Flash Photography with Nikon F3

As a day is separated by a day and night. It is advisable to develop some good knowledge in your camera's flash capabilities. Of course, you have to be creative enough to explore potential with features that have already been embedded inside to serve you whether it is in a broad daylight or pure darkness.

If you are using a Nikon F3/SB-16A combination OR by way of the new flash coupler AS-17 with Nikon TTL flash with standard ISO type accessory shoe: As soon as the LED ready-light comes on the flash is ready to fire. If you depress the shutter button halfway, you'll notice that the LCD displays 80 indicating that the proper synchronization speed of 1/80 sec. has been automatically set by the Speedlights The ready light at the back of the SB-16A can also be used to determine the status of the flash charge.

In a flash photographic operation, a ready light will light up when a flash unit is charged and flickers when the setting is beyond the camera's sync range or flash mounting foot is insufficiently installed, poorly contacted OR the ASA dial is set at a film speed that is beyond the manufacturer's range recommendations. Although most modern flash units should provide this minimal feature in a flash/camera design but NOT all flash units will have this feature. Depending on which Nikon flash unit is attached and which camera model (It is easy, first check the camera has another extra flash contact other than the main X-sync contact on the accessory shoe), the same LED blinks to warn of insufficient flash output. incorrect setting of the flash unit or incorrect setting of the Nikon F3.

The non-standard accessory of Nikon F3 is fitted with a simple construction of a hot shoe contact, a ready light contact and TTL AUTO flash signal contacts. The last reserved contact was not been utilized until now. The tiny contacts, as shown with this 18 years old and well-worn F3 Titan may have some contact efficiency problems.

Anyway, as far as flash capabilities are concerned, what is available with Nikon F3 should be more than sufficient to serve a hard working photographer and it has some very nice features designed (Like auto set sync speed) to prevent users from making mistakes in flash photography. Other than the dedicated hot shoe, the PC terminal in front of the camera can also act as a flash direct connection. You can use a sync/cable flash both in auto or manual mode - but NOT in TTL flash because it needs those dedicated contacts in the hotshoe to communicate with the flash.

To use flashbulbs or a manual-only flash unit with PC cord (or an electronic flash unit without a hotshoe contact), you can use the camera's sync terminal to trigger the flash, sometimes the PC terminal is also referred as the X-Contact. The F3's sync terminal with a protective screw-in cover, accepts all standard plug-in PC cords. It is also threaded for use with a Nikon screw-in PC cord.

Relationship Between Camera's Meter, Ready-Light Indication and Shutter Speed

Shooting mode selector	Shutter speed dial Setting	Camera's exposure meter
		On
		Ready-light	LCD indication	Actual shutter speed (sec.)
A *	All except mechanical speed of 1/60 sec, T and B	lights up	80	1/80
M	1 /2000 - 1/ 125 sec	lights up, flickering	1/125 **	as set
M	1/60 - 8 sec	lights up	as set	as set

* Because automatic exposure modes are cancelled as soon as the flash unit is turned on, you should determine the proper aperture earlier.
** + and/or - indication on "M" disappears as soon as the flash unit is turned on.

Shutter Speed (Sec.)

1/2000

1/1000

1/500

1/250

1/125

1/60

1/30

1/15

1/8

1/4

1/2

X (1/80)

Speedlight

Flashbulb

Useful accessory:- Nikon original Flash couplers for various flash models foot incompatibility

During the early years, the mid eighties, the Nikon F3 had a few dedicated flash units to offer (SB-12, SB-17, SB-16A etc.) for its TTL flash operation. Many other flash units developed by Nikon are not able to operate in TTL mode on the F3 due to incompatibility of the flash mounting foot. (In most cases, only auto, manual and in some cases, secondary features such as flash ready light and auto sync speed setting are still able to function when used on a F3). The clue is at the contacts at the mounting foot of the flash unit and the electrical contacts on top of the camera's accessory shoe. Updates: The new flash coupler AS-17 mentioned earlier on the index page resolves most of them problems for TTL flash with standard ISO flash mounting feet onto a Nikon F3 and retaining full features. You can select your choice to find out which of these direct mount* dedicated flash units best suit your requirements by going to the respective sites in PIM: SB-11 | SB-12 | SB-14 | SB-16A | SB-17 & SB-21A. * Comes with Nikon F3's dedicated mounting foot without the need of any adaptor or flash coupler.

Note: Although Nikon has warned the use of third party flash units may cause abnormalities to the IC circuitry, I have not experienced anything like that with mine. The hotshoe and the PC terminal were grounded to take electrical shock, maybe they were being designed too well, ha ! Units having a high voltage synchro circuit may affect shutter speed precision in certain cases. When using a special electronic flash unit that has provision for time lag, adjust the shutter speed down to 1/60 sec. or slower according to the time lag. Some AF Nikon flash units still permit you to use the Nikon F3 while retaining TTL flash function and other secondary features such as flash ready light signal.

Nikon F3/Speedlight Combination Chart Note: Nikon has produced many speedlights over the years (More and faster than I was a changing girl friends during younger days.. hehe..), it is impossible for me to keep track of each and every unit and their compatibilities with other camera models. You may also mail in your experience with each combination to compile an updated listing here for all of us to share.

model	Connection	ready-light	Auto Sync speed (1/80)	Usable flash modes	With AS-17
SB-28	via AS-4, AS-7 or AS-17	provided	yes		TTL, auto, manual
SB-27	via AS-4, AS-7 or AS-17	provided	yes	Manual, AUTO, TTL	TTL, auto, manual
SB-26	via AS-4, AS-7 or AS-17	provided	yes		TTL, auto, manual
SB-25	via AS-4, AS-7 or AS-17	provided	yes		TTL, auto, manual
SB-24	via AS-4, AS-7 or AS-17	provided	yes		TTL, auto, manual
SB-23	via AS-4, AS-7 or AS-17	provided	yes	Manual	TTL, manual
SB-22	via AS-4, AS-7 or AS-17	provided	yes		TTL, auto, manual
SB-21A	direct	provided	yes		TTL, auto, manual
SB-21B	via AS-4, AS-7 or AS-17
SB-20	via AS-4, AS-7 or AS-17	provided	yes		TTL, auto, manual
SB-19	via AS-4, AS-7 or AS-17	provided	yes	auto	TTL, auto, manual
SB-18	via AS-4, AS-7 or AS-17	provided	yes	TTL, manual	TTL, auto, manual
SB-17	Direct	provided	yes	auto, manual, MD	TTL, auto, manual
SB-16A	Direct	provided	yes	auto, manual, MD	TTL, auto, manual
SB-16B	via AS-4, AS-7 or AS-17	provided	yes	TTL, auto, manual, MD	TTL, auto, manual
SB-15	via AS-4, AS-7 or AS-17	provided	yes	TTL, auto, manual, MD	TTL, auto, manual
SB-11/14	via SC-11 sync cord	not provided	no	auto, manual	TTL, auto, manual
SB-11/14	via SC-13 sensor cord	provided	yes	auto, manual	TTL, auto, manual
SB-12	Direct	provided	yes	manual	TTL, auto, manual
SB-10	via AS-4, AS-7 or AS-17	provided	yes	auto, manual	TTL, auto, manual
SB-7E	via AS-2 coupler	not provided	no	auto, manual	TTL, auto, manual
SB-6	via SC-6 sync cord	not provided	no	manual	TTL, auto, manual
SB-6	via AS-2 with SC-9 extension cord (w/SU-1)	not provided	no	auto, manual	TTL, auto, manual
SB-E	direct	provided	yes	auto	TTL, auto, manual

Useful Quick Summary: AS-3 Couples Nikon F/F2-dedicated Speedlights to hot shoe of Nikon F3 series cameras. While AS-4, AS-7 and AS-17 may convert all flash with standard ISO-type mounting foot to be used on Nikon F3 - in most cases, only AUTO and manual flash will be usable.

In the Instruction Manual for Nikon F3 camera, Nikon warns "... in flash photography, even with the coupler, Nikon speedlights SB-19, SB-18, SB-16B or SBE CANNOT be used with a Nikon F3 camera when a finder other than the standard DE-2 or DE-3 High Eyepoint Finder is used. " - Do me a favour, find out and tell me how much truth are there in the claim ? I have a few optional finders but I don't have any of those flash units with standard ISO-type mounting foot...

errata - It would interesting to determine if this restriction is a result of the physical limitation of mounting these units with oversize and vertical finders or whether there is something else Nikon had in mind... Allan M Purtle.

Is TTL the fail safe answer to your flash problems ? A difficult question to answer as there are many factors that can affect accuracy. But generally, you have to make sure the maximum flash-to-subject distance does not exceed the flash working range. Secondly, dealing with a small proportion of subject matter in the picture frame with an open background could be tricky to get correctly exposed pictures (Most of these have been patched up in newer multi-segment flash metering systems in the current AF SLRs). Anyway, the manual flash option is always here to supplement the popular automatic or TTL modes - If you think of certain situations where manual flash mode can yield a more precise result.

What does the 'dedicated' flash mean ? Take the example of a Nikon SB-12 flash unit, flash photography couldn't be easier. All you have to to is to slide the unit onto the F-3's accessory shoe, and the ASA in use is automatically programmed into the SB-12. When you turn on the power, the F3 will automatically set the sync speed to 1/80 even if you have made a mistake by setting the camera to any speed higher than the maximum sync speed; when the flash unit is charged and ready to go, a red LED lights up in the F3's finder. Now, just select your f-stop from the wide range shown on the unit's indicator dial, and shoot. The light output is adjusted automatically for electronically-accurate exposures. If you choose too small an f-stop, the F3's ready-light will blink after you shoot, warning you of a possible exposure error due to the flash reaching its maximum output. Further, a dedicated flash like a SB-12, SB-16A or SB-17' has a battery-saving thyristor circuit giving from 160 to hundreds more flashes with just 4 penlite batteries, with recycling times from about 8 seconds to under 1 second according to distance and aperture. With ASA 100 film and a f2.0 lens you can shoot at distances from close-up to more than 40 feet away. Basically, a dedicated unit has some special program functions to offer you dedicated functions or give you the best of power efficiencies when you couple and use them together. Some of these 'dedicated functions' may still be retained even if you are not able to use them in TTL or AUTO mode. Just for an instance, a mechanically operated Nikon FM2(n) may not be able to offer TTL flash when used with a 1982's SB-15 but it retains the flash ready light feature. For flash units with professional capabilities, you can select three handle or bracket flash models which provide TTL flash other than auto and manual mode. The most powerful being the Nikon SB-11 and slightly more compact SB-14 which both have various power sources for rapid sequential shoots and fast recycling time, which is a MUST in news photography. Other than it offering a powerful ASA/ISO 100 36 (up to about a 60 foot reach at f2.0; 32 for SB-14, plus tilting reflector for bounce flash and quick-release bracket for off camera lighting, including closeups. Automatic through-the-lens flash metering with the Nikon F3 is provided via the accessory cord SC-12. With accessory Remote Sensor SW-2/SW-3 (SW-5 for SB-14), both units give accurate aperture automation in both direct and bounce modes with other Nikon cameras. SB-14 has a wider flash coverage to cover 24mm lens than SB-11's 28mm with respective wide flash adaptors. The SB-14 UV-IR is a specialized unit for shooting UV photography. How does the handle flash compare with older Nikon workhorse auto thyristor units such as Nikon Speedlight SB-5 ?

You can refer to this section for some possible combinations of application and possible usage to maximize the capabilities of your SB-11/SB-14. Illustrations were based on the SB-5 but most are applicable with the dual flash units of SB-11/SB-14 with the extra benefit of providing an accurate TTL flash exposure control. Well, Nikon has another specialized flash in repeating flash - the mighty high powered SB-6 Repeating Speedlight which may also be used with the Nikon F3 via coupler AS-3. While through-the-lens flash metering and viewfinder indication are exclusive with many of the flash units such as early Nikon SB-11, SB-14, SB-12, SB-17, SB-16A . F3's PC Terminal also permits use of standard cord-type flashes. Although in flash photography, Nikon F3 offers a high degree of accuracy with its TTL flash exposure control capability and versatility, but during those early days of F3, it was not as convincing as there were only limited choices of two dedicated Nikon TTL thyristor units in either a portable SB-12 or powerful but very bulky handle flash SB-11. The full potential of TTL flash capability in the Nikon F3 camera was eventually realized over time - especially with popularity gained on mid-compact Nikon bodies like the FE-2 and Nikon FA - which also offered TTL flash exposure control. The key to gaining popularity with TTL flash and F3 was, somehow related to two flash units in SB-16A and the compact SB-17. These two flash offer thoughtful system versatility and features functions that extend the F3's flash capability. • The TTL flash offers for the F3, in short - provided greater depth-of-field control. Lens apertures are continuously adjustable even between f-stops over a much wider range than with conventional thyristor units.

• It has a more superior exposure accuracy than auto flash systems. The F3's SPD meter cell actually reads the light reflected from the film-plane image during exposure. It works automatically with direct flash, bounce flash*, wideangle and tele lenses, filters, tele converters and close-up accessories - all without special exposure compensation. It does not react to spurious reflections outside the actual picture area (as can happen with other auto flash systems when shooting with a telephoto lens).

• It is faster with fewer possible user errors. Automatic camera/flash data exchange eliminates the need for separate flash programming or adjustments. . . and the in-finder LED signal automatically confirms exposure accuracy.

* Electronic flash produces a colour temperature of around 6,000 degrees Kelvin. They are generally considered to have the same photographic effect as daylight. Filters on the camera or over the flash unit can be used to alter the colour if necessary.

However, whatever good points it brought to flash photography, one of the set backs for an early acceptance was: Most users generally were still sceptical about the Nikon F3's proprietary flash shoe coupler, which has a non ISO standard accessory shoe. Similar proprietary accessory shoe design was also used on the earlier F & F2 models (But it is not compatible with the F3, you need to use a flash coupler in order to use flash designed for respective cameras on one another).

No one can answer why Nikon still retained the F2 accessory shoe design, although commercially it can be profitable (As users may suspect third part flash units may result in some compatibility problems), but in a competitive market place, the advantage has turned out to be your weak points, further, being designed as a professional camera body, you need to keep on maintaining the support with the numerous accessories that have a lesser appeal to many users that have opted for components that use a common standard such as ISO standard.

Just use the case of F3's accessory shoe design, I keep wondering if, before Nikon decided to retain the design used in earlier models of F and F2s, did they actually take into consideration the inconveniences it posed, like a frequent operational step such as changing film ? Yes, as with earlier F series models, the F3 would require you to unmount a flash before you can change a new film roll ! However, Nikon eventually solved this problem by designing a new flash coupler AS-7 that can plug into the PC terminal in front of the camera and secured lock-on to accessory shoe. TTL feature is retained - except in the case of changing film speed setting of the camera (But the AS-7 does have an ASA/ISO film speed scale).

Next, just as the traditions of Nikon SB-7E and SB-8E design introduced during the late seventies, which both were the same flash unit with two mounting foot for Nikon F2s and standard ISO design for cameras such as the Nikkormat, similar concept were carried forward to the Nikon F3 era. So, similar flash units will have to be produced in two versions: one for the F3 with the dedicated flash mounting foot and another for other Nikon bodies that come with standard ISO type accessory shoes.

Thus, the SB-16 has two flash couplers, AS-8 for the F3 and AS-9 for flash with standard ISO hot shoe, So does the SB-15/SB-17 combinations.

(Note: SB-16A is actually a SB-16B with Nikon F3's mounting foot; while the SB-17 is the Nikon F3's dedicated version of the SB-15. Spec sheets for both versions are 'virtually' identical.)

But whatever the reasons, Nikon provides (Like Red-eye phenomenon etc..), the very well-spec SB-16A, but it has no ergonomics what so ever. Doubtful of what I said ? Just look at the left hand side....

Can it be made more compact while retaining such high performance ? Why not ? They should take a look at the Olympus T32 that has similar output of guide number 32. Anyway, I have to agree the SB-16's flash module is even more flexible with its full 360 degree movable head, with full zoom, bounce, tilt, TTL, Auto, manual, MD and a delightful secondary fill flash. But the most interesting aspect of TTL for SB-16/SB-17 is hiding in its ability to perform multiple flash setup as both units have an additional TTL sync terminal other than standard sync socket for normal AUTO and manual flash. Using up to 5 Nikon Speedlights, you control the intensity of back, rim and background separation lighting. The amount of light produced by each flash is usually set manually. Speedlights are usually positioned so that there is a main flash and secondary flash units. If you choose an automatic exposure mode, standard TTL is your best choice since it will allow the different intensities of light to affect the photo.

		Cannot be used
		Synchronized