Hi there guys, been using my D300 a couple of months now & all is great, really loving the pics etc...

I have a Nikon Speedlight SB-600 & don't seem to be able to get the flash to sync when using 6fps. I have got all the settings fine with the FP set on both camera & flash. The camera fires & so does the flash at first, but then the flash does its own thing. I wondered if the flash was up to the job & according to the manual it is, but so far it's extremely hit & miss. When I first set it up I had the flash 3-4 times fine, but now it s just gone a bit wonky...

Any suggestions gratefully recieved... ; )

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My guess (not owning either a d300 or sb600) would be that you're using a lot of the charge from the flash and it can't re-charge quickly enough. Have you tried turning the power down a bit?

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Paul is correct. as it won't charge quick enough to recharge the flash at full power. Reduce the power of the flash by selecting the minus key and reduce by 2 at least and might be more. After six shots it will need to recharge before trying again. Also, be aware that doing this too much could lead to the flash burning out. Check your flash manual and should provide you with all this infomation.

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SK
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OldBoy:

Paul is correct. as it won't charge quick enough to recharge the flash at full power. Reduce the power of the flash by selecting the minus key and reduce by 2 at least and might be more. After six shots it will need to recharge before trying again. Also, be aware that doing this too much could lead to the flash burning out. Check your flash manual and should provide you with all this infomation.

When shooting at 6fps there is no recharging time. All the firing should come from one storage capacitor charge. This is where a hammerhead flash and its large storage capacitor scores. I fit a Sunpak hammerhead  to my DSLR`s  300d, 10d, and 5d. The best of all naturally is the 5d , giving me 25 shots from one charge.  Strange thing is, when I fit my VIVITAR Hammerhead  it is erratic  regarding the sync, comes in then goes out.

Thanks guys, I turned down the power but have found little difference, the syncing is still eratic, the manual says it can do it, but in practice it seems not so, unless I'm being a real dufus...

I've checked & double checked, everything seems cool, i'll Google a bit for some more info...

Many thanks...

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pbux:

Thanks guys, I turned down the power but have found little difference, the syncing is still eratic, the manual says it can do it, but in practice it seems not so, unless I'm being a real dufus...

I've checked & double checked, everything seems cool, i'll Google a bit for some more info...

Many thanks...

Might have to use fully powered batteries.

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SK
The Best Photographer in the world 4th November - 5th November 2006 & 17th-18 November 2007
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pbux:

Thanks guys, I turned down the power but have found little difference, the syncing is still eratic, the manual says it can do it, but in practice it seems not so,

What exactly does the manual say? Either you're misunderstanding what it means by syncing or the manual is wrong (and it wouldn't be the first time...).

It is just not possible for a flash to fire at significant power at 6 fps from AA batteries for more than a couple of shots. If it could it would blow up

ETA: just saw you are using FP mode. What I said is doubly true for FP mode.

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The manual's not very clear on this point (to me at least).

There are two tables on the same page. The first is called 'Max. number of continuous firings' and tells you how many flashes (at 6fps) can be made before you need to switch the speedlight off to cool down. Using TTL or manual at 1/1 or 1/2 power it allows up to 15.

The second is called 'Synchronisation during continuous flash shooting (at 6fps)'. This says you can take up to 4 shots at 1/8 power, 8 at 1/16 and so on before you need to switch the flash off.

It looks as though you can only synchronise at 6fps continuous shooting with the flash set to manual (or only using low power). The section on repeating flash in the D300 manual will allow up to 2 flashes at 1/4, 2-5 at 1/8, and so on.

So there doesn't seem to be any option that allows synchronised or repeating flash at settings above 1/8 or 1/4. Which makes the reference to 15 full power flashes in the first table puzzling. Perhaps it makes sense to someone else?

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Sounds a load of cobblers to me. My 5D must be used at very low power for 20+ shots.

Eileen:

The manual's not very clear on this point (to me at least).

There are two tables on the same page. The first is called 'Max. number of continuous firings' and tells you how many flashes (at 6fps) can be made before you need to switch the speedlight off to cool down. Using TTL or manual at 1/1 or 1/2 power it allows up to 15.

The second is called 'Synchronisation during continuous flash shooting (at 6fps)'. This says you can take up to 4 shots at 1/8 power, 8 at 1/16 and so on before you need to switch the flash off.

It looks as though you can only synchronise at 6fps continuous shooting with the flash set to manual (or only using low power). The section on repeating flash in the D300 manual will allow up to 2 flashes at 1/4, 2-5 at 1/8, and so on.

So there doesn't seem to be any option that allows synchronised or repeating flash at settings above 1/8 or 1/4. Which makes the reference to 15 full power flashes in the first table puzzling. Perhaps it makes sense to someone else?

Nah - it's clear enough to me

Let's take the 2nd point first. I don't really understand electrics but water makes sense to me....

In your flash gun is a capacitor. It's a bit like a big tank of water with a ball valve in it. Any time it's less than full the valve opens and more water (power from the batteries) flows in. If the tank is empty then it takes about 4 seconds to fill it. The only way to speed this up is use a fatter pipe (the high speed charge socket) or pressurise the filler tank (more / more powerful batteries).

OK on to the flash bit. A full power flash = empty the tank and a 4 second wait to refill. Half power = half drained - you can squeeze off another flash "instantly" but then it will be empty. 1/4 power = 4 etc. There will come a point where the tank can refill in 1/6 second so that you can keep up with the motor drive but you won't get much flash for that.

As for why Nikon say 2 X 1/4 etc - either they are being conservative or some water sloshes out when you fire the flash. Probably both.

Back to the first part. Fire the flash at full power and it will take about 4 seconds to recharge. When you fire it, it gets very hot. When it's not firing it cools. The trick is you can recharge it faster than it cools. So fire as fast as you can and after shot 2 it is hotter than shot 1. Do that enough times and it will reach the point where it's so hot it will explode. That's a number over 15. And it's messy.

BTW - the 4 second thing? You can reduce this a bit by using fresh NiMHs, the 5th battery, an SD-8A etc. but you probably get the point.

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Just purchased a  cheap Nissin flash today. It has a quick set flash power 1 down to 1/32in six steps. it will fire at least 10 continuous at 1/32

Found my Magic Lantern guide to Nikon Speedlights finally (must tidy up more often ). It says essentially what you do Jonathan, and picks up on others' earlier comments also, but as it gives some specific pointers about the SB600 I thought I'd quote here for anyone who needs to know.

"In TTL and manual flash (at an output level of 1/1 and 1/2) the Speedlight can output a maximum of 15 flashes in a single sequence, and when output is reduced to below 1/4 it can output a maximum of 30 flashes. The maximum effective frame rate is determined by the recycling time of the Speedlight.

Note: The table published in the SB600 instruction manual implies that the SB600 can keep up with a camera at 6fps up to the maximum number of flashes quoted above. This is incorrect.

When the flash output level is reduced to 1/8 or less, and the SB600 is used in manual flash mode, it can sync with a camera cycling at up to 6fps. The maximum number of frames that can be shot with guaranteed synchronisation at this frame rate is (4 @ 1/8 power, 8 @ 1/16, and so on)."

 

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Eileen:

Note: The table published in the SB600 instruction manual implies that the SB600 can keep up with a camera at 6fps up to the maximum number of flashes quoted above. This is incorrect.

Jonathan who occasionally knows what he's talking about:

What exactly does the manual say? Either you're misunderstanding what it means by syncing or the manual is wrong (and it wouldn't be the first time...).

Well I never

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Nice one using the capacitor analogy Jonathan - makes for clear understanding. You should have chosen teaching as a profession. By the way, they are also to be found in many places in one's car most noticeably, the wipers. Capacitor full = discharge. Capacitor now empty = no wipers (capacitor charging). In short, Intermittent wipe.

Alan Ingham:

Nice one using the capacitor analogy Jonathan - makes for clear understanding. You should have chosen teaching as a profession.

Ah, no.

Mother = teacher
Father = teacher
Brother = professor of rhetoric (I still only have a vague grasp what this is)
Sister = teacher

Too many teachers, not enough rebels. I'm the youngest so it was down to me .

BTW I'd often wondered how intermittent wipers worked....presumably the interval adjust control just chokes the flow into the capacitor. I'll bet a variable resistor could do that - which if I remember O level physics is a bit like somebody standing on the pipe to fill my water tank

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