Nikon SB 800 and Mamiya 7ii

[dean_price]

I would like to use a Nikon SB 800 flash with a Mamiya 7ii, in non-TTL auto flash mode.

 

The instruction manual seems clear to me. The flash is set to "A" and pressing the +/- buttons to select subject distance, the display on

the flash will then indicate the aperture to set on the lens. Variations from the suggested aperture can be used for exposure

compensation.

 

My question is instruction #5 in the flash manual. It reads, "Set the camera to its highest flash sync shutter speed."

 

This I don't understand, because I though I would choose a shutter speed for ambient light.

 

Thank you for your help!

[craig_shearman1]

<p>The Mamiya 7 has leaf-shutter lenses with no sync limit so you can use any shutter speed you want. That's different from cameras with focal plane shutters (most 35mm and DSLR) where you have an upper limit for sync, as high as 1/250 on most modern cameras and as low as 1/60 or even 1/30 on older cameras.<br />Shutter speed has no effect on the the exposure from a flash unit, but will affect the exposure from the ambient light, which can make the difference between your backgrounds looking natural or going completely black. You should be able to use the SB800 on your Mamiya with no problem at all.</p>

[lwg]

<p>You can set the shutter speed to anything you want on the Mamiya 7 when using flash. If you want the flash to light most of the scene then using the fastest shutter speed possible. If you just want a fill then set the shutter speed and aperture for the background and dial in the amount of flash you want to brighten the subject.</p>

[dean_price]

Thank you for your replies!

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>Hi Dean. As has been explained the shutter speed is pretty much irrelevant for a leaf shutter, but can I just clarify the operation of the SB-800's 'A' mode? In this mode the flash automatically meters the light emitted and regulates its output so that the exposure is correct for the ISO and <em>aperture</em> combination chosen. The only thing that the LCD distance readout tells you is the <em>maximum effective flash distance</em>. It has no bearing on the actual flash to subject distance, apart from telling you that beyond that limit the flash is likely to be underexposed. So what you're actually varying on the flash is the aperture setting, which should obviously be set the same as on the camera. The distance shown is just a guide to how far you can have the flash from the subject. Beyond that the flash won't have sufficient power to reach, but the flashgun will automatically give the correct exposure anywhere up to that maximum distance.</p>

<p>In brief: Take little notice of the distance figure and concentrate instead on the aperture readout of the flash. If mixing flash with ambient for fill, it's likely that the fill will be too great if you simply set the flash to the same aperture as the lens. Personally I'd set the flash's Auto Aperture about 2 stops wider than the ambient exposure. For example - Say your ambient exposure measures correct at 1/250th and f/11. Set the flash to f/5.6 and it'll give a fill about 2 stops less than ambient. Much more than that and the flash fill tends to dominate and look unnatural.</p>

<p>Another thing you need to take into account is that light is additive. Meaning that if you have both flash and ambient set to the same level then you'll double the amount of light and be overexposing by one stop. The more fill you add, the less ambient exposure you need. That's why I'd recommend a 2 stop difference between the flash and ambient aperture settings. This gives you a lighting ratio of around 3:1, but doesn't add sufficient fill that you need to drastically re-calculate your main exposure. Maybe minus a third to a half-stop tweak might be needed at most.</p>

[dean_price]

Thank you for your detailed explanation and advice, which is very useful to me. I understand it in theory, but I realize in

practice I'll discover a few things I thought I understood I actually hadn't fully considered. I wanted to do a series of

portraits of shopkeepers, and also interiors and exteriors, and really needed to have enough flexibility and know how to

add flashlight both for fill, or as a main light in a dark interior, when needed, so these first few concepts will help me to run

through the first test exposures. I'll have to be able to think and solve different lighting situations on film, or have at least

some confidence that I'm trying something that makes sense.

[dean_price]

<p>I tried my first few photographs yesterday with a Fuji X100, with an identical setup that I intend to use with the Mamiya 7. The Fuji as a leaf shutter too, so I think I could duplicate the settings exactly in testing. This is the setup I tried for the first photographs:<br>

<img src="/photo/17468469" alt="" /></p>