Can I use a speedlite on top of Z6ii for fill flash? I have googled this and ask siri and the answer seems to be no due to the EV finder. I will be attending my 50th class reunion on a...

grandpaw

I have googled this and ask siri and the answer seems to be no due to the EV finder. I will be attending my 50th class reunion on a paddlewheel boat and we will also have a get together the second day with a Buffett and music and I would like to get some photos of each. I have my D810 that I will have with me if I need the flash but would like to know if it is possible with the Z6ii. I am still researching. Thanks for any help or a link to a video. All the videos that I have looked at do not answer my question.

rcarol

I copied this from the Nikon online manual:
"When a flash unit that supports unified flash control (an SB-5000, SB-500, SB‑400, or SB-300) is mounted on the camera, the flash control mode, flash level, and other flash settings can be adjusted using the [Flash control] > [Flash control mode] item in the photo shooting menu. The flash control modes available vary with the flash used. The options available in the flash control display vary with the option selected for [Flash control mode]." I don't know if this helps.

Haydon

I'd suggest to experiment and see what happens. It will be in your best interest to know before you go out. I don't know if this applies to your Nikon but when you set a Canon in aperture priority with a flash in the hotshoe, it knows you want fill flash.

grandpaw

Haydon wrote:

I'd suggest to experiment and see what happens. It will be in your best interest to know before you go out. I don't know if this applies to your Nikon but when you set a Canon in aperture priority with a flash in the hotshoe, it knows you want fill flash.

I have played with it quite a bit and even set the flash and camera to "Fill Flash" in the menu and it is still way over exposed. If I don't figure it out or it cannot be done I will just use my D810 if flash is necessary. Im thinking the Z6ii will handle it without the flash but would just like to know. I would just like to add that I just didn't ask without doing research on my own. I am using a Nikon SB900 flash.

Haydon

This might be of help:

Flash Mode
Some of the flash modes are set on the camera, rather than on the flash. To set most of these modes on a Nikon Z6 II, you keep the flash button depressed and rotate the main (rear) command wheel to cycle through the modes. The modes appear in the flash frame in the top LCD panel on the camera.

To set Auto FP on a Nikon Z6 II, you need to go into this menu.

FILL FLASH
The flash fires with every shot. In modes P and A, shutter speed will automatically be set to values between 1/200 s (or 1/8000 s with Auto FP High-Speed Sync) and 1/60 s.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

I use an SB-700 aboard my Z6 for Daylight Fill and it seems to work well. I have also used an SB-500, but it doesn't really have the power I need. Although I own several SB-5000 units, I tend not too use them as they add too much to the weight and are top heavy on that small body. Best of luck.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

grandpaw wrote:

I have played with it quite a bit and even set the flash and camera to "Fill Flash" in the menu and it is still way over exposed. If I don't figure it out or it cannot be done I will just use my D810 if flash is necessary. Im thinking the Z6ii will handle it without the flash but would just like to know. I would just like to add that I just didn't ask without doing research on my own. I am using a Nikon SB900 flash.

Does your flash have a power setting for when it is in manual? If so just dial down the power to the level of fill you want.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

grandpaw wrote:

I have googled this and ask siri and the answer se... (show quote)

The answer to the question posed in the title is "but of course". Why else would there be a hot shoe there? I have used my Nikon flash units, D910, D800, D700 mounted on the hot shoe of my Z7 it works the same way as on my D750. The auto-exposure flash setting for fill flash is the same, it is TTL BL.

However please do take the D810. When it comes to recording valuable memories, use the camera you are most familiar with. Learn the new camera on subjects that are not valuable.

Suggestion. Tonight, mount your flash to the Z6ii and give it a trial run.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

grandpaw wrote:

I have googled this and ask siri and the answer se... (show quote)

Of course, you can use a hot shoe compatible flash on a Z, why would the EV make a difference? As long as the external flash is electrically compatible, and since it's a Nikon you can.

Here's an old pro tip: Point the flash head up, take a #10 white business envelope on the back of the flash secured with a rubber band. You get fill flash forward and bounce flash straight up. Should work unless the ceilings are very, very high and the bounce flash will get lost.

User ID

grandpaw wrote:

I have googled this and ask siri and the answer se... (show quote)

Really odd that the manual doesn’t cover that. If you didn’t get the Busch book, order it yesterday. Everything is in that book. I bought the Z6 book about a year before I bought the camera. Fill flash is covered by Busch. Seems reasonable that whatever my Z6 can do should be doable with your Z6II.

If you do not currently have a Nikon flash, you don’t actually need one for daylight fill flash. For fill I usually use an old Vivitar 285 dialed to need about two stops wider aperture than I’m actually using for the ambient exposure.

Indoor fill flash requires manually dropping the flash to really low power levels cuz the aperture for indoors is much wider than outdoors. Also need the orange filter to match the color of the flash to the ambient interior lighting.

Even if the manual control only goes down to 1/16 power, diffusion light modifiers will further lower that by about two stops and the orange filter is yet one more stop absorbed. All things combined, a manually set 1/16 power can be down to effectively 1/64.

User ID

rgrenaderphoto wrote:

Of course, you can use a hot shoe compatible flash on a Z, why would the EV make a difference? As long as the external flash is electrically compatible, and since it's a Nikon you can.

Compatibility is no problem, but the real problem with the EV finder is a common user error, for which many forum threads have been generated.

The problem is not usually major with fill flash, but when flash is the main source so that the aperture is midsize or smaller, the EV finder can be way too dim to use indoors when constant “effect preview” is enabled. You hafta switch over to “optical viewfinder simulation”.

It’s a common confusion for many users who are only recently acquainted with EV finders. Modern SLRs are immune to this, which is acoarst the root of the problem. But put a fully manual lens on a SLR and you have the same dim viewfinder issue.

You hafta be careful how you compose a google query, and Siri is more Artificial Dumbass than Artificial Intelligence :-(

mikeroetex Loc: Lafayette, LA

grandpaw wrote:

I have googled this and ask siri and the answer se... (show quote)

I use my SB-600 on my Z6 all the time. No problems. Your Z6ii shoud be the same. You could always simulate the conditions at home before the reunion and do test shots.

Haydon

Maybe try to turn off "exposure simulation".

Copyrat

[quote=grandpaw]I have googled this and ask siri and the answer seems to be no due to the EV finder. I will be attending my 50th class reunion on a paddlewheel boat and we will also have a get together the second day with a Buffett and music and I would like to get some photos of each. I have my D810 that I will have with me if I need the flash but would like to know if it is possible with the Z6ii. I am still researching. Thanks for any help or a link to a video. All the videos that I have looked at do not answer my question.[/quote

I have my SB 910 used on Z7; it did not work well. I think SB 5000 is the recommended flash unit for Z series cameras. (I could be wrong too).

Bubbee Loc: Aventura, Florida

JD750 wrote:

The answer to the question posed in the title is &... (show quote)

I just received my Z50 and spent most of yesterday reading the manual and experimenting. I attached my SB800 and was quite happy with the results. The sync speed is 200 but you can do HS also. The TTL and TTL BL worked. I'm not ready to replace my D7100 yet, though. Take your 810 with you!