D200 with Promaster FTD 5200 Flash

[tsuacctnt]

Has anybody ever tried this combination? I'm just curious why this cheap-o flash seems to work just fine with my

F100 but when mounted on my D200 just blasts away at full power every time. There doesn't seem to be much info

out there on this flash. The sync voltage is safe for digitals, but the logic doesn't seem to work. I thought my D200

would be reverse compatable with anything that worked on My F100 but this doesn't seem to be the case with this

aftermarket flash. I have an SB 800 but don't like how the thing flops around on my flash bracket. I thought I'd give

the Promaster a try because it screws down nice and tight but unless I want to go fully manual it's not going to work

for me. I'd love to hear anybody's thoughts.

[lex_jenkins]

<i>"I have an SB 800 but don't like how the thing flops around on my flash bracket..."</i><p>

 

How is your SB-800 mounted on your flash bracket, and which model bracket do you have? My SB-800 doesn't flop around on my Custom Brackets CB Junior.

[tsuacctnt]

It's an RPS studio flip bracket. I think the issue is that the mount for the flash on the end of the TTL cord just isn't machined to a tight enough tolerance. I sent it back once thinking it was defective and then just learned to live with the problem by jamming some paper between the top of the flash foot and the "hot shoe." I'm thinking about getting a Metz 58 AF-1 for use on the bracket just because it was the more traditional screw down foot which works great on my bracket....plus I need another strobe. Maybe I'll check out the Custom Brackets CB Junior and see if that plus an SB 600 would be cheaper than the Metz.

[tsuacctnt]

Lex: The REAL solution to my problem is probably to get the actual Nikon TTL cord rather than the aftermarket. I think it's ridiculous how much they charge for cables. How do you attach your flash to the bracket?

[frank_skomial]

"I thought my D200 would be reverse compatable with anything" - you had no reason or any indicaation to think this

way. D200 has new flash system iTTL/CLS built in, that is different than the old flash system built into F100.

 

Film camera measured flash light reflected off the film surface during exposure time. DSLR cannot measure reliably

flash reflected off shiny digital sensor, and a preflash test technique was invented. During preflash time, the shutter

is closed, and flash test is performed and measured on a special sensor located on the mirror and/or semi reflected

to another sensor at the bottom of inner surface of camera. When mirror gets up and shutter opens during exposure

time, there is no light adjustment, since the preflash determined flash value is already known and just produced.

 

As you can see the new flash technology is completely different than the old one. While SB-800 flash has reverse

compatibility mode, Promaster does not have the new mode, and neither D200 cannot have mode that could be

used by Promaster, as already explained.

 

The new SB-900 does not implement the oder flash modes, but SB-800 does. Seems that future flashes and

cameras will no longer contain any reverse compatibility.

 

The only reverse compatible flash mode would be the camera manual mode, but you say that it only works at full

power of your Promaster flash, so it is of limited usage or useless on D200.

 

Only few Nikon latest flashes are fully compatible with latest DSLR cameras. They are listed in D200 manual.

Some

older Nikon flashes are listed with limitted mode of operation, e.g. AA flash thyristor automation or Manual mode.

[tsuacctnt]

Frank: Thanks, that's just the explanation I was looking for. I have a bad habit of trying to keep old gear going as

can be evidenced by my collection of old Canon FD Gear... actually the Promaster was originally purchased for use

with my Canons along with a Canon FD thrysistor module (the modules attach to the bottom of the actual flash),

then I got a Nikon AF module for the flash to use it with My Nikon Film bodies. Actually, the best results I've been

able to get with the FTD 5200 on my D200 was by using the Canon FD module since it has the light sensor on it and

just setting the aperture to either f4 or f8 depending on which mode is selected on the Canon module. One of these

days I'll learn to fully embrace modern technology.