Dumb D80 question, sorry

[bill_keane2]

The are times, in aperture priority, when I wan't to use flash and have the

D80 use it's sync speed of 1/200th. Apparently this doesn't happen

automatically, as in my previous camera where when flash was used the body

defaulted to the flash synch.

 

What is the way to have the D80 do this? Thanks.

[Rich B NYC]

Bill,

 

I'm actually waiting for delivery of my D80. However, as I understand it, "aperture priority" is just that. If you want the shutter speed to be a constant, I believe that you would have to shoot in "shutter priority" or manual.

 

If there's another way to do it, I'd be interested in learning it also.

 

Rich

[joseph_mcdonald]

I know it's been said many times before, but the only dumb question is the one you do not ask.

 

That's what this forum is for.

[todd peach seattle, washi]

I don't think you can get there in aperture priority.

 

'Back in the day' if you shot with something like an FE, it did work the way you say. However, it wasn't really 'aperture priority' when the flash was turned on. The flash just overrode the camera and set the shutter speed to x sync.

 

The D80 in aperture priority is trying to match the ambient light. In factory default settings, it will vary the aperture between 1/60 and max sync (is that 200?). You can change that 'floor' speed with a custom setting. I just did a quick check of the manual, thinking that maybe you could just bump the floor up to 200, but it looks like 60 is the fastest.

 

There's always 'manual'. That will let you set any aperture and shutter speed you want, with a dandy meter display to tell you how you're metering ambient.

[walterh]

In aperture priority the camera tries to find the matching shutter speed for the selected aperture. This is the logic way it should work. Your flash will work as fill flash but your shutter speed may be very slow.

 

If you want a selected shutter speed and a selected aperture go to manual. Now the camera will use the selected speed and the selected aperture. If the ambient light is not sufficient for the selected combination and the flash is active the camera will try to obtain correct exposure using the flash and controlling the output. Really simple - OK really only once you know ^^ .

Hope this helps.

[photo5]

Your shutter speed is determined by the ambient light level. Your aperture determines the depth of field required, and the flash power required increases as you stop the lens down. I usually shoot at no more than f5.6 with the built in flash. With the SB-600, it's either f5.6 or f8.

 

Dave

[Michael R Freeman]

AFAIK, most (all?) autofocus Nikon SLR's (digital or film) will default to 1/60 in A or P modes when they detect a Nikon flash installed in normal front curtain sync mode, regardless of what the maximum sync speed of the body might be. They won't automatically set a higher sync speed for TTL flash exposures unless the ambient light is such that it would overexpose at 1/60. Normally this means you won't see the higher speeds in A and P modes with TTL flash unless you are shooting outdoors, or in quite bright indoor light.

 

This can be (and is) a good thing, as in many instances the slower shutter speed is preferable for a better background exposure and a better overall balanced exposure in dim lighting, and I suspect the Nikon TTL flash exposure algorithms are designed with this in mind. Faster is not always better. :-)

 

If you want to override this and force a faster (or slower) shutter speed, switch to S or M exposure mode, and set your preferred sync speed manually.

[victor_virtucio]

Go to Custum Menu #24. There you can set your default flash sync to 1//60, 1/30 and lower. You can't set default flash sync to 1/200.

 

Nikons have always defaulted its flash syncs to 1/60 in the days of film.

[elliot1]

You can shoot in manual mode and set both the shutter and aperture to whatever settings you want (up the the max. sync. speed for the shutter speed) and the speedlight will do the rest automatically to insure proper exposure. I also suggest you set your white balance to FLASH manually whenever you use your flash.

[bill_keane2]

Thanks all! So, Elliot, in Manual Mode, if I set the aperture at f.16, shutter at 1/200th, the SB-600 or SBR-200 will control the final result? If so, that's great.

 

From another angle, is another question... Hypothetically, in a macro situation, with the lens stopped way down, ISO set at 100, and flash distance pretty close, even if the camera's shutter is at 1/30th, isn't the flash duration extremely brief, giving an effective exposure of, say, 1/10,000th? or so? It was this way in my film days...

[tonybeach]

Bill wrote:

 

"in Manual Mode, if I set the aperture at f.16, shutter at 1/200th, the SB-600 or SBR-200 will control the final result? If so, that's great."

 

My reply:

 

Yes if you are using iTTL mode, but I wouldn't go past f/13 on a 10 MP DX sized sensor unless you are doing macro work.

 

Bill wrote:

 

"...even if the camera's shutter is at 1/30th, isn't the flash duration extremely brief, giving an effective exposure of, say, 1/10,000th? or so?"

 

My reply:

Depends on flash output. See here: http://waalsdorp.nl/~alson/CLS-wireless-protocol/

[ShunCheung]

Most likely your flashes do not have sufficient power when you aperture is at f16. I would experiment with f5.6 first and go up or down from there.

[bill_keane2]

Thanks guys. Most of my concern has to do with macro work. So flash output for even the smallest apertures hasn't been an issue. The SB-R200 or SB600 have been fine.

 

I was hoping though to up the shutter speed to 1/200th to minimize any potential hand-held shake.

 

But at super close distances (inches), where flash output doesn't need to be much, I am wondering if in fact the exposure time is more connected with the flash duration than the shutter speed. On my OM4T this was definitely the case. The shutter was auto-synched at 1/60th, but the flash duration and effective exposure was FAR less -- freezijng almost any motion...

[twmeyer]

This question of flash duration negating the ambient light's effect on the clarity of focus, is largely dependent on the amount of ambient light present. <p>Make an exposure at your intended shutter and aperture combination with the flash turned off and you can easily see any blurred ghosting that may occur when you make the same exposure with the flash on. With the flash firing at 1/10,000 of a second or whatever hypothetical high speed, a sharp image may result if your focus is accurate. <p>But if your chosen shutter speed is too slow to hand hold and yield a sharp image, <i>and</i> slow enough to record ambient light at your chosen aperture, you will get a sharp image from the flash superimposed on a blurred image from the ambient light, which can be cool or disastrous, according to taste.<p>Avoid/control this problem/effect by lowering ambient light levels or raising your shutter speed to such a degree that eliminates/exploits exposure of ambient light (whew), or, in the case of static subjects, use a tripod. In the case of moving subjects, whip the camera about, wildly, after the strobe pops (try rear-curtain sync for more fun). <p>In these latter cases (allowing ambient <i>and</i> flash to record in the same image), watch for mismatched color temps between flash and ambient light sources, which can be cool, or disastrous, according to taste... t<p>And in future posts, please include something in the question that indicates the actual point of your inquiry, rather than "Dumb question...". <p>This is a difficult issue to understand, but once you get it, that understanding can seriously raise your enjoyment of making quality pictures. It is not a "dumb question". <p>One more thing (last point)... stop using Aperture Priority/Shutter Priority/Program/Matrix Metering/ etc. Use Manual settings, Spot or Center Weighted Metering, your Brain, the LCD and the Histograms. It's more rewarding. seriously.

[twmeyer]

Here is ambient light (window and tungsten) combined with strobe. <p>A shutter speed of 1/20th was slow enough to record (at my chosen aperture) the overcast daylight outside and the tungsten clip light at right, while the strobe on my left was set to properly expose her face at F 4.8. On a tripod, mos def... t<div></div>

[bill_keane2]

"And in future posts, please include something in the question that indicates the actual point of your inquiry, rather than "Dumb question..."

 

Right. The original question regards forcing the D80 to use its flash synch speed of 1/200th. Something that other cameras used to do by default whenever a dedicated flash was connected and powered up. I thought I was missing something easy. People gave some very helpful replies to that post, addressing my question, and I appreciate them. Thanks.