Can the D200's flash power be controlled by the wheel ...

[offby1]

I notice that my D200 has a bunch of options for controlling the built-in flash:

menu entry e3 lets me choose between TTL, Manual, Repeating Flash, and Commander

Mode. (I think TTL is the default.) Anyway, I've got it in Manual mode, and I

thus have eight further possibilities: full power, 1/2 power ... etc, all the

way down to 1/128th power. Great! However, fiddling with the menu in order to

control the power is kind of inconvenient, so I figured that I could use the

wheel and the, uh, little button (sorry, I don't know the proper terminology) to

control the power: I press and hold the little button, then turn the wheel, and

on the LCD panel on top I see the lightning-bolt symbol next to a +/- symbol,

and the number of stops by which I'm offsetting the flash power (ranging from

-3.0 stops to +1.0 stops). Here's the thing, though: that control seems to have

no effect on the flash's power. I measured with a flash meter, and it's always

full-power.

 

Now I'm not even sure that control does has any effect when the flash is in TTL

mode, either.

 

Anyway, does anyone know how it's supposed to work?

[offby1]

Oh, and in case you were wondering: yes, I checked the manual; it's useless, like most manuals.

[mawz]

You're adjusting flash exposure compensation with that. The flash meter will never see this as it is fooled by the preflash in TTL mode and FEC doesn't affect manual flash power (which must be set via the menu).

[RvdK]

I bet you measured this with the lens cap on. In that case there is no TTL feedback and the flash will always fire at full power.

[offby1]

Thanks for your quick responses! I think Adam got it: when I _don't_ use the flash meter, and instead simply take a picture, it works exactly as it should.

[briany]

I agree that it would be much more useful to have manual flash control on the wheel as a substitute for flash compensation when in manual flash mode...

[Ed_Ingold]

The flash compensation dial certainly works as long as the subject is within range of the flash. If the subject is too dark or too far away, then the flash will put out maximum power and the measured reading will be the same regardless of the compensation setting. As I recall, the guide number for the built-in flash is on the order of 15 at ISO 100 - barely an optical mouse-f**t.