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Speedlight "shutter speed" vs camera (non-TTL) shutter speed

speedlight shutter speed flash vintage

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4 replies to this topic

#1
CabbageMS

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Hello all, 

 

I've recently purchased a Nikon FE film camera and am experimenting with flash (SB-700). I'm reasonably competent using the flash on my D7000, but using it on a vintage camera is making me aware of my lack of fundamental knowledge! :) 

 

My question is: when setting the speedlight to manual, what shutter speed do I select on the speedlight? Do I select one to match that given by the camera's metering for a given shot? For example if I'm framing a shot and the camera is suggesting around 1/30 shutter speed, do I then adjust my flash to 1/30, then take the shot? Please be aware this question is focused purely on using the speedlight with the Nikon FE, not using it with a modern DSLR. 

 

Thanks

Matt



#2
CabbageMS

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I've now worked out that when the SB700 refers to 1/16 etc it is referring to output power of the flash, with 1/1 being 100%, it doesn't relate to shutter speed. 

 

So how do you calculate exposure when using a flash on a film camera such as the Nikon FE which does not have flash TTL? 



#3
Merco_61

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If you go to David Hobby's Strobist Strobist and read as much as you can there, lots of things will be explained about using a flash manually. Remember that the FE has a flash sync speed of 1/125. 

 

You can learn lots without it costing anything by shooting fully manually with a DSLR, experimenting lots, jotting down your settings and analyzing your photos.



#4
Ron

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Even though I own an SB-700 I've never tried to do what you're doing. Unfortunately, the flash unit doesn't have an AUTO mode. If it did, the short answer would be to set your camera to it's x-sync speed, set your aperture appropriately, and set your flash to AUTO. As it is, you'll have to resort to using guide numbers which is the reason AUTO flash and TTL was invented to begin with.... just to get away from doing that. 

 

Peter makes an excellent suggestion about David Hobby's blog. It's a wealth of flash info, whether you're using a DSLR or film camera.

 

--Ron



#5
dcbear78

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The answer is a light meter. 







Also tagged with one or more of these keywords: speedlight, shutter speed, flash, vintage