TTL flash with remote flash for Nikon

I finally bought the Nikon d40x for my friend's daughter and got a
great price of $660 with a 2 GB SD card and no shipping. Now I am
waiting for the D200s to come down for me.

However, I was reading the Strobist blog and learned some interesting
things but I don't understand what it takes to have two remote flashes
with full control going through the camera. I have an F5 with the
SB28 flash but will soon have a D200.

On the Strobist they talk about cheap remote receivers and "senders"
but they say you have to use manual mode. Who wants manual mode? I'd
rather it be fully automtic with an option to override.

What does is take for the F5 or the D200 to have 2 remote strobes set
off by radio signal and then still getting TTL decision making?

Alan

 

Nikon doesn't use radio signals to communicate with their
speedlights. For fully automatic operation (Nikon's CLS), your
D200' flash can control multiple SB-600 and SB-800 speedlights using
Nikon's i-TTL mode. When used with the F5, you lose i-TTL mode.
See the SB-600 and SB-800 manuals to see which of the other TTL
modes are compatible with the F5. Links to these manuals can be
found at :


http://support.nikontech.com/cgi-bi...qid=13948&p_created=1143233777&p_sp=undefined

Note: Although you didn't mention it, if your friend's daughter ever
wants to use the D40x to control remote speedlights, she'd need to
get multiple speedlights, at least one being an SB-800, which can be
used as either a master flash or a remote flash. The SB-600 can
only be used as a remote flash, not a master. Unlike the D200, the
D40x's flash can't control remote speedlights. For that
functionality you'd need to mount an SB-800 in its flash hotshoe,
and that flash could then control remote SB-800s and SB-600s. The
smaller SB-400 can also be used as a remote, but it's much more
limited and has a manual that leaves a lot unsaid.

 

i don't know about radio signalling solutions, but the d200 has i-ttl,
otherwise known as the nikon creative lighting system, and all you need
is are nikon sb600 or sb-800 flashes for remotes. your d40 also
supports i-ttl but its internal flash can't act as a commander; you'd
need an sb-800 in its hotshoe to control the remote flashes.

 

The D200 works nicely in i_TTL with the camera in Commander mode and the
on-camera flash firing remote SB600 or 800's. However, if you are like me,
you probably have some other flash units in your collection and would like
to utilize them. You may want to do some checking, but I have read the SB28
does not work in TTL on digital cameras, but will work in A-mode (Nikon
created the SB28DX for this reason). The cheap wireless receivers and
triggers you have read about are probably the Cactus V2s model found here:
http://www.gadgetinfinity.com/home.php This business also sells via Ebay.

I have just ordered the trigger, which comes with one receiver, and an extra
receiver for a 285HV now sitting on my shelf. Hopefully, I can give you
some feedback on this wireless setup in the next week or two. If time is
short, do a Google search to check out responses ( I found some reads on
DPReview and I believe on the Nikonian site.

 

When I bought the F5 and the SB28, I was sure that it would be able to
handle multiple flashes and control the amount of light. However,
here is a huge disadvantage of film. If you want to increase or
decrease the light coming from the remotes, you can't know what it
will look like until the printws come back. With digital you can
continuously change.

My son got married a few months ago and the pictures from the two
D200s that the photographers had took just incredible pictures. The
lead photographer who took the arranged wedding party pictures before
the wedding used a Mamiya or a Bronica, I'm not sure. The day was
perfect, not a bright sun and the bridesmaid's dresses were purple
which showed up so well among all the green fro the trees and grass.

As far as the D40x, the SB800 has to be ontop of the camera or can it
be connected to a super bracket, or whatever that thing was called and
the bracket had a piece that went into the camera's hot shoe?

Wait till I tell my friend she has to pay $300 plus for a flash.
Actually, I think the SB28 cost me $350 9 years ago. I am really
surprised that the F5 cannot control more than one flash.


Alan

 

Internal flash? It has a pop up flash? what about the D40x?

 

Bos, how do you know what settings? and...what do you do if you have
an F5 with no digital preview window?

 

the d200 and d40/d40x both have internal pop-up flashes. the d200 can
control other remotes with it, while the d40/d40x can't.

 

for fully automatic flash, you will need a nikon sc-28 or equivalent
cable:

<http://www.nikonusa.com/template.php?cat=1&grp=257&productNr=4765>

 

Really? I had no idea that either of them had built in flashed but I
am surpised that the D200 has a pop-up flash. What about he D80? Is
that the same as the D200, as far as flashes?

 

Not sure about the oomph in the popup flash compares, but it definately
does work in commander mode. I can use my D80 popup to fire my SB600
flash remotely. Nice feature! Takes a minute of digging in flash and
camera menus to set it all up though.

Martijn

 

Trial and error as the Cactus trigger is only an IR trigger/receiver and my
285 isn't TTL. Since I'm digital this isn't a problem. With a TTL remote
flash, the flash should adjust automatically. I will be trying this out
with my SB-600. I didn't want to spend a lot of money purchasing a third
iTTL speedlight, nor did I want to dabble in IR with the more expensive
Pocket Wizard remote setup.

 

SB800 and D200 & D80

I have used my D80 as well as my D200 with several remote SB800 flashes on numerous occasions. The only downside is line of sight requirement to trigger remotes. It is an IR signal as opposed to radio signal. I have, however noticed that if I set the SB800 to SU mode instead of remote mode that i can get a flash from it when it detects other flashes firing.This is handy when the fill light flash is behind an umbrella or around a corner. I have heard fo people bouncing the IR beams but have not tried it myself.