Shooting with flash


Riotbmx

Senior Member
So someone offered to give me an old Nikon flash that is compatible with my FE. I intend to get a cable for it so I can hit the subject from the side, is there a specific type I should be getting? And I'm not sure about the exposure compensation needed, would appreciate I anyone can share links for me to read up on that. What I want is just to isolate the subject from the background
 

Depending on the model of your flash, they might come with an auto mode. What you need to do is to key in your fstop and iso into your flash and it will provide an estimated fill-in. The cable you need is a sync cord. Should be an easy find in any photo accessory store.
 

The Nikon FE doesn't have TTL flash - the FE2 has it. Using a flash to provide side lighting will be a little tricky without a light meter. Luckily a decent flash light meter is fairly inexpensive. I bought my used Sekonic L-328 for ... eh ... maybe around S$120? The L-328 supports the use of a 5-degree finder for reflected readings as well.

If you were to use the flash's built-in auto control, you may find the result a little unpredictable. This is because the flash's sensor assumed a direct flash setup. For a flash without built-in auto control, you can use the guide number and use that to determine the f-stop setting. You can read about guide number here:

Flash Primer 3 - Understanding Guide Numbers

But again, if you are firing the flash from the side, even with the guide number, you'll still have very little control over the lighting ratio from both sides of the subject without a meter.

So, get a flash meter :-)

ls
 

The Nikon FE doesn't have TTL flash - the FE2 has it. Using a flash to provide side lighting will be a little tricky without a light meter. Luckily a decent flash light meter is fairly inexpensive. I bought my used Sekonic L-328 for ... eh ... maybe around S$120? The L-328 supports the use of a 5-degree finder for reflected readings as well.

If you were to use the flash's built-in auto control, you may find the result a little unpredictable. This is because the flash's sensor assumed a direct flash setup. For a flash without built-in auto control, you can use the guide number and use that to determine the f-stop setting. You can read about guide number here:

Flash Primer 3 - Understanding Guide Numbers

But again, if you are firing the flash from the side, even with the guide number, you'll still have very little control over the lighting ratio from both sides of the subject without a meter.

So, get a flash meter :-)

ls

Well described!:cool:
 

Harlo, just get a NIKON SB22 it works perfect whether TTL no TTL .
 

If you want to make it cheap just get Yongnuo YN560 MKII, but note its a single pin and will not signal you if the flash is ready.
 

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