D80 Auto ISO with Flash

Hi,

I have had my D80 for almost 2 months now. I like the Auto ISO feature a lot - so much so that when I turn on Flash and Auto ISO doesn't do anything, I'm quite dissapointed. I heard kenrockwell briefly mention this - I was wondering if it's just a bug in the firmware or has anyone figured out how to activate it with flash?

Thanks

I don't think the Auto ISO should be used with the flash, since the flash takes into account the camera settings and adjusts light output based on those consistent camera settings.

Let the flash do all the work.....I usually set my DSLR to Manual mode with 1/60, F5.6, ISO400 and the flash will do the rest. Of course change camera settings to best suit your sitaution.
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Quite spooky, because i tried auto iso for the first time just now and noticed exactly the same.

Oh well, shame but AUTO ISO is very usefull indeed !!

But what I'd like is for Auto ISO to work still, so that I can reduce the flash output, and let it get more exposure through a higher ISO - I'd rather have an image that has more noise than one that looks like a cheap P&S with flash (blackened background).

I noticed the same thing and asked the same question about a month ago but really didn't get an answer. I wondered if it was a bug in the firmware. Since then I just don't use auto ISO when I am using the SB-800.

LindaM

This probably has something to do with the fact that shutter speed may be forced to 1/60s or whatever you've set in the flash preferences menu, depending on whether you're shooting A,S or P mode when you shoot flash.

Okay everyone, after a little more fiddling, I've figured it out. Auto ISO and Flash DO WORK on the D80.

I have the 18-200 and zooming in all the way, the built-in flash can't handle it at 200mm (even when it automatically adjusts and shoots the most intensity, at 200mm, it just can't illuminate enough). So, that's when Auto ISO kicks in. So, the D80 adjusts the flash intensity first to get the desired amount of exposure, and then dials in the ISO.

Knowing this, here are our shooting options:

• let it do that Flash compensation, and then let it take over with the ISO compensation.
• manually set the ISO and the Flash, but by then you've probably already lost the composition if it's people
• manually set the ISO higher, and then the D80 will compensate the Flash lower (this seems to be a good way of doing it - at least like this you won't have to adjust the flash compensation as well - it will do it automatically). I've tested this method and it works as I want it, and probably as you'd want it too. It doesn't have that very black background that's typical of P&S cameras

LindaM said:

I noticed the same thing and asked the same question about a month
ago but really didn't get an answer.

Click to expand...

It's been answered several times on the forum, actually: when flash is active, Auto ISO will only kick in if the flash range is exceeded.

--
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

That's odd. In my D70s, both the built-in and SB800 can fully utilize the power of Auto ISO and the camera will boost ISO if the flash is maxing out...

Thom Hogan said:

LindaM said:

I noticed the same thing and asked the same question about a month
ago but really didn't get an answer.

Click to expand...

It's been answered several times on the forum, actually: when flash
is active, Auto ISO will only kick in if the flash range is
exceeded.

Click to expand...

Sorry, didn't mean to sound rude. This is one of those questions that gets asked every couple of days on the forum, sometimes multiple times a day. When multiple threads asking the question are present in the first couple of pages, sometimes one or more of the posts doesn't get answered.

--
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

Thom Hogan said:

It's been answered several times on the forum, actually: when flash
is active, Auto ISO will only kick in if the flash range is
exceeded.

Click to expand...

So how do we impress upon Nikon (and Canon) that Auto-ISO WITH balanced fill flash is important? Some of us are not contented with getting a full flash shots under these conditions when a bit of 'smarts' could be added and keep fill flash function intact. The groundwork is already there (bottom trip point for flash sync speed, and the camera knows the dialed in flash comp)... whiz-bang-boom... the camera knows if ambient is adequate for the base exposure and changes ISO based on hitting minimum sync speed. I would much rather have this than the current useless (for me) auto-ISO mechanization.

Now if they REALLY wanted to make me happy, they would set a top trip point for Auto-ISO ops as well. I would like ramp-up and ramp-down control of this feature. With both set-points in place, I could use this feature with my style of shooting. As is, forget it.

--
... Stalk Well ;-)

I didn't take it personally

I must have missed the question being asked and answered, but now I know...thanks

LindaM

Thom Hogan said..."when flash is active, Auto ISO will only kick in if the flash range is exceeded".

I fooled around with this and now I see "the light"

What was confusing me was the fact that the ISO number does not change on the speedlight; I thought it would or at least flash "auto ISO"

LindaM

Sorry to hear that, guys. I have used my D50 with auto ISO and flash to get better exposed background. That way, when I change the scene (I had fixed shutter speed at 1/30), the camera selects the least needed ISO automatically. Pity this function is missing from D80.

I must say, that after realizing that the Flash is utilized to the maximum before the ISO kicks up higher, I think this method is quite a good idea. This enables the use of speedlights (like the SB-600), and if you want more exposure, the flash will intensify. So, since most people bounce the speedlight or diffuse it somehow, adding more flash won't make the scene look bleached, but just add more light - a good thing.

Also, it's probably quite hard for the system to figure out in any reasonable amount of time the distance between the background and the foreground, and adjusting ISO rather than flash - the auto-exposure sees a lot of black in the scene and tries to compensate for it by flashing harder (if need by). This is where being a photographer comes into play - if you don't have a speedlight and you want more background in the images, you will have to manually set the ISO higher so the flash is set lower to compensate. We all get quite used to everything being automated for us (focus, exposure, ISO, flash intensity), that we stop using our brains and forget to take photography a little more seriously. Heck, that's why we got these nice cameras - for the options/adjustments available (it can't do everything automatically).