Exposure display queries..w ext. flash.

ralph · 23rd April 2004

Hi,

When i fixed up the Nikon sb28 on my F80.

The "Electronic analog exposure display" in the viewfinder has bar indicator all the way to the Negative (-ve) side.
What is the message here??

This only happens in A-mode cos when i set to S or P modes...it disappears.
And when I removed the ext. flash it is gone as well.

I understand that this display usually indicates the differences between my exposure settings and the correct exposure according to the cam. (Am i correct here?)

Appreciate your inputs...

coke21 · 23rd April 2004

Originally Posted by ralph

Hi,

When i fixed up the Nikon sb28 on my F80.

The "Electronic analog exposure display" in the viewfinder has bar indicator all the way to the Negative (-ve) side.
What is the message here??

This only happens in A-mode cos when i set to S or P modes...it disappears.
And when I removed the ext. flash it is gone as well.

I understand that this display usually indicates the differences between my exposure settings and the correct exposure according to the cam. (Am i correct here?)

Appreciate your inputs...

Depends on your setting. The F80 has a flash sync speed of 1/125 and when you attached the flash, it automatically sets it as that.What's your aperature setting? The bar is just telling you that at that setting (f/stop) you are underexposing. But does not mean that your flash cannot compensate for the underexposure.

clive · 23rd April 2004

if i recall correct,

when i A-priority mode, set to slow sync flash. then it wont stick to the default x-speed (1/125 for your case)

then the negative exposure display in viewfindsr will disappear

which means u r now setup for : longexposure with flash

ralph · 23rd April 2004

[quote=coke21]

Quote:

Depends on your setting. The F80 has a flash sync speed of 1/125 and when you attached the flash, it automatically sets it as that.

Noted.

Quote:

What's your aperature setting? The bar is just telling you that at that setting (f/stop) you are underexposing. But does not mean that your flash cannot compensate for the underexposure.

I started with f5.6...thought that once i open it up to f3.5 (largest aperture on the lens) it will ease up alittle...but it didnt.
In fact, it was underexposing throughout entire aperture range.

just dont understand why it indicate such severe underexposure even when i change to a bright scene. AND only in A mode does that happens.
like wat you mentioned...the flash will be intelligent enuff to overcome the underexposure issue...but why doesnt the exposure indicator bar show signs of movement even when i m changing the conditions.. aperture size..brightness of the background etc.

thks!

ralph · 23rd April 2004

basically...just want to ensure that this scenario is 'normal'.

anyone with an identical setup??

coke21 · 23rd April 2004

Originally Posted by ralph

Noted.

I started with f5.6...thought that once i open it up to f3.5 (largest aperture on the lens) it will ease up alittle...but it didnt.
In fact, it was underexposing throughout entire aperture range.
just dont understand why it indicate such severe underexposure even when i change to a bright scene. AND only in A mode does that happens.
like wat you mentioned...the flash will be intelligent enuff to overcome the underexposure issue...but why doesnt the exposure indicator bar show signs of movement even when i m changing the conditions.. aperture size..brightness of the background etc.

thks!

What film speed are you using? ISO 400?

Try this, remove your flash, and set to manual and set your shutter speed to 1/125 and set your aperature at f5.6 all the way to f3.5. what does your meter say?

MooEy · 25th April 2004

that bar suppose to show the metering for ambience lighting, not the meter for ur sb28.

for most people, just ignore that bar if u are using flash as key lighting. set to something like 1/60 f/5.6, turn on ur flash and shoot away. the ttl flash will handle all the exposure as long u are in range.

if u are using flash outdoor and the meter show overexpose, then u have a little bit of trouble. but if u ever use that flash outdoor, u should know how to handle that problem.

~MooEy~

ralph · 28th April 2004

Quote:

What film speed are you using? ISO 400?

Try this, remove your flash, and set to manual and set your shutter speed to 1/125 and set your aperature at f5.6 all the way to f3.5. what does your meter say?

did not load any film...just trying the ext. flash w the cam.
will try out your experiment thou..

Originally Posted by MooEy

that bar suppose to show the metering for ambience lighting, not the meter for ur sb28.

.....

if u are using flash outdoor and the meter show overexpose, then u have a little bit of trouble. but if u ever use that flash outdoor, u should know how to handle that problem.

~MooEy~

will check out the outdoor scenario soon...

many thks to all advises!!

ralph · 2nd May 2004

Originally Posted by coke21

......

Try this, remove your flash, and set to manual and set your shutter speed to 1/125 and set your aperature at f5.6 all the way to f3.5. what does your meter say?

tried the above, the exposure indicator stated tt it is underexposed...for all f-stops.
meaning at the shutter speed (1/60s) when i mount the ext. flash...for all f-stops it will underexposed (due to fast shutter),
hence the flash will output the necessary power to overcome this deficiency of the ambient lightings so as to exposed the scene properly.

thks again!!

coke21 · 4th May 2004

[quote=ralph]did not load any film...just trying the ext. flash w the cam.
will try out your experiment thou..

[quote]

If I'm not wrong, if you don't have any film in the camera, the camera will just assume an ISO 100 film. Perhaps thats why your meter shows underexpose. Try it at higher ISOs.

23rd April 2004	#1
ralph Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 64	Exposure display queries..w ext. flash. Hi, When i fixed up the Nikon sb28 on my F80. The "Electronic analog exposure display" in the viewfinder has bar indicator all the way to the Negative (-ve) side. What is the message here?? This only happens in A-mode cos when i set to S or P modes...it disappears. And when I removed the ext. flash it is gone as well. I understand that this display usually indicates the differences between my exposure settings and the correct exposure according to the cam. (Am i correct here?) Appreciate your inputs...

23rd April 2004	#3
clive Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 2,573	if i recall correct, when i A-priority mode, set to slow sync flash. then it wont stick to the default x-speed (1/125 for your case) then the negative exposure display in viewfindsr will disappear which means u r now setup for : longexposure with flash

25th April 2004	#7
MooEy Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 170	that bar suppose to show the metering for ambience lighting, not the meter for ur sb28. for most people, just ignore that bar if u are using flash as key lighting. set to something like 1/60 f/5.6, turn on ur flash and shoot away. the ttl flash will handle all the exposure as long u are in range. if u are using flash outdoor and the meter show overexpose, then u have a little bit of trouble. but if u ever use that flash outdoor, u should know how to handle that problem. ~MooEy~

4th May 2004	#10
coke21 Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: East Posts: 728	[quote=ralph]did not load any film...just trying the ext. flash w the cam. will try out your experiment thou.. [quote] If I'm not wrong, if you don't have any film in the camera, the camera will just assume an ISO 100 film. Perhaps thats why your meter shows underexpose. Try it at higher ISOs.