Pre flash on d200?

A quick question to current D200 owners:

I have a d70 and it has this annoying pre-flash, which I cant figure out how to turn off, and results with a lot of people with closed eyes when I use a flash (I mainly photograph weddings).

Does the D200 do this too?. if so does it do this with an SB800 fitted?

My D2Hs doesn't seem to do this with an SB-800 on it, so I was wondering if the D200 does?

I'm keen on getting a D200 rather than a d2X.... and this is a factor..

I'd be grateful for your replies...
Thanks, Jazz

When are they going to come out with replacable sensors......!!!!!

Jazzpioneer said:

A quick question to current D200 owners:

I have a d70 and it has this annoying pre-flash, which I cant
figure out how to turn off, and results with a lot of people with
closed eyes when I use a flash (I mainly photograph weddings).

Does the D200 do this too?. if so does it do this with an SB800
fitted?

Click to expand...

Yes it does. Theoretically you can turn the onboard flash off on the D200, but my experience indicates otherwise. In my opinion, the D200 is worse than the D70 in this regard. There is a gizmo that Nikon sells to block the preflash.

Check it out at

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home ;jsessionid=FvYwY3fXfy!1051679615!1159878704167?ci=1&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=RootPage.jsp&A=search&Q= &bhs=t&shs=SG-31R&image.x=7&image.y=11

It doesn't seem like a particularly elegant solution, but it's a solution.

Jazzpioneer said:

My D2Hs doesn't seem to do this with an SB-800 on it, so I was
wondering if the D200 does?

Click to expand...

I'm jealous.

Jazzpioneer said:

I'm keen on getting a D200 rather than a d2X.... and this is a
factor..

I'd be grateful for your replies...
Thanks, Jazz

Click to expand...

Good luck with you decision

--
Chris

The preflash is an must if using i-TTL. The preflash is there to first illuminate the area so that the camera can calcualte what settings should be used in your flash (amount of light and so on).

Only way to remove the preflash is to go from i-TTL to another mode or to use F-lock to lock flash value and then the flash does not have to preflash becuase you have already locked the setting.

This should not have anything to do with the camera you are using (d200, D70, D50, D2X, D2H or any other i-ttl/cls compatible camera).

--

Rickard Hansson

Manual or FV-lock. I've also noted it's less of a problem if the flash is off camera, e.g. on a flash bracket.

Rod

Chris Dubea said:

There is a gizmo
that Nikon sells to block the preflash.

Check it out at

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home ;jsessionid=FvYwY3fXfy!1051679615!1159878704167?ci=1&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=RootPage.jsp&A=search&Q= &bhs=t&shs=SG-31R&image.x=7&image.y=11

It doesn't seem like a particularly elegant solution, but it's a
solution.

Click to expand...

This is not to block the pre-flash! This is an IR-passing filter that blocks most of the visible light from the on-board flash. It is designed for using the on-board flash as commander, without affecting exposure.

Chris Dubea said:

Chris Dubea said:

My D2Hs doesn't seem to do this with an SB-800 on it, so I was
wondering if the D200 does?

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

If it isn't doing a pre-flash, it isn't doing iTTL, as previous poster has highlighted.

Chris Dubea said:

Chris Dubea said:

I'm keen on getting a D200 rather than a d2X.... and this is a
factor..

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

If you don't want pre-flashes and want TTL, get a Fuji S2 and a pre-digital Nikon flash (e.g. SB-28, 26, 25, 24). The S2 uses the reflectance off the sensor, like the film bodies did.

If you don't need TTL, just set the flash to auto- I don't even have a i-TTL compatible flash (still using SB-24) on my D200, and the exposures are fine. Or you could use completely manula flash (though at a wedding, you may lose a few shots, and the flash recycling times may be too long).

Jazzpioneer said:

I have a d70 and it has this annoying pre-flash, which I cant
figure out how to turn off, and results with a lot of people with
closed eyes when I use a flash (I mainly photograph weddings).

Does the D200 do this too?. if so does it do this with an SB800
fitted?

My D2Hs doesn't seem to do this with an SB-800 on it, so I was
wondering if the D200 does?

Click to expand...

You're seeing the difference in shutter lag and mirror movement time. The D70 is about 106ms, the D2hs is 37ms. The D70 is just slow enough to catch what are known as "early blinkers," a small subset of the population whose eyes react fast to sudden light changes. The D2hs is fast enough (with a single flash) to not trigger them. The D200 is about 55ms, and doesn't seem to trigger fast blinkers much, if at all. The D80 is 80ms, and starting to get back into the fast blinker range.

--
Thom Hogan
author, Nikon Field Guide & Nikon Flash Guide
editor, Nikon DSLR Report
author, Complete Guides: D50, D70, D100, D200, D1 series, D2h, D2x, S2 Pro
http://www.bythom.com

also use front curtain sync to minimise the preflash,using rear curtain sync with slow shutter speeds causes a noticable delay between preflash and the main flash.

I have been photographing high magnification insects on iTTL and wondered why the shots were out of focus, a quick test showed the insect jumped on the preflash, I now do it on manual - no problems.

AHHH - Thanks Thom - this makes more sense now, I was sure my D2Hs was on iTTL, but couldn't see two flashes.

Thanks for the reply, and, while we're talking, thanks for your excellent website and most helpful equipment reviews - they have helped guide a number of purchase decisions over the years.

Kindest regards,

Thomas Baker (AKA Jazz)
http://www.lookphotographic.com

This makes sense, but I found that after the D70 v2 firmware update, i had a LOT less of a problem with blinkers. It appeared that the delay is shorter but I don't know how that's possible as it's surely dependent on the mirror speed?

Dave