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SB800 off camera flash
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I have a D80 with only one SB800 flash and i was wondering if it’s possible to use the SB off camera? or do i need a cable of some sort for this.
And if so…how?
Thx in advance :)
Markie,
I have a D200 and I know you can use the body to trigger an SB600 or SB800 remotely using the pop up flash. I think you can have it set to fire the pop up flash or not. Your best option is to check through the D80 manual a nd see what it says.
I don’t have the money to upgrade my older SB80’s (which is a nightmare when shooting with one mounted on camera…no TTL!). I have some Pocket Wizard radio transmitters that I use to fire my flashes remotely if they are at a distance or I use the coiled cable if its handheld off camera.
I’m sure somebody else on here will be able to answer your question more knowledgeably than me.Pete.
Yes is the answer. It’s a bit involved as you need to set up the flash and the camera separately. The SB800 Manual has very clear instructions on this,
Dave
thanks for your replies guys… much appreciated … i guess i’ll have to have a good old read of those manuals :)
cheers :)
i’ve found out how to do it.. i just wasnt sure if it was possible with only one SB
Thx!
This is fun when you get the hang of it :) Make sure you post some of the results.
Ali wrote:
This is fun when you get the hang of it :) Make sure you post some of the results.
well i’m not sure if i’m confident enough to post my results :P i’ll probably just be messing about with it to see what happens
Is remote firing only possible on the SB800 or can it be done on the SB600. Saving at the moment for one or the other, so curious as this is something I’d like to experiment with when I get my grubby little paws on one :D
I think it is possible on the SB600. I was considering getting one as I still have my SB800’s from my F100 but they aren’t TTL with my camera. I decided against it and to go with the SB800 when a friend told me they don’t have a PC sync socket which I would have use for. If not having the PC sync socket doesn’t bother you its a fair bit cheaper than the SB800. Consider eBay too, I got one of my SB80’s 2nd hand for less than half the price of a new one in the shops (and the one I got from eBay turned out to be in better condition than the SB80 I already had from new!)
Another related question…
I have been trying to figure out the same thing, and finally got the SB800 working remotely with my d70s, but do you need to use a light meter now as the flash is off camera???x x confused x x
:?Both the SB600 and SB800 can be controlled by the D70 cameras and up (D50 or D40 cant as far as I am aware and the D2Xs/D2Hs have no internal flash so must use either one SB800 on camera or the dedicated controller module). It’s true TTL flash control so what happens is the camera meters the scene and then tells the remote flash what power it needs to light the scene correctly through a series of very short pulses that are emitted when you press the shutter.
The D70 can control one group (that is you can only set flash exposure compensation for one group of flashes that effectively all fire a the same power). The D200 can control three groups, through the camera menus you can set three different flash compensation values for three different flash groups. Think of it like this, you are down the back of a (small!) church shooting a wedding and have three flashes placed around the altar area. From the camera menus you can tell flash A near the B&G to fire on full power and the other two to fire at a lower power as fill. As the couple moves around you can tell the another flash, say flash B to be the main light and reduce power on the other two, from your spot at the back of the church. All set in the camera menu system!
To get this working you set the flash on the camera to commander mode (in the flash menu) and then set the flash head to wireless mode. Cant remember the button pushes at the moment but it’s all explained in the manual.
This is the main reason I will stick with Nikon, image quality differences are marginal except to trained eyes but the power of Nikons flash system is just amazing. Until others catch up I wont be switching.
Paperdoll,
The answer to the light metre is a yes and a no. When I shoot flash off camera I used to use a light metre when shooting film. Since going digital I use the screen and histogram to judge whats needed (similar to shooting a polaroid to check what the exposure is like). For me its faster than running back and forth to my flashguns and changing settings as much. Also I found in strong sunlight my light my flashguns weren’t strong enough to overpower the ambient light to give me accurate readings which was frustrating. When outdoors its annoying if the sun keeps going in and out from behind clouds. I was in Belfast last weekend shooting some photos and was using my remote set up. It can be hit and miss with so many variables that can change at any minute when outdoors. If your in a studio or a more controlled environment its alot easier and alot less stress.
Here are some shots from the weekend. The 1st one is shot at f5.6 I think with the sun behind some clouds and th 2nd one is at f7.1 I think, both at 1/250th if I remember rightly. I stopped down a small bit when the sun came out to balance the ambient light but didn’t want to stop down too much that the output from my flahsguns had no effect. I hope I’ve made some sense?
thanks Pete and Cian, I will be trying this out over the weekend (hopefully), so I will let you know how I get on.
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