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10/11/2009 04:04:33 PM · #1 |
Hey everyone,
I'm new to using flash and trying to figure it all out.
I saw in a tutorial, a photographer change the mm on the SB 800... when i tried to get that portion selected on my SB 800 it wouldn't select... its stuck on 14mm.. sometimes i'll see it on 35mm... does that just change on its own? i'm using it off camera bouncing it off ceilings and walls ... i know this is possibly a stupid question.. but this flash stuff really boggles my mind.. maybe i'm thinking its too hard and making it more confusing then it is.
also... sometimes when i'm shooting in the dark my shutter speed will only let me go down to 1/15th... when i try to get it higher than that it won't let me... is that normal? |
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10/11/2009 07:35:24 PM · #2 |
I love the SB 800 and 600, but, since they will do so much, the menu/key selections are not intuitive sometimes. One of the best purchases I have made is This Book. It includes some very useful detailed instructions, but also near the front has a nifty menu/flow summary so you can see how to get where you want to go.
Depending on what you mean by off-camera (there are lots of ways to be off camera) the flash may be receiving information from your camera telling it what zoom level to be at. If you are in full manual, you should be able to adjust the zoom directly on the flash itself.
Seriously, buy that book. And then, keep it in your camera bag! I used the book, thought I had the stuff I needed "learned" and then a few weeks later I had to fumble around the menus for a few minutes because I (a) did not remember and (b) had left the book at home. You could just photocopy two or three pages of it to carry around, too. |
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10/11/2009 07:48:59 PM · #3 |
Originally posted by Maver:
Hey everyone,
I saw in a tutorial, a photographer change the mm on the SB 800... when i tried to get that portion selected on my SB 800 it wouldn't select... its stuck on 14mm.. sometimes i'll see it on 35mm... does that just change on its own? |
It won't zoom with that plastichead on. Don't know why :-/ |
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10/11/2009 09:51:28 PM · #4 |
Originally posted by BJamy:
Originally posted by Maver:
Hey everyone,
I saw in a tutorial, a photographer change the mm on the SB 800... when i tried to get that portion selected on my SB 800 it wouldn't select... its stuck on 14mm.. sometimes i'll see it on 35mm... does that just change on its own? |
It won't zoom with that plastichead on. Don't know why :-/ |
If you look on the underside of the flash head where the serial number is, there is a stop guard that keeps the flash diffuser from sliding down further than it needs too. Right above that there is a little push button that when the diffuser goes on it automatically sets the flash to 14mm. |
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10/12/2009 12:16:07 AM · #5 |
| Do you have any more details on what settings you're using when you can't go beyond 1/15? Manual/Aperture/Shutter/Program mode? This seems very odd to me that you can't change it... |
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10/12/2009 05:29:31 AM · #6 |
Originally posted by Dirt_Diver:
Originally posted by BJamy:
Originally posted by Maver:
Hey everyone,
I saw in a tutorial, a photographer change the mm on the SB 800... when i tried to get that portion selected on my SB 800 it wouldn't select... its stuck on 14mm.. sometimes i'll see it on 35mm... does that just change on its own? |
It won't zoom with that plastichead on. Don't know why :-/ |
If you look on the underside of the flash head where the serial number is, there is a stop guard that keeps the flash diffuser from sliding down further than it needs too. Right above that there is a little push button that when the diffuser goes on it automatically sets the flash to 14mm. |
That did the trick! |
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10/12/2009 11:40:02 AM · #7 |
| ok thanks everyone i figured it out.. i can change the zoom on my flash now.. so now all I need to know is when do i need to change the zoom.... does it depend on how far away I am from the subject? or does it depend on the focal length of my lens? i normally shoot with a 70-200mm F2.8, a 50mm F2.8 or my 18-200mm F3.5-5.6 |
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10/13/2009 03:27:51 AM · #8 |
Originally posted by Maver:
ok thanks everyone i figured it out.. i can change the zoom on my flash now.. so now all I need to know is when do i need to change the zoom.... does it depend on how far away I am from the subject? or does it depend on the focal length of my lens? i normally shoot with a 70-200mm F2.8, a 50mm F2.8 or my 18-200mm F3.5-5.6 |
Basically it will depend upon what sort of an effect you want to achieve. Zooming the flash will concentrate the strobe into a smaller area. This can be good in a number of situations but lighting is always about what you're trying to achieve, not a given solution.
If you are using a longer lens, yes, you will GENERALLY want the strobe zoomed. This way your light gets to your subject which is presumably farther away (this isn't always true though!). Secondly, if you want to use high intensity for a close subject to create a more dramatic effect, that too would require zooming. You can also further this effect through the use of snoots and grids on your flash (don't buy them just build them. Strobist has LOTS of great info on this). Snoots basically do the same thing as zooming with your strobe but grids will have somewhat softer light. Here is a really sweet link that enables you to compare the effects of various lighting mods. Visatek Lighting Mod comparison Please remember you can make these products on your own VERY easily so don't fret at the high cost. Some straws, cardboard and gaffers tape will do ya fine for making a grid. Get rid of the straws and you have a snoot. Gobo as you please...
Remember, there is also an auto-zoom function in the SB-800 so it will zoom to whatever focal length your lens is at if you want it to. As has already been said, the auto is overridden when the diffuser is used (strobe goes to widest possible).
Since you ask whether it should be for your subject or your focal length, it's both. The auto mode is just making assumptions (if you're taking a portrait at 200mm you're probably a ways off in order to frame the subject). It can be useful or a bane so just get used to its limitations. It's always in what effect you want to achieve. Zoom just contains the beam into a smaller target area given the same distance from the strobe. It concentrates it. |
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