D850, SB-800 Speedlight high speed sync. How to set it up help needed.
Jun 18, 2019 16:50:26 #
I am having trouble figuring out exactly how to set up my camera and flash for high speed sync. I would like to use a faster shutter speed with the SB800 for a fill flash. I am shooting wildlife, dragonflies and birds currently with a 300mm lens, possibly a Mag Beam/mod for the flash. Often because of the location, I may have the subject back lit. While the lens has VR, a shutter speed of only 250/sec is less than desirable & my percentage of keepers is lower than it should be.
Could someone help me with the camera and flash settings for this?
Could someone help me with the camera and flash settings for this?
Jun 18, 2019 17:05:26 #
With high speed sync you will be firing many flashes in a short duration of time so the capacitor will not have a chance to fully recharge after each flash and as a result the flashes will be weaker. I doubt that you will be able to use it to advantage at the distance that you will be shooting with a 300mm lens.
However, if you want to give it a try you will need an auxiliary battery pack. The Nikon ones are very expensive but you can get third party aux. battery packs on Amazon for under $50. I also would suggest using fully charged batteries in the flash and the battery pack. I am not sure that the sb800 has a connection for it (my sb910 has one).
Just set the flash and the camera for high speed sync and you will have to choose a frequency. I usually set my shutter speed at 1/1,000 sec. and tell the flash to fire at 1,000 Hz.
However, if you want to give it a try you will need an auxiliary battery pack. The Nikon ones are very expensive but you can get third party aux. battery packs on Amazon for under $50. I also would suggest using fully charged batteries in the flash and the battery pack. I am not sure that the sb800 has a connection for it (my sb910 has one).
Just set the flash and the camera for high speed sync and you will have to choose a frequency. I usually set my shutter speed at 1/1,000 sec. and tell the flash to fire at 1,000 Hz.
Jun 18, 2019 17:24:17 #
Geegee wrote:
With high speed sync you will be firing many flash... (show quote)
Thanks Geegee,
The fresnel adapter for the flash ( https://magnetmod.com/products/magbeam-wildlife-kit) should give me the distance & intensity (just enough for fill) I need step by step directions on setting up for high speed sync. I have tried following the speed light & the camera manuals and am doing something wrong. I am feeling old & frustrated & need to be walked through the menus.
Jun 18, 2019 19:02:38 #
It's Auto FP (focal plane) mode. That's Nikon's terminology for high speed sync. It's menu option e1. See the description of it at the bottom of page 266 of the manual. I have a D750 and D500 and have done it with those and my SB-700.
You don't have to do anything else. Just select Auto FP in menu option e1.
You don't have to do anything else. Just select Auto FP in menu option e1.
Jun 18, 2019 19:30:10 #
CO wrote:
It's Auto FP mode. That's Nikon's terminology for high speed sync. It's menu option e1. See the description of it at the bottom of page 266 of the manual. I have a D750 and D500 and have done it with those and my SB-700.
You don't have to do anything else. Just select Auto FP in menu option e1.
You don't have to do anything else. Just select Auto FP in menu option e1.
Thank you very much! I seem to be getting somewhere now. I was setting the flash to FP, then the camera. That somehow locked me into 250 tops. Just setting the camera to FP automatically set the flash, & all seems to be working! Now down to the pond.
Jun 18, 2019 19:46:31 #
That's right. You just set Auto FP in the camera. The camera then communicates with the flash to carry out the rapid pulses.
Jun 19, 2019 09:09:03 #
gvarner
Loc: Central Oregon Coast
Be sure the flash is in TTL mode, set camera menu to 250 FP. Then you can use a high shutter speed to control the amount of ambient light on the subject. Set the camera in Manual mode, start with F4.5 and ISO 400. You can vary the F to affect DoF or increase ISO to get a bit more reach. Plus, you can do some flash compensation on the camera to fine tune the results.
Jun 19, 2019 10:37:12 #
Jun 19, 2019 12:31:22 #
gvarner wrote:
Be sure the flash is in TTL mode, set camera menu to 250 FP. Then you can use a high shutter speed to control the amount of ambient light on the subject. Set the camera in Manual mode, start with F4.5 and ISO 400. You can vary the F to affect DoF or increase ISO to get a bit more reach. Plus, you can do some flash compensation on the camera to fine tune the results.
Thank you very much gvarner!
I always shoot in manual mode and usually with auto ISO for anything without a flash, but when using the SBR-200 for macro, always with manual ISO.
I also didn't think it through that auto ISO wouldn't work well for high speed sync. Manual ISO works.
Jun 19, 2019 16:01:43 #
Geegee wrote:
<SNIP>.. I usually set my shutter speed at 1/1,000 sec. and tell the flash to fire at 1,000 Hz.
I am sorry this does not make sense to me. Please elaborate.
Jun 19, 2019 18:40:55 #
JD750 wrote:
I am sorry this does not make sense to me. Please elaborate.
It does not make any sense to me either., 1000hz is 1000/sec or 1 per 1/1000 sec. How that could work with a focal plane shutter is a mystery to me.
Jun 19, 2019 18:49:07 #
kkayser wrote:
It does not make any sense to me either., 1000hz is 1000/sec or 1 per 1/1000 sec. How that could work with a focal plane shutter is a mystery to me.
I usually weigh the number of topics posted vs the overall number of posts to judge expertise in an answer to a question on the Hog. gvarner made the most sense & I've got it working now.
Jun 19, 2019 21:07:55 #
kkayser wrote:
It does not make any sense to me either., 1000hz is 1000/sec or 1 per 1/1000 sec. How that could work with a focal plane shutter is a mystery to me.
I think what he was referring to with 1000hz are the pulses from the flash. In high speed sync, the flash pulses thousands of times per second. I've never seen where that could be set. It's probably a routine that's in the firmware of the flash or camera. Maybe some flash units allow you to set that.
Jun 19, 2019 23:07:42 #
Fotoartist wrote:
Be sure to shoot on manual TTL.
Fotoartist isn’t that a contradiction in terms?
Did you mean manual and not TTL?
Jun 24, 2019 23:06:40 #
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