Nissin i40 with D600 issue

[JJ!]

I was using my friends SB-700 for a while on my D600 and from the box it worked well, bounce, portraits etc etc, the camera/flash combo took care of the exposure etc.

I recently purchased a Nissin i40 and my first impression was the strange noises it made on turn on, still I thought maybe that was just the flash asjusting itself.

When on camera I thought I would first try some test shots in full auto, but it seems something is not right! What ever mode I put the camera in from auto to shutter speed the flah is over exposing hugely when using it to bounce of teh ceiling. It does not seem to be adjusting with zoom I am using and firing full pelt no matter what I am talking pics of leaving me with bright white shots.

Only way I am getting round this is putting the flash in TTL and adusting it to the minimum. Even then shots are still over exposing at pretty much every f stop.

Is there a possible setting on the camera I have accidently put on or missed? Or maybe the flash is a dud and not reading what it should be from the camera itself.

Any help appreciated as need a small bounce flash for few indoor portraits so if this goes back I need one asap!

 

[DaveEP]

Sorry for the late reply here.

The strange noise when powering on is perfectly normal, it's the zoom head resetting to it's default position.

While shooting with flash in auto and the camera also in auto can work, it's really not a good idea. One or the other should be in a more manual state. Why? Well, they're both competing to see who can alter their own settings to make a good exposure.

Typically I'd start by figuring out what the ambient light is in the camera and put that in to manual mode with the flash in TTL. That way the camera's exposure will be consistent and the flash just needs to fill in. Typical settings (inside) woudl be something like 1/125 @ f5.6 ISO800, flash on TTL. Change as needed from there.

On the back of the i40 set the left dial to TTL and the right dial to 0 (right side of the dial). If you decide you want it brighter, turn the right dial clockwise (increase flash exposure) or for darker turn it counter clockwise (lower the flash exposure comp).

I wrote a quick Nissin i40 Review which may help.