Adding a strobe (or 2). How does the camera know?

[smoore]

I am using dual S2000 strobes and when I am shooting fish that spook easily and will turn away I use manual. The delay in using sTTL doesn't allow me to catch the picture I have framed. For static subjects or predictable subjects I like sTTL. The delay caused by sTTL is not nearly as bad as the shutter lag on my old C5060 but it is enough to mess up pictures of skittish critters.

 

[Nemrod]

Stuart, you are correct, I momentarily confused myself, yes, use the pre-flash selection switch per the instruction manual to select the no pre-flash mode on the strobe. Set you camera for no pre-flash in the internal menu for no pre-flash in Auto (Av/Tv). This will allow you to run between Manual strobe and Manual camera or Auto strobe and Auto camera or Manual camera and Auto strobe modes. Selecting Program will probably default your camera to pre-flash so you will need to reset your Z240 if using it in Auto mode but in s-TTL mode the strobe will also default to pre-flash (no need to select on the strobe with the switch).

Yes, I think you understand. I keep thinking for some reason the pre-flash switch on the Z is a rotary switch because you push it and then turn it to lock it, my memory failing me on that, sorry for the confusion.

N

 

[Nemrod]

Yeah, Alex Mustard probably just needs to use technology to get better photos.
His old world manual style just doesn't cut it anymore.

Yes, and I might give my right hand, well, uh, maybe a bit of a finger, for a simple auto mode and manual mode digital still camera and matching strobe set along the lines of the old Nikonos III which I shot for like 20 years or more. And I will stick with what I said and say it again, the Auto exposure modes on modern digital cameras and strobes are very useful and for anyone other than the most experienced and gifted lensmen and women will result in more good quality photos/results than dinking around with full Manual operation on the camera and strobe.

It is not as if you cannot adjust the exposure in Auto modes by plus/minus two stops or more on most cameras and on the strobes by adjusting the f-stop (power) setting. I do not simply match the strobe f-stop to the camera f-stop and shoot, I adjust it as I go to achieve the results I need. And sometimes I do shoot Manual often leaving the strobes in Auto. That way the strobes control the near exposure and the camera setting I choose controls the background exposure. I do not know how many times on these forums folks have been told to shoot Manual only, and I simply disagree with this blanket advice for most folks regardless of who does what differently.

There is more than one way to skin a cat, though to the cat the end result is the same, a good photo is a good photo regardless of what settings were used to achieve it.

Changing subject slightly, yes, the s-TTL is slower than Manual, Auto is, however, really is not if the pre-flash is de-selected.

N

 

[KeithG]

Stuart, you are correct, I momentarily confused myself, yes, use the pre-flash selection switch per the instruction manual to select the no pre-flash mode on the strobe. Set you camera for no pre-flash in the internal menu for no pre-flash in Auto (Av/Tv). This will allow you to run between Manual strobe and Manual camera or Auto strobe and Auto camera or Manual camera and Auto strobe modes. Selecting Program will probably default your camera to pre-flash so you will need to reset your Z240 if using it in Auto mode but in s-TTL mode the strobe will also default to pre-flash (no need to select on the strobe with the switch).

Yes, I think you understand. I keep thinking for some reason the pre-flash switch on the Z is a rotary switch because you push it and then turn it to lock it, my memory failing me on that, sorry for the confusion.

N

like ttl, external auto works in certain situations, but is a total failure in others.

external auto uses an optical sensor on the strobe to detect light bouncing back from the subject (or anything else). this feature makes the assumption that the same amount of light that returns to the strobe also has bounced back to the camera. and that the light bounces back from the subject (not something else).

wide angle it should work fine. tight quarters macro it fails badly.

like anything, you need to understand how it works so that you use it properly.

 

[Nemrod]

For Macro I would probably not use the strobe Auto mode but use instead the s-TTL mode or Manual. Giffenk makes a good point, the sensor in the strobe must see the subject or the exposure may not be correct and this is more likely to occur and be of significance when shooting very close. Though it can also be used to some advantage, as he said, it is all in understanding how the strobes and camera work together in the various modes to achieve the result the photographer desires. Or, luck is often a good fall back, lol!

 

[stuartv]

@Nemrod Thanks again. Unfortunately, I bought my strobes used (from a fellow SB'er) and got no manual with them. So, I've been trying to sort of guess what some of the things do based on the sales info I've found on the 'net.

I did find yesterday where another SB'er manually scanned all the pages of his manuals (for either a Type 2 or Type 4, I can't remember). I downloaded them, but I haven't read them all yet.

I really appreciate your explanations. And yes, I think I got what you were saying now.

 

[KeithG]

The YS strobes have similar modes and operating capabilities, depending upon the model.

N

i do not believe that sea & sea have made an "auto" strobe since the ys25auto and ys90auto (and other ys90 variations) back around 2003ish.

 

[Nemrod]

i do not believe that sea & sea have made an "auto" strobe since the ys25auto and ys90auto (and other ys90 variations) back around 2003ish.

Good to know there is a reason I prefer Inon with/despite the other difficulties they present, .

Yes, it is the YS90 I have used the most of that brand. I prefer the Inon, just one data point, the YS products are fine products regardless. And regardless I find the Auto mode in my dual D2000s to be extremely useful and my go to mode when I do not know what I might encounter immediately. I may switch modes in the water but that is my usual starting point for wide angle and close focus wide angle and standard port (no lens added) photos.

I have been using s-TTL as of late in macro but I am the first to admit, I have made people mad here in the past, sorry, but I find macro B-O-R-I-N-G so please accept that again as only my opinion and the resulting bias to the things I might say.

N

 

[Stoo]

And I will stick with what I said and say it again, the Auto exposure modes on modern digital cameras and strobes are very useful and for anyone other than the most experienced and gifted lensmen and women will result in more good quality photos/results than dinking around with full Manual operation on the camera and strobe.
N

I don't disagree with this. If someone is starting from "zero", then of course "auto-everything" will yield passable results most of the time, and probably even excellent results on occasion. The downside with this is that the new shooter will become complacent and accept these "ok" results and greatly limit his creativity down the road. If s/he is happy to accept reasonably nicely exposed snapshots, then auto is a great way to go.

On the other hand, learning to work with a decent camera to control exposure and depth of field and selective focus etc. etc. can yield some amazing results. And yes, s/he will waste a lot of "film", but for those that get it sorted out, the results are very rewarding and far superior to what auto will yield potentially.

 

[stuartv]

Stuart, you are correct, I momentarily confused myself, yes, use the pre-flash selection switch per the instruction manual to select the no pre-flash mode on the strobe. Set you camera for no pre-flash in the internal menu for no pre-flash in Auto (Av/Tv). This will allow you to run between Manual strobe and Manual camera or Auto strobe and Auto camera or Manual camera and Auto strobe modes. Selecting Program will probably default your camera to pre-flash so you will need to reset your Z240 if using it in Auto mode but in s-TTL mode the strobe will also default to pre-flash (no need to select on the strobe with the switch).

Yes, I think you understand. I keep thinking for some reason the pre-flash switch on the Z is a rotary switch because you push it and then turn it to lock it, my memory failing me on that, sorry for the confusion.

N

New question: I can see how the Z240 would work in its Auto (non-TTL) mode. But, what happens if you are using 2 of them. Won't you end up with serious overexposure?

Do you compensate by dialing the aperture setting on the strobes to one stop higher than what you are really using? E.g. if the camera is set for f/11, you would set both strobes to f/8?