Having trouble syncing SB800 as slave

6Speed · Feb 14, 2007

I took it to a shoot the other day that was in a room with an electron microscope and I could not get it to sync with my other flash. It was embarrasing to have the poor girl sitting there with me not able to figure out what the problem was.

I have it set to slave, and it is for sure going off, but it is either before or after the shutter closes/opens. I tried changing the shutter from rear to front sync and neither works. I can see the flash go off through my viewfinder, but it does not show up in the image. If I set it to 1/2 power it does fine, but 1/1 it just won't sync.

What am I doing wrong?

Garbz · Feb 15, 2007

Set it to slave to what. How is the camera set up.

The SB-800 in remote mode works only with a CLS capable master flash like the one built into the D200. In this case you need to make sure the channel are set the same in both flashes, and configure the master to fire the flash based on the group the flash is in. E.g. Group A TTL +0EV.

If you are simply trying to set the SB-800 to sync to a non-CLS flash then it should be set to SU-4 and not Remote

shingfan · Feb 15, 2007

i think i know the answer to your question....becuase i have the very same experience when i first used my SB600 (i hope SB800 is not too different from it)......what i experienced was that the sync flash seems to fire but it doesnt light up the object....if this is the case....then you did nothing wrong.......the reason it didnt light up the object is because it is working as a "SLAVE"....not the main light.....so it is only filling the shadow.......fi you want more power from your slave flash.....go to the camera menu and adjust the output level from there instead of using TTL mode.....auto mode becomes useless once the flash is off the camera...because the flash is not able to tell how far it is standing from the object.....only the camera can tell......hope this help

P.S.....above assume you are using a nikon camera that is capable of wirelessly communicate with the CLS speedlight

6Speed · Feb 15, 2007

Garbz said:
Set it to slave to what. How is the camera set up.

The SB-800 in remote mode works only with a CLS capable master flash like the one built into the D200. In this case you need to make sure the channel are set the same in both flashes, and configure the master to fire the flash based on the group the flash is in. E.g. Group A TTL +0EV.

If you are simply trying to set the SB-800 to sync to a non-CLS flash then it should be set to SU-4 and not Remote

Slave to my Canon 580ex.

Unfortunetly I don't have another Canon flash, so I use what I have.

I already have it set to SU-4, but for some reason on the screen it says Remote. I've tried resetting it, and it always says Remote on the main screen. Is it not possible to make it work with any flash other than a Nikon?

JIP · Feb 15, 2007

you can only use the ttl wireless function on a Nikon flash with a Nikon camera unless you have an optical slave attached to your flash. If you do have a slave unit attached to your flash it can be fired by any flash going off.

6Speed · Feb 15, 2007

JIP said:
you can only use the ttl wireless function on a Nikon flash with a Nikon camera unless you have an optical slave attached to your flash. If you do have a slave unit attached to your flash it can be fired by any flash going off.

I thought there was a built in optical slave in the SB800? It must have some sort of optical sensor, or else it wouldn't be going off at all...?

JIP · Feb 15, 2007

Are you sure it is going off if your Canon camera is setting off your Nikon flash it is a new one on me and I have the SB800. I would look into the flash or at least at it when you think it is going off to be extra sure.

newrmdmike · Feb 15, 2007

yes, you can use it as slave to any flash.

whats your shutterspeed? if you have fp function enabled, then the slave won't sync up with it.

fp flashes from before the shutter opens until after it closes, so maybe your sb-800 is firing before it should. slow your shutter down below 250th and make sure fp mode is off.

also, i've had problems getting them to sync up before and could never figure out why

jip your wrong, the sb-800 has a built in slave mode.

they say remote in su-4 mode, it should say remote, in the wireless mode it will show channels etc.

also try adjusting the output.

newrmdmike · Feb 15, 2007

in fact, i've had mine in slave mode to use it with my ringlight at weddings, and other peoples cameras set it off to, its annoying not being the only camera in a room

6Speed · Feb 15, 2007

newrmdmike said:
yes, you can use it as slave to any flash.

whats your shutterspeed? if you have fp function enabled, then the slave won't sync up with it.

fp flashes from before the shutter opens until after it closes, so maybe your sb-800 is firing before it should. slow your shutter down below 250th and make sure fp mode is off.

also, i've had problems getting them to sync up before and could never figure out why

jip your wrong, the sb-800 has a built in slave mode.

they say remote in su-4 mode, it should say remote, in the wireless mode it will show channels etc.

also try adjusting the output.

I had my shutter speed set to 60th. It is, like you said, firing before it should...and seems like it's firing more than once per shot. Like at full power, it fires once before shutter opens and then isn't able to recycle fast enough to fire while the shutter is open.

How do I turn off fp mode?

newrmdmike · Feb 15, 2007

dunno, i shoot nikon . . . you'll have to ask someone else, but i think it might only engage at shutter speeds over 25oth/sec

6Speed · Feb 15, 2007

JIP said:
Are you sure it is going off if your Canon camera is setting off your Nikon flash it is a new one on me and I have the SB800. I would look into the flash or at least at it when you think it is going off to be extra sure.

Yes, I'm positive b/c I was taking some test shots at 1/2 power and in one of the photos I didn't crop out the flash off to the side...and you can see the flash going off in the picture. @ Full power it does what I described in the above post.