SB 800 & D80

[sep9001]

Hi

Just bought a second hand SB 800 and have had a quick read of the manual and have read a few pages on the web and have also seen some YouTube video but don't know if I am using it correctly.

With the 18-135mm lens, camera in manual and the flash on the hotshoe setup as TTL I cannot get the meter to come to the center indoor unless I bump up the ISO to about 800.

Have I missed something or am I not using the flash correctly.

Thank you.

 

[SamHH]

The light meter is metering ambient light (i.e. not flash light), just the same as when the flashgun isn't attached. After all, before you press the shutter button, there is no flash light to be metered. Therefore, the meter won't "come to the centre" until the exposure settings (shutter speed, aperture and ISO) are such that the light meter believes the sensor will be correctly exposed to ambient light.

When you're using a flashgun though, you typically aren't wanting ambient light to provide all of the illumination. You're expecting there not to be enough ambient light (and so the meter will be showing under-exposure) and relying on the flashgun to make up the deficit.

 

[sep9001]

Thanks. Will keep on playing with the flash.

Is there any way of knowing when the picture has been correctly exposed apart from the histogram.

 

[SamHH]

Thanks. Will keep on playing with the flash.

Is there any way of knowing when the picture has been correctly exposed apart from the histogram.

Yes, by looking at it.

If you use manual mode with the flash set the TTL (automatic mode), you've effectively got aperture and shutter priority automatic exposure. I.e. you set the aperture and the shutter speed and the camera will use the one variable available to it (the flash power) to automatically set the exposure.

Just as when you use auto-exposure without the flash though, the camera's guess about what the correct exposure is might not be the same as what you think the correct exposure is. In this case, you can use the flash exposure compensation to make adjustments.

 

[sep9001]

Thanks