Ligament
Member
Hi All,
I have a Nikon SB-900 and a Mamiya 7II. I am unclear on how to use this flash in the following settings:
1. When I want fill flash
2. When I want the subject to be illuminated ONLY by flash (ie. in very, very dark situations where there is not enough ambient light for a sharp handheld exposure).
Also, should I use the SB-900 on Auto or Manual mode? Both? When?
I found some info on photo.net which addresses this topic, which was useful, and if you have anything to add please do:
I can't figure out how to take shots with flash (I have read anything I could find). I have a Mamiya 7II and a Vivitar 283. When I adjust the apeture to recommended setting per the flash, I don't know what the shutter should be set at. The meter says "4," which means I would need a tripod for such long exposure, which shouldn't be necessary with flash, right? If I set it to "A" it still does a long exposure, causing the photos to be blurred--a complete mess. This is probably a no brainer, to someone who knows what he/she is doing, but I'm at wits end.
Responses
Dan Ferrier , Dec 14, 2005; 03:02 p.m.
Use 1/125 and you should be fine
Pavel Pinkas , Dec 14, 2005; 03:24 p.m.
Mamiya 7II is a leaf shutter system, it will sync with the flash at any speed (the beauty of leaf shutter systems). So pick any speed you want.
The flash is provides the illumination, shutter speed is irrelevant, except for the parts of the picture where the flash light won't reach. Those are illuminated only by the ambient light. So, if you want the background to go completely dark, use fast shutter speeds. The flash will illuminate the foreground.
On the other hand, if you want more illumination for the background, use slower shutter speeds. Think about it as double exposure. The flash illuminates the foreground (exposure #1, driven by the flash) and the ambient light takes care of the background (exposure #2, driven by the ambient light). Now, mix as necessary.
Being frustrated by flash photography is normal. Read, experiment, read more, experiment more, read even more (well, I guess you'll get the drift now 🙂 )
Ilkka , Dec 15, 2005; 01:35 a.m.
The camera can be set on aperture auto (A) or manual. Flash is completely independent of these settings. The flash will just fire on top of any manual or automatic aperture/speed combination, using the flash unit's own photosensor if the flash is on auto. So, if you want fill flash, use the A setting and the camera will set a long enough shutter speed to match the available light. But it seems this is not what you want. Instead, when you want to use the flash as the only (or main) light source, set the shutter speed manually, to any setting you feel is right. 1/60 or 1/125 is good unless you have a reason to use something else.
Wolfram STROHSCHEIN , Dec 28, 2005; 12:59 a.m.
hello sandy,
with a leaf shutter system you can take any time you want. the big advntage is that the flash in automatic configuration you will get a correct foreground ilumination and with the shutter speed you can influence the background ilumination.
Eric G , Jan 18, 2006; 01:50 a.m.
I have a Nikon SB-900 and a Mamiya 7II. I am unclear on how to use this flash in the following settings:
1. When I want fill flash
2. When I want the subject to be illuminated ONLY by flash (ie. in very, very dark situations where there is not enough ambient light for a sharp handheld exposure).
Also, should I use the SB-900 on Auto or Manual mode? Both? When?
I found some info on photo.net which addresses this topic, which was useful, and if you have anything to add please do:
I can't figure out how to take shots with flash (I have read anything I could find). I have a Mamiya 7II and a Vivitar 283. When I adjust the apeture to recommended setting per the flash, I don't know what the shutter should be set at. The meter says "4," which means I would need a tripod for such long exposure, which shouldn't be necessary with flash, right? If I set it to "A" it still does a long exposure, causing the photos to be blurred--a complete mess. This is probably a no brainer, to someone who knows what he/she is doing, but I'm at wits end.
Responses
Dan Ferrier , Dec 14, 2005; 03:02 p.m.
Use 1/125 and you should be fine
Pavel Pinkas , Dec 14, 2005; 03:24 p.m.
Mamiya 7II is a leaf shutter system, it will sync with the flash at any speed (the beauty of leaf shutter systems). So pick any speed you want.
The flash is provides the illumination, shutter speed is irrelevant, except for the parts of the picture where the flash light won't reach. Those are illuminated only by the ambient light. So, if you want the background to go completely dark, use fast shutter speeds. The flash will illuminate the foreground.
On the other hand, if you want more illumination for the background, use slower shutter speeds. Think about it as double exposure. The flash illuminates the foreground (exposure #1, driven by the flash) and the ambient light takes care of the background (exposure #2, driven by the ambient light). Now, mix as necessary.
Being frustrated by flash photography is normal. Read, experiment, read more, experiment more, read even more (well, I guess you'll get the drift now 🙂 )
Ilkka , Dec 15, 2005; 01:35 a.m.
The camera can be set on aperture auto (A) or manual. Flash is completely independent of these settings. The flash will just fire on top of any manual or automatic aperture/speed combination, using the flash unit's own photosensor if the flash is on auto. So, if you want fill flash, use the A setting and the camera will set a long enough shutter speed to match the available light. But it seems this is not what you want. Instead, when you want to use the flash as the only (or main) light source, set the shutter speed manually, to any setting you feel is right. 1/60 or 1/125 is good unless you have a reason to use something else.
Wolfram STROHSCHEIN , Dec 28, 2005; 12:59 a.m.
hello sandy,
with a leaf shutter system you can take any time you want. the big advntage is that the flash in automatic configuration you will get a correct foreground ilumination and with the shutter speed you can influence the background ilumination.
Eric G , Jan 18, 2006; 01:50 a.m.
