Is TTL best for fill in

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Yv

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Just a quick technical question really. I am so used to using my SB600 Nikon flashgun off camera, that I am forgetting the best way to use it attached. If I want it just for fill in rather then the main light source, is setting it to TTL and the camera to aperture priority the best way? :thinking:
 
Ha, ha.... strobist at work, eh? :D

Yup, i-TTL will do fill in for you and 'A' mode if fine, but you can use any of the modes and it will still do it...
 
DekHog said:
Yup, i-TTL will do fill in for you and 'A' mode
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A is nikon equiv of AV yeah?

So, how does that work then? What makes the camera decide how much ambient, and how much flash?
 
68lbs said:
A is nikon equiv of AV yeah?

So, how does that work then? What makes the camera decide how much ambient, and how much flash?
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'A' is just aperture priority, 'S' is shutter, etc...

The TTL is intelligent - it balances the ambient with the flash - the camera does all the work. You can set your lowest shutter speed for flash with most if not all Nikons, so if the ambient was reading 1/30th at F5.6, and your lowest flash speed was set to 1/15th, the flash would just fill according to this and not set the shutter to max flash sync speed (1/250th on mine) which would black out the background due to underexposure (if it was far enough away).

I'm not sure if that explains it or not?
 
It does indeed. From the day I got the flash, I sort of hooked onto the strobist thing, but I had to use it on camera last weekend and will have to again on Sunday this weekend, so just wanted to check I was using the best options really. I like A if not shooting in manual for the control it gives, especially as I can handhold to fairly low shutter speeds if needs be, though rarely necessary when using flash.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
:thinking:

is someone forcing you to use it on camera?

We can send the boys round to sort them out - in a flash :naughty:
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:lol::lol: nah, I just look bloody silly holding the flash somewhere over to my left with one hand whilst trying to manhandle a d300 and 24-70 2.8 with my right hand ;) one of these days, for these occasions, i might get one of those big bracket things, but as its needed so nfrequently, strikes me a s alot of money
 
Yv said:
:lol::lol: nah, I just look bloody silly holding the flash somewhere over to my left with one hand whilst trying to manhandle a d300 and 24-70 2.8 with my right hand ;) one of these days, for these occasions, i might get one of those big bracket things, but as its needed so nfrequently, strikes me a s alot of money
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If it's a paid job you should stick it on something like a Manfrotto Nano lightstand on CLS and TTL and be done with it... b****r what anyone thinks, it's the results that count. :D
 
Yv said:
:lol::lol: nah, I just look bloody silly holding the flash somewhere over to my left with one hand whilst trying to manhandle a d300 and 24-70 2.8 with my right hand ;) one of these days, for these occasions, i might get one of those big bracket things, but as its needed so nfrequently, strikes me a s alot of money
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You don't need to hold the flash to the left, if you hold the flash in your left hand and cradle your left arm under the lens (hard to explain, bear with me here :lol:) with the flash in your left hand, which is now on your righthand side, then it makes things a lot easier and gives you a different "look" to your shots...
 
:eek: I am 5'2", how long do you think my arms are? :lol: If I did that, I would end up with the flash somewhere immediately to the right of the lens! Though I see what you are saying [I am sitting here doing double jointed stretches with my arms rying it out :lol:]

Dek, I do have a stand and stuff, but for this particular one, its a walk around london shoot and tbh, I just dont fancy lugging and setting up a load of kit. The weather is pedicted to be wet too, so the flash is, as I said, really just for fill in, to brighten things up a little and I am thinking easier to protect from the rain is attached to camera. The lightsphere diffuser can protect the actual lens [of the flash] and the rest will be wrapped, snug and dry. If I am lkucky I might not need it, but just need to make sure I am taking the right options if I do :thumbs:
 
DekHog said:
I'm not sure if that explains it or not?
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Yeah, sorry to backtrack, but the answer is Not. :D

My understanding is if you are shooting aperture priority then you set your aperture and the camera will select shutterspeed to give what it believes is the correct exposure based on metering method. So the flash won't fire?

I thought I had to shoot on manual, decide how much ambient light I want and expose for that, then the camera would give enough flash to bring the exposure up based on the metering?
 
Flashybabes, a more moody mod would be wielding the ban hammer for that! Cheeky sod :p :lol:



As to flash and AP and stuff, if the flash is attached and turned on, I pressume they do actually talk to each other and the camera, when measuring exposure, knows it is being told the flash wants to fire and adjusts everything accordingly.
 
A good lad on here (Also known to some of us as CSM-Scott on the IRC, cant remember his user name on the forum) taught me to fill flash using Av. Use evaluative metering, Av, set your aperture to what you want to shoot at (Say f8) and then you're good to go.

There was also a custom function that i had to change, that i cant remember what it was for the life of me. I'll see if i can have a word and get back to you on that.

Mike
 
The custom function to change when using AV with flash is the one which enables the camera to lock the speed at the sync speed of 1/125th or whatever yours is... or for it to be able to be taken down slower to get the correct ambient background.
 
Yv said:
Flashybabes, a more moody mod would be wielding the ban hammer for that! Cheeky sod :p :lol:
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<-----would like to make it clear that Yv has at no time starred in any movies involving Clint Eastwood or the phrase "Right turn, Clyde" and that the entire TP mod team are renowned for their beauty and kindness :whistling: :thumbs:

As to flash and AP and stuff, if the flash is attached and turned on, I pressume they do actually talk to each other and the camera, when measuring exposure, knows it is being told the flash wants to fire and adjusts everything accordingly.
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Yes....see what I mean....beauty and brains :thumbs::D:wave:
 
Thanks Janice/MJ... think I understand. I will have a look through my custom settings when I get home tonite and have a play.
 
68lbs said:
Yeah, sorry to backtrack, but the answer is Not. :D

My understanding is if you are shooting aperture priority then you set your aperture and the camera will select shutterspeed to give what it believes is the correct exposure based on metering method. So the flash won't fire?

I thought I had to shoot on manual, decide how much ambient light I want and expose for that, then the camera would give enough flash to bring the exposure up based on the metering?
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No, if you have a TTL enabled flash on camera, or the pop up is on, the camera will evaluate the scene and fill accordingly, simply because it knows the flash it there and available, and also knows the scene is backlit and the subject would be dark/underexposed... if you have a quick look at your first shot and decide it's too bright/dark, then you can just dial in a bit of flash exposure compensation upwards or downwards to suit.

If you want to tone down the ambient, you can still use 'A' mode, but dial in downward exposure compensation for the camera... the 'strobist' way would be take a normal shot of the ambient with no flash, up the shutter speed a couple of stops to tone down the ambient, then use the flash to light the subject.
 
68lbs said:
My understanding is if you are shooting aperture priority then you set your aperture and the camera will select shutterspeed to give what it believes is the correct exposure based on metering method. So the flash won't fire?
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No, the flash should fire as you are asking it to fill.

In aperture priority, you set the aperture (obviously) and the camera sets the shutter speed. If you are going to use flash then you need to ensure that the speed the camera chooses is not faster than the fastest sync. speed.

This gives you a theoretically correct exposure. Fill flash is then selected so that if it were the only light source, it would under-expose by two stops.

I always do this manually but the flash can do it for itself.

I always use film so the extra light the flash gives is easily handled by its latitude. With digital where it is easier to blow out the highlights, you may need to reduce the overall exposure by 1/3 of a stop.

Luckily for you digital users, you can experiment a lot and look at the results.

Personally, to understand fill flash fully, I would practice in manual modes but modern cameras and flashes are intelligent enough to give good results if you set them up right in auto.

I have just got an SB600 this week and I am reading the manual trying to understand it.

I am using it on a Nikon F601. According to the manual, I do all the flash settings on the camera. The problem is the camera doesn't alter anything on the flash display so you just have to assume it is doing what it should.


Steve.
 
Steve Smith said:
I always use film so the extra light the flash gives is easily handled by its latitude. With digital where it is easier to blow out the highlights, you may need to reduce the overall exposure by 1/3 of a stop.


Steve.
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Agreed, I have found on the few occasions I have used manually on the camera, if 'naked' I have had to turn it down a third or two, but as I normally have a lightsphere attached, its usually about right and even occasionally I have to up it a notch. This time, just for speed, I am letting the camera do a bit more of the work, which is odd for me, I have spent well over a year now very deliberately working manually 95% of the time but as on camera is something I do so infrequently, I have to think about it qute a bit still, soooo....I didnt spend all that money to not occasionally let its own brain work a few things out :lol: Will post a few later if they are not too rubbish :nuts:
 
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