question about nikon sb 600

[ALLucas]

so I noticed that the flash only goes off every few shots. is this normal? i also think i correlated that if i use less power per shot, it will go off maybe 4 shots in a row. but then i have to wait about 5-10 seconds before i can use it again. is this normal, or do i have defective equipment? also. would a low battery be causing this? I noticed it also won't change modes except from standard TTL and manual. I can't use B-TTL and whatever else it has...
anyone please?

 

[480sparky]

If you have to use so much power stored in the flash to light the scene properly, it may take a while for it to 'recycle' and replace the spent power.

Or maybe your batteries are just low.

 

[JoeW]

You didn't say if your SB600 is on or off camera. If it is only firing every couple of shots, I think either your batteries are low OR you aren't giving it enough time to recharge (so you may be taking multiple pictures quickly). You can set the SB600 to sound so it will audibly tell you when it is ready to fire again.

If you have it off camera and aren't using triggers, it could be a bunch of things:
--your commander settings (wireless shooting) are off
--it's too far away or objects are between your camera and the flash so communication is sporadic
--the flash is hot and tends to fire sporadically when it gets this way (b/c you've been shooting a lot with it in the session)

 

[WayneF]

so I noticed that the flash only goes off every few shots. is this normal? i also think i correlated that if i use less power per shot, it will go off maybe 4 shots in a row. but then i have to wait about 5-10 seconds before i can use it again. is this normal, or do i have defective equipment? also. would a low battery be causing this? I noticed it also won't change modes except from standard TTL and manual. I can't use B-TTL and whatever else it has...
anyone please?

You did not say what you were doing, so I will assume you are using the internal flash with a continuous shutter, like several frames per second.

1. After a flash triggers, the flash has to recycle to be Ready. If the Ready led is on, the flash is Ready for next shot.

2. At low power levels, they can recycle fast, and may be fast enough to keep up with several frames per second. But if the Ready light is out, it is not ready.

3. At higher power levels, they are slower to recycle, and cannot do several frames per second. A hot shoe flash will still trigger anyway, but it is not recycled, and it is not Ready, and the power will be too low, and too dim, not what you want.

4. The internal flash is special, and it has circuitry that prevents it from triggering at all if it has not recycled, and is not ready.

This would explain your description. Wait for the Ready light. If you need multiple frames, it has to be at low enough power to be able to recycle that fast.

Lots of fast flashes is how we burn out the flash unit. You have to stop very often, and let things cool.

 

[D-B-J]

And it also depends on your batteries. Whether or not they have a full charge, and what type. A "dollar store" battery will lead to a slower recycle time than say a set of Sanyo eneloops.

Best,
Jake


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk