Nikon D90 & High speed sync (FP sync) flash.

Redspider

Redspider

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As I've never used an external flash I have a few idea's what they may do better than a camers flash.

I'm guessing as it is higher you don't get lens shadow, & you can reflect the light for a more natural picture, possibly adjust brightness, is that correct?

Things I would like would be to shoot at faster shutter speed than 200, is that possible? Is it possible to use a flash off the camera?

What is the cheapest flash that will do what I want. Is there a non Nikon that is cheaper that will do the job. I want to do creative photo's but I would not use it a great deal, hence don't want to pay a lot, if poss.
 
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Redspider said:
As I've never used an external flash I have a few idea's what they may do better than a camers flash.

I'm guessing as it is higher you don't get lens shadow, & you can reflect the light for a more natural picture, possibly adjust brightness, is that correct?

Things I would like would be to shoot at faster than 200, is that possible? Is it possible to use a flash off the camera?

What is the cheapest flash that will do what I want. Is there a non Nikon that is cheaper that will do the job. I want to do creative photo's but I would not use it a great deal, hence don't want to pay a lot, if poss.
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An external flash will do all that, and much more. They have much more power than the pop-up (like 16x more, four stops), they swivel and bounce, you can fit diffuser accessories, they work wirelessly off-camera, and they do things like high speed sync (Nikon FP sync) so can run at any shutter speed you like.

You can use it like the pop-up, but when you get one, try using it in any way at all except pointing it directly at the subect and see the massive difference it makes bouncing off the ceiling and walls. Try fitting a bounce card or Stofen (I think some Nikon guns come with both these things as standard), check out Lumiquest and Demb-Flip. Have a go at fill-in flash with high speed sync, and second curtain sync. Add a second gun, and it will all be triggered and controlled wireless by the camera.

A good flash gun will expand your picture taking in more ways that an extra lens will, and you learn more, and probably have more fun doing it. Stick it on a stand with a brolly and you've got a very serviceable portrait studio.

Nikon make great guns (I'm not that familar with Nikon) but there are very good third party alternatives from Nissin, Metz and Sigma to name just three.
 
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HoppyUK said:
An external flash will do all that, and much more. They have much more power than the pop-up (like 16x more, four stops), they swivel and bounce, you can fit diffuser accessories, they work wirelessly off-camera, and they do things like high speed sync (Nikon FP sync) so can run at any shutter speed you like.

You can use it like the pop-up, but when you get one, try using it in any way at all except pointing it directly at the subect and see the massive difference it makes bouncing off the ceiling and walls. Try fitting a bounce card or Stofen (I think some Nikon guns come with both these things as standard), check out Lumiquest and Demb-Flip. Have a go at fill-in flash with high speed sync, and second curtain sync. Add a second gun, and it will all be triggered and controlled wireless by the camera.

A good flash gun will expand your picture taking in more ways that an extra lens will, and you learn more, and probably have more fun doing it. Stick it on a stand with a brolly and you've got a very serviceable portrait studio.

Nikon make great guns (I'm not that familar with Nikon) but there are very good third party alternatives from Nissin, Metz and Sigma to name just three.
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Thanks very much. In this weeks AP they have a Nissin Di622. It's around the price I would like to go for (£100-00). Will it do all the above. I see it is wireless, will it work wirelessly with a Nikon D90 without anything else to make it work?
 
That particular Nissin doesn't do high speed sync, one of your primary requirements.

New Metz 50-AF1 looks good for £190, similar to the 48-AF1 and if you can still find one of those, should be a bit cheaper.
 
HoppyUK said:
That particular Nissin doesn't do high speed sync, one of your primary requirements.

New Metz 50-AF1 looks good for £190, similar to the 48-AF1 and if you can still find one of those, should be a bit cheaper.
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Thanks for your help. I went into a camera shop today & was told that the shutter speed on a D90 will not go faster than 200, is that so?
This would mean that I cannot use say 400/500/600 shutter speed with any flash on a D90.
 
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redddraggon said:
Apparently the Jessops flashgun is rated quite highly:
http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/67558/show.html?cm_vc=PPZ1

I have a Sb900 though, and I've never used the Jessops one.

Yes I think 1/200 is the fastest shutter speed on the D90 with a flash, however the flash does not necessarily flash for that long - therefore the flash can still freeze action.
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Thanks. For my use that would be good, however I'm not sure if it can do high speed sync.
I did contact Nikon today & they confirmed that the D90 does support high speed sync. They said the SB600, SB700, SB800 & SB900 will all go from 1/200 to 1/4000. The problem is they are not cheap so what other makes will definitely work in high speed sync on my D90?
The Metz 48-AF1 that HoppyUK recommended looks OK for me, but will it definitely work with my D90 as I can't find them in my town to try, so will have to get it off the net.
 
Redspider said:
Thanks for your help. I went into a camera shop today & was told that the shutter speed on a D90 will not go faster than 200, is that so?
This would mean that I cannot use say 400/500/600 shutter speed with any flash on a D90.
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You were told that in a camera shop? :eek: Then they just missed out on a great opportunity to sell you an expensive flash gun.

Yes, you can shoot flash at any shutter speed with a D90, provided that gun has a high speed sync function, which Nikon calls FP flash. Further good news is that the D90's pop-up flash (which is not powerful enough to do FP flash itself) functions as a commander unit and will control numerous off-camera slave guns wirelessly with full auto exposure control - that's iTTL, part of Nikon's CLS flash system. And it is extremely good.

It is only with normal flash that you can't go higher than 1/200sec. With high speed sync the gun works in a completely different way in order to overcome the problems of how the camera's shutter functions. HSS/FP sync is very power hungry, but for most normal photography at close range - couples, small groups etc - then it is excellent. You just need the right kind of gun.

Edit: Metz 48 will definitely work, providing you get the version for Nikon of course. The problem with third party guns is that they are reverse-engineered to work with the camera. Which is fine, until you get a new camera and find that Nikon has changed something without telling anyone. This is rare, but it has happened. I have a feeling that the latest Metz guns have a download port so that if there are future compatability problems, you can download a firmware upgrade to sort it. Not sure if the 48 has that, or maybe only the new updated 50 model?
 
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HoppyUK said:
You were told that in a camera shop? :eek: Then they just missed out on a great opportunity to sell you an expensive flash gun.

Yes, you can shoot flash at any shutter speed with a D90, provided that gun has a high speed sync function, which Nikon calls FP flash. Further good news is that the D90's pop-up flash (which is not powerful enough to do FP flash itself) functions as a commander unit and will control numerous off-camera slave guns wirelessly with full auto exposure control - that's iTTL, part of Nikon's CLS flash system. And it is extremely good.
?
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Thank you very much for your help. In the end I bought the Nikon SB 600 for £176.99 + postage & it works just fine. Tried the High speed sync at various speeds & used it in wireless mode, just great. Oh well Castle Cameras & their lack of knowledge, not to mention price of £229-00 cost them a sale.

As a matter of interest if the SB600 is attached to the D90 without batteries, will it still flash.
 
No, the power required for the flash to cycle needs those 4xAA to work
 
SK617 said:
No, the power required for the flash to cycle needs those 4xAA to work
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Ok thanks, I couldn't find anything about it in the book & I didn't want to try in case there was a problem.
 
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