Nikon F5 & SB30 fill flash - help?

[philip_sutton]

I have always had great results shooting daylight balanced fill flash with my F5 and Metz 45ct4 and dedicated cord.

 

Puting the whole show on TTL flash and shooting fill flash outdoors (usually with models, family, weddings etc), I did

find that the flash was always slightly too overpowering. The shots did not always look natural and one could tell that

flash had been used.

 

However I did find this very easy to remediate - with stunningly consistant beautiful results. All I did was to fool the

system by underexposing on the flash - by setting a different ASA on the flash gun.

 

If I am shooting 100asa film I set the gun on around 350asa. I am no technical expert but in my book it

underexposes the flash by about 1 1/2 stops. However that is only the flash part - I leave the F5 on the correct asa

so it perfectly balances the scene as it would normally - however with just a hint of flash to highlight some of the dark

areas. As I mentioned - I always get great results using this system - even with slide film

 

So with that short backdrop - here is my question.

 

A friend has kindly bequethed me an as new nikon SB 30 hotshoe flash. I am really excited about this because you

can imagine my huge F5 with the 80-200 2.8 Nikkor zoom and the big flash - it is a real handful in the weight

stakes. For some of the close shots and where a lot of power is not needed, I can use the SB30.

 

However I have noticed that it has no seperate asa setting on the flash gun like my big Metz does. If I change the

asa manually on my F5 then everything will be underexposed. How do I override the setting on the flash only???

 

Hoping to hear from somebody in the know shortly!

 

Cheers - Phil

[frank uhlig]

Did you also inherit the SB30 manual? It is a small flash of old vintage and it might not allow flash compensation. Then you are stuck with your Metz ... Maybe it allows to be set manually and with -1.5 EV, you would be set. That lower light than indicated trick for day light fill flash is automatic with more advanced Nikon SB units. Maybe you can search for the SB 30 manual in google? Try, please. Finally, how about using a monopod when shooting with the whole heavy kaboodle? Just a thought.

[SolaresLarrave]

I have one, and from what I remember, all you can do to lower the output is turn the little dial in the back to the proportion

you prefer. BTW, I've used it with an F100 and my trusty F5. It's a very neat flash, this SB-30, especially for those

cameras that do not have a built-in flash for fill.

 

I'll check the manual and will post later.

[radfordneal]

Something's funny here. The SB-30 is not a "big flash". It's about as small as they come. And it's not of "old vintage". You can still find them new in some stores. So what flash or flashes are people actually talking about?

[SolaresLarrave]

Phillip, set the SB-30 in Auto mode, and then dial-in the compensation you want with the dial on the right side of the

back. You can set it at 1/8, 1/16 or 1/32.

<p>

Now, there's also a small "Exposure compensation" slider that you can move to add a half-stop compensation either

over or under. The manual does not especify if this works on TTL flash or just with the Coolpix cameras, but it's worth a

try.

<p>

BTW, it's on page 30 of the user's manual, which you can download from <a href="http://support.nikontech.com/cgi-

bin/nikonusa.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?

p_faqid=13957&p_created=1144245286&p_sid=SfPOioij&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTE

mcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9MzksMzkmcF9wcm9kcz04OCZwX2NhdHM9MCZwX3B2PT

EuODgmcF9jdj0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1hbnN3ZXJzLnNlYXJjaF9ubCZwX3BhZ2U9MSZwX3NlYXJjaF90ZXh0PXNiLT

Mw&p_li=&p_topview=1">HERE</a>. <p>Have fun!

[philip_sutton]

Thanks so much everybody - especially Fransisco - that is really helpfull. No I did not inherit the manual with it so I will download that as well.

 

No I am not too sure what Frank means - it is certainly not an old flash. However it may be discontunued - perhaps that is what he meant.

 

Fransisco - with what you recommended - is that the same as ttl flash though??? If I set the flash on automatic then I am sure it will only be reading the light from the flash sensor and not through the lense as the big Metz does. That is why I get the awesome results from that setup.

 

Yes the Metz is an awesome flash - probably fairly old now but as far as I am concerned it still 'cuts the mustard' with the best of them. However because of the big heavy setup that I have I thought the hotshoe mounted SB30 may be the ticket for some situations. Perhaps street photography when I am trying to slip in under the radar (what a joke - imagine trying not to be noticed lugging around a F5)!

 

The other thing is that I am going back to travel asia next year - for at least six months. I want to go back to Cambodia and get some awesome shots there - it is an incredible place and even after being there six times already I am ready to go again. I am thinking of lumping along my Pentax 67ii as well - so you can see why I want to chop off some of the weight - LOL

 

Thanks - Phil

[SolaresLarrave]

Phil, I may have to correct myself.

 

The Auto option is at the bottom of the dial, next to the M (for manual). If I remember correctly what I read, turn your

dial all the way to the left until you hit that A, and then move the slider to over- or under-expose.

 

Now... I've simply turned the dial from TTL (which is at about 1 in the dial) CCW to M1/32 and or any of the values that

follow. But then, you can also turn it down to A (at around 5 in the dial), and slide the exposure compensation.

 

I'd go to Cambodia with one single system, though... And just two or three lenses. Stock up on dessicant!

[darrengold]

Phil

 

The answers above aren't quite right. What you are after is -1.5 flash exposure. You can't set that via the F5 body,

and the SB30 doesn't have an ISO dial. The 1/8, 1/32 settings are for manual only. You won't be able to use TTL

either, but you can still do it. The little table on the left at the back of the flash is for 100 and 400 ISO film.

 

If you are using your ISO 100 film set the F5 to ISO 100 for the ambient as always, and the aperture on the lens to

let's say for example f5.6. Now set the flash dial to the f4 mark. This will underexpose the flash by 1 stop because it

assumes you are at f4 but you are actually at f5.6 on the lens.

 

Now set the exposure button below the table to -0.5. Et voila, you know have -1.5 flash exposure.

 

Regards

 

Darren