external flash for dslr

[Pang-Jio Man]

hi ,.


just bought a sb 600 for my nikon dslr.

cant seem to get the right setting right , some as pictures turn out too dark and some too bright.

i am new to external flash on dslr. also helping a fren to shoot his wedding dinner for free. now kan cheong as the more i play around with the external flash the more confused i get.

i noticed there is a flash syn speed which i set to 1/250s which is pretty normal and the flash shutter speed which i set to 1/60s which is the fastest and by default on dslr.

what mode gives you the most control when you shoot with a external flash and when i use Amode the falsh speed only shows 1/60s. is that rite??

i hopt anyone there can throw me a lifeline. thanks. my mode on sb 600 is ttl

[Daedalus Trent]

Well, I toggle between A & M mode and let the TTL flash compensate.

e.g- at A mode, the shutterspeed is at 1/60, so i switch to M mode and bring it up to 1/100s
cos i know the flash'll be able to compensate the 2/3 stops

hard to explain

[zac08]

Originally Posted by Pang-Jio Man hi ,. just bought a sb 600 for my nikon dslr. cant seem to get the right setting right , some as pictures turn out too dark and some too bright. i am new to external flash on dslr. also helping a fren to shoot his wedding dinner for free. now kan cheong as the more i play around with the external flash the more confused i get. i noticed there is a flash syn speed which i set to 1/250s which is pretty normal and the flash shutter speed which i set to 1/60s which is the fastest and by default on dslr. what mode gives you the most control when you shoot with a external flash and when i use Amode the falsh speed only shows 1/60s. is that rite?? i hopt anyone there can throw me a lifeline. thanks. my mode on sb 600 is ttl

You have to play with the exposure of the scene as well as the flash ev.

Flash shutter speed is set at a minimum of 1/60 for most cameras but this value can increase with better lighting. (try it out in the daytime, you'll see the difference)

I normally shoot on A mode but may opt for M if I wish to play with slower shutter speeds of say 1/15 with flash.

You just need more practice with your flash. Shoot more and keep trying till you get it right.

[allstar]

U may just wanna use TTL for your flash settings. And for the camera wise, perhaps Apperture mode or Manual Mode if you want to lower the speed to capture more lighting. Just play around and have fun. =D

[zac08]

Originally Posted by allstar U may just wanna use TTL for your flash settings. And for the camera wise, perhaps Apperture mode or Manual Mode if you want to lower the speed to capture more lighting. Just play around and have fun. =D

Even with TTL, you may still need to play with the flash ev control to compensate at times.

[catchlights]

each situation have different solutions, so you need to understand what happen first before you can rectify the problem, a simple words of "too bright" or "too dark" is ain't good enough.

anyway, you can try the following....

a simply solution for....

too bright, you can,
#1 lower ISO
#2 use small aperture
#3 dial minus flash compensation
#4 step further back

too dark, you can,
#1 Up ISO
#2 use bigger aperture
#3 dial plus flash compensation
#4 move closer

[sherchoo]

catchlight has made very good points.

The only way to really know what's wrong is to experiment. There is no real quick fix.