"remote" flash for Nikon d50 - DPChallenge Forums

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor 12-24mm f/4.0G IF-ED

02/17/2007 10:39:35 AM · #1

I went to the photo shops today to buy some reflectors or at least one reflector.
I also wanted to buy a flash. a very simple flash, the cheapest variant probably - only to be able to make better lighting.
I hate my lighting.
when I use window light as the main light and yellow IKEA lamps as fill light I get pictures with two perfectly separated and ideally different parts: one blue and one yellow. I can't make anything to improve it, even in PS.
so
I wanted to buy a flash.
but
they told me there is no flash that would work "remote" with my d50.
nothing actually works with this camera.
is that true?
we tried all possible flashes in the shop and none of them worked.
I am depressed.
:(

oh yes, and they didn't have small reflectors, only huge ones which I would have to hold in hands.
I am getting better and better at taking SPs, but taking them with a reflector in my hand would be a bit too complicated
:(

could you please recommend something? please?

jbsmithana

Nikon D300

02/17/2007 10:47:47 AM · #2

It is a fact that the D50 does not have a wireless Commander control built in to its onboard flash to control an off camera flash. You should be able to get that control using two flash units (a SB-800 and SB-600) I believe. You should alos be able to use a sender on the hot shoe to control off camera flash. Just going to cost more.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor 12-24mm f/4.0G IF-ED

02/17/2007 10:51:41 AM · #3

thank you!
I am sorry for a silly question, but what is a hot shoe?
they told me the only solution is to buy a wire to connect my cam and a flash and a box. I didn't wuite understand what box they meant:) something for remote use of flash I guess.
yes, 600 and 800 were the two flashes we tried.

oh, since I am complaining anout my camra now:), one more question:
is it normal that I get extremely much noise on iso 600, 800 and of course 1600? it's impossible to recover my night photos:( they are way too noisy!

Message edited by author 2007-02-17 10:55:14.

jbsmithana

Nikon D300

02/17/2007 10:56:56 AM · #4

The hot shoe is the connection on top of your camera where the flash unit attaches. The D70 and up use the on-board flash to "command" an off camera flash like the SB-800 or 600, the D50 does not. However, the SB-800 mounted on a D50 should be able to act as a commander for a few SB-600's. I also believe that the D50 does not have a remote connection for firing off camera flashes but I think they make accessory units that connect to the hot shoe to do this function. Someone else here may be able to give you more info on this.

Good luck. I have to go but will check this thread later.

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

02/17/2007 10:58:23 AM · #5

get yourself a SB-600 and one of these.

EBJones

Nikon D200

02/17/2007 10:59:32 AM · #6

You can also trigger the SB-800 optically. (The built in flash triggers the remote one.) I'm pretty sure that this isn't quite the setup your looking for, though. To trigger the SB-800 without using the built in flash, you need the hotshoe trigger. It works using an infra-red signal.

Guess I'm slow today! :)

Message edited by author 2007-02-17 11:01:10.

hsolakidis

Nikon D50

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

02/17/2007 11:03:33 AM · #7

I have a dinosaur age flash with this. It helps if you can set the flash level on the external flash but it's not necessary. Then use M mode on the camera, with the built in flash set to M mode and 1/16 power, if you don't want it to contribute to the exposure. If you do get an old flash (any flash with a hot shoe will do) DO NOT connect it straight to the camera, you may damage the camera.

Message edited by author 2007-02-17 11:05:51.

02/17/2007 11:11:50 AM · #8

oh, thank you for your advice!!
this is more complicated than I thought:)
ok, I need a 800 and that hotshoe trigger or two flashes: 800 on my camera so it can start remote 600 or 800 flashes.
now I just should calculate how much it all will cost me:)

02/17/2007 11:21:13 AM · #9

you really do not need a sb800, one sb600 with a SU-4 adaptor which cost about 80 dollars, It mounts to the bottom of the flash and fires the flash when the onboard flash on your D-50 fires, I used a set up like this til I purchased my D-200 now I use the built in commander to fire the flash, Unless I am using my D50 then I have to get out the SU-4 adaptor. You can get the SU-4 and SB-600 for less than the cost of 1 SB800

Originally posted by silverfoxx:

02/17/2007 11:23:37 AM · #10

oh! this is good to hear, they told me it's worth buying a new camera instead of spending money on that trigger and a flash.
thank you so much!!

agenkin

Nikon MF Nikkor 20mm f/3.5 AIS

02/17/2007 11:24:45 AM · #11

Originally posted by Bugzeye:

get yourself a SB-600 and one of these.

The SB-800 has the SU-4 module built in. For the price of the SB-600 and the SU-4, it may make sense to buy an SB-800 for the few extra bucks.

One thing to be aware off with using dumb optical flash triggers is that you won't be able to use TTL flash with them, because the pre-flash will set them off. You can use them with a flash in the manual mode, though. Or you can get a smart trigger, which costs quite a bit more.

The D50 *can* trigger an SB-800 wirelessly if you put the SB-800 into SU-4 mode, and the D50's on-board flash into manual.

agenkin

Nikon MF Nikkor 20mm f/3.5 AIS

02/17/2007 11:29:46 AM · #12

Did you consider buying a remote cord to use whatever flash you want off-camera? A used Nikon SC-17 cord can be bought for about $30 on ebay.

02/17/2007 11:31:23 AM · #13

oh my, what is ttl flash?
I always shoot in manual - will it help?
yay!!! it's great that d50 can trigger happy:) that flash.
I don't want a smart trigger. I can get away with a dull trigger as long as it is not expensive:)

a remote cord? probably, I just have to find out what it is first. just a second.

Message edited by author 2007-02-17 11:32:04.

ralph

Nikon Z9

02/17/2007 11:48:29 AM · #14

if you are just going to shoot manual
a nikon as15, sync cord and a cheap flash would work as well
(just make sure the flash is 'modern' and has a low sync voltage)

02/17/2007 11:56:31 AM · #15

Silverfox, Do you have any future plans to upgrade your camera? That is also something to think about when purchasing a flash, You may want to make sure whatever set-up you purchase will work with future camera choices.

FireBird

02/17/2007 12:03:07 PM · #16

Originally posted by silverfoxx:

they told me there is no flash that would work "remote" with my d50.
nothing actually works with this camera.
is that true?

not true
learn much here:

Strobist

If you get inexpensive flash triggers off of eBay then
you can use as many flashes off camera as you want.

Radio Remote Flash Trigger

These are cheap and only suited for amateur use. If you have money to burn then try out these:

Pocket Wizards

These are used by professionals. Either radio slave setup is superior to the flash/IR based setups because they are more reliable, especially outdoors, and add no extraneous light to the image. You can use the radio triggers with the canon 580 and many of the older Nikon flash units, SB24, SB25, SB26, SB28 etc. Sometimes you can find these units used for less than 100 bux in good condition. The only requirement for the flash is the ability to set it's output manually. There is a commercially available product that just came out:

Vivitar

The company just started manufacturing this old style
flash again due to the increased demand caused by
the Strobist site
and others.

Walt

agenkin

Nikon MF Nikkor 20mm f/3.5 AIS

02/17/2007 12:07:14 PM · #17

Originally posted by silverfoxx:

oh my, what is ttl flash?
I always shoot in manual - will it help?

A camera in TTL flash mode sends a short pre-flash to measure the falsh's effect on exposure, and then adjusts the flash output level accordingly, accounting for the camera settings. It does not matter whether your camera is in a manual, semi-program, or program mode.

Manual flash usage is a completely separate thing from the camera's manual mode - you need to learn to use flash that way, there are a few simple calculations and table look-ups involved. Nothing that cannot be done, of course, but you need to be aware of that. Of course, with digital cameras a trial-and-error method of manual flash adjustment is also quite viable, but it's better to understand what's happening.

02/17/2007 12:17:49 PM · #18

Brian (

bugzeye) I really would love to upgrade my camera, but I don't think it will happen soon:(

Walt (

fir3bird) thank you so much for the links! I will read them all now

I don't have money to burn:) but I have spent much more on my home made aluminium foil "reflectors" and white and black "backgrounds" than I would have spent for one lastolite reflector and a background. so now I want to get something which I would use longer than 10 minutes.

spasibo Arcady (

agenkin), I though manual camera and flash settings are the same thing. now I know. I am not adraid of learning:)

Message edited by author 2007-02-17 12:18:28.

digitalknight

02/17/2007 12:22:46 PM · #19

if you get a flash that you are triggering with your built-in flash, you may be sad to see that the built-in is giving too much light.

I found that a ping pong ball cut to fit over the built-in will diffuse the light and still trigger the other flash.

sometimes I used a piece of cardboard and taped it over 3/4 of the built in.

once I just blocked the whole flash with a white card, and the other flash still fired - that sensor is pretty sensitive, so you don't have to "blast" your set with light to get it to fire.

Good luck, I think you're going to love it.

Oh, also...
If you go to a store that sells stage lighting (for plays, concerts, night clubs, etc.) and ask them for a gel sample pack, they give you a pack of gels that are EXACTLY the size of a flash pack's light source. So if you are shooting with the yellow lamp and your flash, you can use a yellow gel to balance your flash to that color, or go with a blue gel to balance the scene between warm and cool, oh the fun you will have!

And finally,

The fact that you didn't know what a hot shoe is, yet consistently take photos far better than what I can even imagine is a very humbling thing to me. :-)

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

02/17/2007 12:37:31 PM · #20

not sure about the sb800 but the 600 comes with a diffuser that sits in the hotshoe on the camera and you can flip it up or down depending on how much of the built in flash you want in the photo.
But the ping pong ball method works just the same.

Originally posted by digitalknight:

fotomann_forever

02/17/2007 01:02:26 PM · #21

Svetlana, this may sound contradictory to what you think... but for the price of getting a flash (such as the SB600 or 800) and the ability to use it off camera, you can likely buy a single head (maybe even two) strobe kit.

Monolight strobes can be had quite inexpensively. And from what I've seen of your work think they would suit you more.

Just a thought.

ATAPE

Nikon D70

02/17/2007 01:07:16 PM · #22

I have a question.

How does the built-in wireless Commander control work on the D70? Does it work with a SB80-DX?

02/17/2007 01:08:29 PM · #23

digitalknight Doug:) hehe, thank you!
and thank you so very much for the idea about the gel!! I'm not quite sure I know any shops you were talking about here but I can use anything blue in front of my lamps so I can get white color!!! yohoo!

oh, what is a strobe?? *off to search google* :

fotomann_forever

02/17/2007 01:12:16 PM · #24

Originally posted by silverfoxx:

oh, what is a strobe?? *off to search google* :

Studio style flashes... not quite as portable as flashes, but more powerful and more versatile in the amount of light modifiers available for them.

An example

Message edited by author 2007-02-17 13:14:43.