995 flash operation...

[Ron A81271]

Does the 995 internal flash emit a single flash when a pic is taken, or is there a quick pre-flash prior to the exposure flash?

Thanks!

 

[Emmanuel Muscat]

Does the 995 internal flash emit a single flash when a pic is
taken, or is there a quick pre-flash prior to the exposure flash?

Thanks!

I think that the 995 has a pre-flash because the 775 has.

 

[FJBrad]

Does the 995 internal flash emit a single flash when a pic is
taken, or is there a quick pre-flash prior to the exposure flash?

Thanks!

I think that the 995 has a pre-flash because the 775 has.

One of the advantage of the 9 CP's is that they don't fire a preflash. Most other DC's do fire a preflash, which, by the way, cannot be switched off. Nikons that fire a preflash are all non-9xx CPs. The exception is the red-eye reduction preflash on the 9's.

All Slaved flashes will work with 9's. DC's that fire a preflash require a slave flash that has some kind of delay circuit that, theoretically anyway, fires during the main flash and exposure. SRElectronics makes a full line of these specialty slaved flashes with delay function to ignore the camera's preflash.
http://www.srelectronics.com

Several other slaved flashes claim to have delayed firing, including Sunpak's Digital Flash (~$30-50). I've found that the sensor on these units is not very sensistive, either directionally or by intensity, and there is no control over light output. I can't vouch for the Sunpak's performance with a DC that fires a preflash.--FJBrad

 

[Ron A81271]

Does the 995 internal flash emit a single flash when a pic is
taken, or is there a quick pre-flash prior to the exposure flash?

Thanks!

One of the advantage of the 9 CP's is that they don't fire a
preflash. Most other DC's do fire a preflash, which, by the way,
cannot be switched off. Nikons that fire a preflash are all non-9xx
CPs. The exception is the red-eye reduction preflash on the 9's.

--
FJBrad

Wow, thanks for that valuable (at least to me) info!! My current camera, an Olympus C-3030Z, fires a pre-flash which, just as you said, cannot be turned off. Since most of my pics are of animals, primarily cats, what I end up with is a huge percentage of pictures of animals with their eyes partially or fully closed. I've had my eye on the 995 for a while now, and as long as it doesn't produce a pre-flash then that clinches it, I'm going to buy one pronto!! My C-3030Z is going up for sale!!

 

[FJBrad]

Does the 995 internal flash emit a single flash when a pic is
taken, or is there a quick pre-flash prior to the exposure flash?

Thanks!

One of the advantage of the 9 CP's is that they don't fire a
preflash. Most other DC's do fire a preflash, which, by the way,
cannot be switched off. Nikons that fire a preflash are all non-9xx
CPs. The exception is the red-eye reduction preflash on the 9's.

--
FJBrad

Wow, thanks for that valuable (at least to me) info!! My current
camera, an Olympus C-3030Z, fires a pre-flash which, just as you
said, cannot be turned off. Since most of my pics are of animals,
primarily cats, what I end up with is a huge percentage of pictures
of animals with their eyes partially or fully closed. I've had my
eye on the 995 for a while now, and as long as it doesn't produce a
pre-flash then that clinches it, I'm going to buy one pronto!! My
C-3030Z is going up for sale!!

Ron,

Since your shooting a moving subject (at least my cats are wildly kinetic), here's another little tidbit... the 995 will flash synch up to 1/2000 sec. For even more fun, check out CP guru Peter iNova's site ( http://www.digitalsecrets.net ) on wireless slave trigger by placing unexposed, developed E-6 film over the camera's flash. It means you can use the camera's flash to trigger your slaves without light from the camera's flash influencing the shot. Very cool. Great technique for lighting macro shots where your on board flash is very close to the subject and would burn it out without the flash filter.
--FJBrad

 

[Ron A81271]

Once again, thanks for the cool info!!!

 

[RalphM]

Red eye reduction on the 995 is in the form of a light beam rather than a flash. As stated earlier, the redeye reduction is switchable.

Keep in mind that the 995 is still a red-eye champ when using the on-board speedlite. You will get much more enjoyment out of it if you add an external flash with enough power to bounce off the ceiling.

--RalphMVirginia/USA

 

[Ron A81271]

Red eye reduction on the 995 is in the form of a light beam rather
than a flash. As stated earlier, the redeye reduction is
switchable.

Keep in mind that the 995 is still a red-eye champ when using the
on-board speedlite. You will get much more enjoyment out of it if
you add an external flash with enough power to bounce off the
ceiling.

--
RalphM
Virginia/USA

Thanks for the additional info. I do plan to buy a bracket and speedlight. I understand the SB50DX is an excellent choice for use with the 995.

 

[PatiO]

Here's a couple more tips for your animal shots. Use an auxiliary flash and some sort of a diffuser to eliminate burn out. Here's my setup and just one of a ton of samples. (SB-28 with a Micro Apollo light modifier on a Rollbar bracket.) HTH. PatiO.

 

[Robert Briggs]

How much increased flash EV do you typically dial in when using the deffuser? Thats a beautiful picture of your dogs. Do you remember the settings? Are you using TTL on the SB-28 flash? Thanks for any info you can give, PatiO.

Bob

ps. I have the Rollbar, SB-28 and cp995 like you, too. Still trying to get consistant flash outputs with external flash.

Here's a couple more tips for your animal shots. Use an auxiliary
flash and some sort of a diffuser to eliminate burn out. Here's my
setup and just one of a ton of samples. (SB-28 with a Micro Apollo
light modifier on a Rollbar bracket.) HTH. PatiO.

 

[PatiO]

Hello, Bob:

I get excellent results just setting the 28 to TTL and shooting in Auto mode on the 995. (The dogs were probably taken this way) This simple setting works very well for the vast majority of the 'snap' shots you will take of family and pets; etc. If you are within five meters or so of your subject, the 28 will light everything perfectly even with the soft box. There are other diffusers that bounce the light such as the Omnibounce line that work good. The reflector card on the 28 works about as well as anything I have tried in the bouncers. (Don't hit me for that, I admittedly don't use bouncers much.) I usually bounce from the ceiling or walls for larger scenes. I use the soft box straight on if I know I'm going to get in anyone’s face, so to speak. I do wish the front of the soft box would flip up to allow switching from straighten to ceiling bounce easier. (i.e.: Going from close-up to group shot and back.)

If I'm not using Auto mode, I use 'M' and set the shutter speed and f: to whatever the situation requires. For me, this was a matter of practicing for days and days. I think a +1 EV is the most I have added for the light box. I walked around the shop or house or office, wherever I was and filled up 128mb card after 128mb card. Many times I would not upload or save the shots, because they weren't 'keepers'. I would just review them in the LCD and reformat the card when it was full. The history mode in the 995 is excellent for this learning experience because you can see immediately what you need to do to improve the shot. The other feature I love is the zoom in the LCD review mode. I often zoom each and every shot to check the highlights and shadows to see if I am getting detail or not.

In the studio this all goes out the window because you have fixed distances, meters, reflectors; etc.
HTH. PatiO.

Bob

ps. I have the Rollbar, SB-28 and cp995 like you, too. Still
trying to get consistant flash outputs with external flash.

Here's a couple more tips for your animal shots. Use an auxiliary
flash and some sort of a diffuser to eliminate burn out. Here's my
setup and just one of a ton of samples. (SB-28 with a Micro Apollo
light modifier on a Rollbar bracket.) HTH. PatiO.

 

[Paolo 'PORK']

hi guys!!

sorry to butt in...i'm just a new nikon coolpix user!!i do have a cp990...i know it's kinda old...but i got it really cheap and bnew condition so i gave it a try...I'm now getting all the accessories i can get w it...i already gottn all the add on lenses exept the fish eye...all the brackets and filters...

The only acc i still don't have...is an external flash...I only use my sunpak slave units...i really don't understand the "TTL" w digicams? i'm planning to buy the sb-50dx this week...the sb28 is too expensive for me!

well...the guy from the shop is telling me that i don't have to buy a flash that is TTL coz my cp990 doesn't support TTL flash...(not like cp995)

Is it true that cp990 is not TTL like cp995?

What flash can u recommend?

i do have 3 as-10 w cords that are ready to fire...but no flash yet...hehe!!

is it better to buy a non-nikon flash?they say there are lower priced flash units that are "replica" of the sb-28 that only cost as much or lower than the sb-50dx?

what other flash can u recommend?

Tnx so much for ur reply!!Tnx a million!!

If I'm not using Auto mode, I use 'M' and set the shutter speed and
f: to whatever the situation requires. For me, this was a matter
of practicing for days and days. I think a +1 EV is the most I
have added for the light box. I walked around the shop or house or
office, wherever I was and filled up 128mb card after 128mb card.
Many times I would not upload or save the shots, because they
weren't 'keepers'. I would just review them in the LCD and
reformat the card when it was full. The history mode in the 995 is
excellent for this learning experience because you can see
immediately what you need to do to improve the shot. The other
feature I love is the zoom in the LCD review mode. I often zoom
each and every shot to check the highlights and shadows to see if I
am getting detail or not.

In the studio this all goes out the window because you have fixed
distances, meters, reflectors; etc.
HTH. PatiO.

Bob

ps. I have the Rollbar, SB-28 and cp995 like you, too. Still
trying to get consistant flash outputs with external flash.

Here's a couple more tips for your animal shots. Use an auxiliary
flash and some sort of a diffuser to eliminate burn out. Here's my
setup and just one of a ton of samples. (SB-28 with a Micro Apollo
light modifier on a Rollbar bracket.) HTH. PatiO.

 

[Miles69592]

The guy in the shop was wrong! You can use the 990 to control Nikon dedicated flash units, same as the 995. It's not exactly TTL there's a sensor to the side of the lens - sort of pseudo TTL. I'm still using my Olympus flash (on Auto) as a slave, so I can't help with recommendations. There have been many similar requests, try doing a search.

Hope this helps.

Miles

hi guys!!

sorry to butt in...i'm just a new nikon coolpix user!!i do have a
cp990...i know it's kinda old...but i got it really cheap and bnew
condition so i gave it a try...I'm now getting all the accessories
i can get w it...i already gottn all the add on lenses exept the
fish eye...all the brackets and filters...

The only acc i still don't have...is an external flash...I only use
my sunpak slave units...i really don't understand the "TTL" w
digicams? i'm planning to buy the sb-50dx this week...the sb28 is
too expensive for me!
well...the guy from the shop is telling me that i don't have to buy
a flash that is TTL coz my cp990 doesn't support TTL flash...(not
like cp995)

Is it true that cp990 is not TTL like cp995?

What flash can u recommend?

i do have 3 as-10 w cords that are ready to fire...but no flash
yet...hehe!!

is it better to buy a non-nikon flash?they say there are lower
priced flash units that are "replica" of the sb-28 that only cost
as much or lower than the sb-50dx?

what other flash can u recommend?

Tnx so much for ur reply!!Tnx a million!!

--Nikon e990; Olympus OM2nLondon U.K.

 

[Ron A81271]

Wow!!! Nice pic!!!!!!

And thanks for the info!

 

[PatiO]

He's right, the 995 and 990 both do TTL the same way. It is not actually Through-The-Lens. It is more Beside-The-Lens. It uses a light sensor beside the lens in the case of the 990 and a light sensor beside the flash tube on the popup on the 995.

Here are a couple of sites that list several flashes and brackets that have become popular with the CP9xxers.
http://www.rosensaft.com/ezra/cp_flashes.htm
http://www.rosensaft.com/ezra/cp_brackets.htm
HTH. PatiO.

 

[Robert Briggs]

Thanks PatiO,

I may need to use Auto mode more often to get consistant external flash results. I've been using Aperture Priority mode with TTL flash setting and its 65% right on and 35% either over or under exposed.

You may want to check those images a bit more in the computer you are only monitoring on the LCD panel. I've found the LCD is much more forgiving on exposure than the final result on your monitor screen or printed format.

When in TTL mode and Auto for the cp995 does it matter which f-stop you have the flash set on? I think that is overridden by the camera, right?

Thanks again for your response.

Bob

If I'm not using Auto mode, I use 'M' and set the shutter speed and
f: to whatever the situation requires. For me, this was a matter
of practicing for days and days. I think a +1 EV is the most I
have added for the light box. I walked around the shop or house or
office, wherever I was and filled up 128mb card after 128mb card.
Many times I would not upload or save the shots, because they
weren't 'keepers'. I would just review them in the LCD and
reformat the card when it was full. The history mode in the 995 is
excellent for this learning experience because you can see
immediately what you need to do to improve the shot. The other
feature I love is the zoom in the LCD review mode. I often zoom
each and every shot to check the highlights and shadows to see if I
am getting detail or not.

In the studio this all goes out the window because you have fixed
distances, meters, reflectors; etc.
HTH. PatiO.

Bob

ps. I have the Rollbar, SB-28 and cp995 like you, too. Still
trying to get consistant flash outputs with external flash.

Here's a couple more tips for your animal shots. Use an auxiliary
flash and some sort of a diffuser to eliminate burn out. Here's my
setup and just one of a ton of samples. (SB-28 with a Micro Apollo
light modifier on a Rollbar bracket.) HTH. PatiO.

 

[PatiO]

Thanks PatiO,

I may need to use Auto mode more often to get consistant external
flash results. I've been using Aperture Priority mode with TTL
flash setting and its 65% right on and 35% either over or under
exposed.

You may want to check those images a bit more in the computer you
are only monitoring on the LCD panel. I've found the LCD is much
more forgiving on exposure than the final result on your monitor
screen or printed format.

Right. If the image is an important one (money shot) I usually try to get a slight underexposure on the LCD, figuring I will bring it up in PS. Then I bracket the shot one up and one down. Then, when I have a few samples of what I want, I load them in the PC and check out everything. Usually framing and rotation come up 'short' at this stage. If all looks good, I go back and fire away.

When in TTL mode and Auto for the cp995 does it matter which f-stop
you have the flash set on?

Yes, I think it does, although I have never tested this.

I think that is overridden by the
camera, right?

I don't think so. Most of the real experts here say to set the 28 fstop the same as the camera. I always try to do this, but I'm not sure I always follow through during a complete session which can run to 300 or 400 images. I'll have to check myself next time and see how well I do.

Thanks again for your response.

Bob

If I'm not using Auto mode, I use 'M' and set the shutter speed and
f: to whatever the situation requires. For me, this was a matter
of practicing for days and days. I think a +1 EV is the most I
have added for the light box. I walked around the shop or house or
office, wherever I was and filled up 128mb card after 128mb card.
Many times I would not upload or save the shots, because they
weren't 'keepers'. I would just review them in the LCD and
reformat the card when it was full. The history mode in the 995 is
excellent for this learning experience because you can see
immediately what you need to do to improve the shot. The other
feature I love is the zoom in the LCD review mode. I often zoom
each and every shot to check the highlights and shadows to see if I
am getting detail or not.

In the studio this all goes out the window because you have fixed
distances, meters, reflectors; etc.
HTH. PatiO.

Bob

ps. I have the Rollbar, SB-28 and cp995 like you, too. Still
trying to get consistant flash outputs with external flash.

Here's a couple more tips for your animal shots. Use an auxiliary
flash and some sort of a diffuser to eliminate burn out. Here's my
setup and just one of a ton of samples. (SB-28 with a Micro Apollo
light modifier on a Rollbar bracket.) HTH. PatiO.