Nikon SB-800 question

[JLEphoto]

I am just getting into off camera flash after all these years. My D200 can run the SB-800 flash wirelessly... I know how to set the camera and the flash without issue. (including changing the flash power in camera)... Here is my question. When the flash is on the hot shoe it seems to be much brighter than when firing wirlessly.. Even with all things being equal (camera settings, flash zoom etc). I have checked the wireless flash settings as well and they are TTL 0 (for the adjustment). What could be causing the flash to not produce the same amount of power output as when on the flash? Thanks in advance for your help.

Maybe I am just crazy.

 

[kundalini]

Could it be a percieved difference since you're hitting your subject from an angle other than straight on?

Is the flash-to-subject distance the same?

Could you post some examples?

 

[themedicine]

^^ my thoughts exactly. I have a d200 and sb-800 as well, along with a lot more lights and stuff but i learned on my sb-800. that being said, post some examples. Id like to see if we can figure this out for you.

 

[JLEphoto]

Let me see what I can come up with... As far as the perceived I even put the flash directly above the camera as if it were on the hot shoe.

 

[JLEphoto]

The first one is with the flash off camera.. The second is on the hot shoe... Shutter 250, f-stop 4. No compensation on the flash. All settings were the same for both exposures. The flash did have on the white cap.... Oh, and I just snapped a couple of shots of my son... Other than him being awsome..... I did not try for anything fancy.

 

[TJ K]

It looks like the second is a direct harsh lighting while the 1st might have been bounced and is better diffused. Just up the power a bit
TJ

 

[JLEphoto]

That is the thing... It was not bounced or diffused any more than the one on the hot shoe. It is just strange.

 

[KmH]

I am just getting into off camera flash after all these years. My D200 can run the SB-800 flash wirelessly... I know how to set the camera and the flash without issue. (including changing the flash power in camera)... Here is my question. When the flash is on the hot shoe it seems to be much brighter than when firing wirlessly.. Even with all things being equal (camera settings, flash zoom etc). I have checked the wireless flash settings as well and they are TTL 0 (for the adjustment). What could be causing the flash to not produce the same amount of power output as when on the flash? Thanks in advance for your help.

Maybe I am just crazy.

The images are gone.

How do you know it's not the same power output?

The "white cap" is called a diffuser. It causes light to spray all over the place.

 

[Garbz]

The thing is, the camera doesn't know what you're looking it. If my sister is right in front of me and I blast her face full of nuclear flash she'll be very bright indeed, and the background will be very dark. Depending on how big she is in the fame, the lens I use, the focal length, the focus position, all this is taken into account with the metering of the flash.

If I now bounce the flash off the ceiling, the light distribution dramatically changes between what is in front of the lens to what is behind, whereas the average amount of the light may still be the same. Again my camera doesn't know it's my sister I'm trying to light up like a christmas tree, it just thinks ooookay this scene has enough light.

The same happens when I put the flash off the camera and trigger it wirelessly. Everything changes.

It's hard enough to get certainty when objects aren't moving and their light sources aren't moving. Even then different camera angles and focal lengths lead to different exposures and the camera's interpretation of the scene. If you start moving lights too then there's even more variables in the system.

If you're worried, switch to manual.

 

[JLEphoto]

Thanks. It might be too that there is more information being past from camera to flash when it is on the hot shoe. I can dial it up for sure. I was just trying to make sure there wasn't something wrong with the flash etc... Thank you all for the help. Now, I just purchased a light stand and shoot through umbrella... I assume I will have to dial it up to ensure proper exposure... Correct? Should I leave the white diffusor cap on when shooting through an umbrella?