, etc.

stuff. I'm pretty "old school" and have always done everything manually. Even

MANY years ago when I had a Vivitar workhorse flash.. I rarely used it and when

I did, it was only in manual mode.

 

What I'm specifically asking is with which flashes can I do exactly as I

described above, ie. trip remotely via the d80 AND change the output (either up

OR down) of each remote flash unit. I did go through the manual.. but don't have

a clear answer as to whether I can do this with other "speedlight" flashes? Or

other brands? etc. Can anyone clear this up for me?

 

Also, is there any way I can use a little Panasonic LX1's flash to trip and be

in sync with the SB800 strobe? I put the SB800 in SU-4 mode... and got it to

trip via the LX1.. but it was pretty inconsistent. Are there any "tricks" to get

this to work reliably?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Skip Hunt

Austin, Texas

[Matt Laur]

So far, Skip, it's the SB800 and SB600 if you want that in-camera control. Which is, indeed, Very Cool. I also thought about supplementing my SB800 with a second one, but found that the slightly lower horsepower of the SB600 wasn't really a handicap, and spent the difference on some light modifiers (stand, umbrella - very helpful). I've used the SB800 in SU-4 mode, triggered by other manual studio flashes, and it worked consistently for me... but then, it was getting a real face-full of flash from the bigger strobes. You may need to position the unit a little differently (or use its moveable head to help you do so) in order to have it more readily pick up on the digicam's flash. Also, were you shooting the digicam at a too-high shutter speed? Some latency in the slave action may be causing some of the trouble you experienced.

 

Still: welcome to Nikon's CLS-land. It's not perfect (small changes in camera angle can cause big changes in the flash control's idea of what to do), but it is incredibly useful. When I walk into a room, now, I find myself scanning for bookshelves or other places where I can stick my SBs on their table-mounts to contribute to the overhead lighting. Still haven't gotten over the novelty of it. I deal with high technology every day, and am very jaded. It's funny how some things (like this) can still make me smile.

[skiphunt]

Thanks! Yeah, I know what you mean. I've been experimenting with using the SB800 with my little Panasonic LX1 too. I just put it in SU-4 Mode, and turned off the red-eye pre-flash.. works like a charm!!! Syncs at every shutter speed too. Works in all auto modes and manual as well!

 

I put the SB800 on SU-4 and could still dial down output from full to 1/128th.

 

I'd forgotten about the red-eye pre-flash stuff and turned it off. I tried mixing with the onboard LX1 flash and it was OK. But, I tried just blocking the onboard flash with my finger in front and it still worked/tripped the SB800 consistently. Then, I covered the onboard flash completely with my finger and the SB800's slave sensor was still sensitive enough to flash. Then, I tried it outside and it still worked!

 

I tried that with my Elinchrom strobes, ie. using the onboard flash to trip the slaved Elinchroms.. but it wasn't consistent.. and only seemed to work at specific distances and exposure combinations. I wonder why the SB800 works at all settings and distances while the Elinchroms will not? I wonder if I use the LX1's onboard flash to trip the SB800 like I'm now doing.. and then use the SB800 to trip the Elinchroms?

 

Cool. :-)

[mawz]

Actually, there's also the SB-R200's, which can be used as remotes only (No hotshoe). You get them in the SB-R1 and SB-R1C1 macro kits which also come with the macro lens mount, a few accessories inluding either the SU-800 commander (R1C1 kit, unnecessary for a D200 or D80) or the SG-3IR filter (R1 kit, turns the onboard flash into an IR-only commander) or you can buy the R200's singly for slightly less than an SB-600 (they're about $40CDN cheaper here in toronto).

 

IIRC the LX1 uses preflash based flash metering, which will always be unreliable with extra flashes.

[skiphunt]

Thanks.. will look into those as well.

 

Regarding the LX1... evidently this is not correct. Or, I have just turned out what you're talking about. The LX1's flash has several settings. "A", "just flash lightning bolt", Red-Eye preflash, and in "P" mode there's an "S" mode which I assume is a slow-shutter flash.

 

Anyway, with the flash setting just set to the straight lightning bolt.. it appears to be VERY consistent with the SB800.

[frank_skomial]

Once you get SU-800 ...

 

scoll down the post:

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00Jq98&unified_p=1

[larrybc]

> Also, is there any way I can use a little Panasonic LX1's

<br>> flash to trip and be in sync with the SB800 strobe? I put

<br>> the SB800 in SU-4 mode... and got it to trip via the LX1..

<br>> but it was pretty inconsistent. Are there any "tricks" to

<br>> get this to work reliably?

<br>

<br>The thing you have to understand about SU-4 mode is that it is triggered by ANY flash. That includes the brief pre-flash that virtually all digital cameras use to meter the flash illumination for the scene. What typically happens is that SB800 sees the pre-flash and and fires. Then when the digicam fires the exposure flash, the SB800 has already shut down and it not ready to fire again.

<br>

<br>There are two ways to deal with the pre-flash. One's more reliable than the other.

<br>

<br>1) Put the SB800 in SU-4, MANUAL or AUTO mode. Then put your Panasonic into MANUAL flash mode. This way, it won't fire its metering pre-flash. When your Panasonic fires its flash and the SB800 is in SU-4 AUTO, it will fire for as long as the Panasonic's flash does. If the SB800 is in SU-4 MANUAL, it will fire at what you set it to fire (eg: 1/16, 1/32, etc) as soon as the Panasonic's flash fires.

<br>

<br>2) Put the SB800 in SU-4 AUTO. Assuming your Panasonic has the ability to separate the pre-flash firing from the exposure firing (Nikon calls this FV-lock mode), fire the Panasonic's pre-flash. The SB800 will see it fire and fire for as long as the Panasonic's pre-flash does. What has happened is that the Panasonic's metering system has now read the scene based on a test firing of its built-in flash AND the SB800's flash, and has calculated the proper exposure needed. When the SB800 has recycled, you can now fire the Panasonic without the pre-flash. The SB800 will, again, fire for as long as the camera's built-in flash does. This _should_ result in the correct exposure. I've tested this procedure and it does work. But I've only done it once or twice out of curiosity, so I might've lucked out or it may only work in certain conditions.

<br>

<br>larsbc

[tholte]

Skip, about time you got the SB-800! In your able hands you will get some great images. I have one, am not smart enough to figure out how to use them in multiples.

[skiphunt]

Thanks Tim!

 

Yeah, the manual and all the settings is pretty daunting. Haven't fully dived in yet... but so far, just the remote controlability is pretty easy to figure out.

[tony_colantonio]

I have the same setup... D80 and SB-800 and I'm having difficulty setting flash output on the SB800 in remote mode. Another strange thing is that flash output will change quite noticably from shot to shot without any changes on the camera or flash... Any advise on how to adjust flush output from the D80?