August 2008 WDW Trip Report

Discussion in 'Trip Reports & Member Reviews' started by WDWFigment, Nov 3, 2008.

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  1. Roger

    Roger Member Staff Member


    Which flash were you using? Manual mode means you would need to control the flash manually as well.... and I think slow flash is a little misleading, since the flash fires at 1/250ish sec. (higher speeds are done by strobing, but you won't see it) no matter what your shutter speed is.

    Anyway, when you use manual mode, it's manual everything, so your camera wants you to control the output of the flash...

    Rear curtain sync - the first flash has to be a pre-flash to lock the exposure. But rear-curtain sync won't change the exposure for night portrait photography - like Tim mentioned in another thread it's like this:

    Take a picture of a car at night moving left to right on the film plane. Front curtain sync will get the car on the right side of the image flash exposed, and then, you will see light trails going with the motion of the car's lights, which would be to the left. Now with rear-curtain, the light trails will go to the left and then the car will be captured with a flash at the end of the exposure.

    Another example would be to use this mode on a multi-second exposure for fireworks pics. Expose the sensor for several seconds first, with the subjects in the foreground, wait for the end of the burst then fire the flash. It's mostly a matter of timing when the flash fires for the exposure (since you can use the regular mode, take the subjects picture first, then expose for the fireworks in this case)
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 11, 2014
    Roger, Dec 1, 2008
    #21
  2. mainstreet1997

    mainstreet1997 Member

    Yeah Im still a little confused about the slow flash thing. I did see somethig about flash firing at 1/200 no matter what Av setting you use. Is that slow flash? I dont know if I would call that slow flash in most situations. I dunno. Im confused. :(
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 11, 2014
    mainstreet1997, Dec 1, 2008
    #22
  3. WDWFigment

    WDWFigment Member

    Roger, maybe I'm not quite understanding what you're saying about manual mode, but when I put my camera into manual mode, the camera still uses the iTTL system to automatically determine the flash's intensity.

    Aside from that, there are different types of flash settings to use on the exposure LCD screen (adjacent to exposure and flash comp.). On the camera's manual mode, not all of these "types" are options.

    Thanks for the clarification as to what rear curtain, etc. do, exactly. For our trip (we got back yesterday) I ended up just using the SB-400 on automatic flash and let the iTTL system do the work. I only adjusted the flash comp. when necessary.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 11, 2014
    WDWFigment, Dec 3, 2008
    #23
  4. Roger

    Roger Member Staff Member

    Okay...the purpose of the manual mode is to override the camera's recommended exposure, so I have no idea how the camera will know what exposure to set with i-TTL. Which flash are you using?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 11, 2014
    Roger, Dec 3, 2008
    #24
  5. WDWFigment

    WDWFigment Member

    I'm using the SB-400. Doesn't the i-TTL system just determine the intensity of the flash to use based on the distance of the main subject from the camera? I didn't know the flash had anything to do with the exposure, ever, at all...does it?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 11, 2014
    WDWFigment, Dec 3, 2008
    #25
  6. mSummers

    mSummers Member

    TTL stands for "Through The Lens" meaning that the exposure is metered in the camera based on what the camera's exposure meter sees through the lens. iTTL is Nikon's latest version of the same general theme, with some added capabilities like the wireless flash control on the SB900, 800 & 600. On older flashes, the flash would meter the light through a sensor on the flash, which isn't as accurate and requires the photographer to input the ISO, aperture, and shutter speed on the flash every time you changed it on the camera. TTL allows the camera compute the flash power for you based on all the previously mentioned settings and the range to the subject.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 11, 2014
    mSummers, Dec 3, 2008
    #26
  7. Roger

    Roger Member Staff Member

    This is a quote that I read from someone on Flickr:

    "i-TTL is a flash mode that enables automatic balanced fill-flash. What it does is that the camera automatically controls the flash output to keep both the subject and background properly exposed."

    Now I have read that iTTL is really that - automatic balanced fill-flash for digital. Now being able to do the latter part of that sentence doesn't compute in my or W.O.P.R.'s brain while using M mode, since the camera meter will not be happy with the results in M mode unless you're right on target for exposure.

    To expand on Mike's comment: iTTL uses a preflash and meters from the matrix metering in-camera to determine flash output.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 11, 2014
    Roger, Dec 3, 2008
    #27
  8. mSummers

    mSummers Member

    Thanks Roger. I had forgotten about the fill-flash component.

    My guess is that in M mode, it may not properly adjust the flash, but you could easily use that as the starting point and then dial in exposure compensation on the flash to bring the exposure back to where you want it. Although, if the exposure difference is extreme, you may have to go to full manual on the flash anyway.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 11, 2014
    mSummers, Dec 3, 2008
    #28
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