Syncing D90 to SB600??

indeedies · Feb 11, 2010

I've finally got it so that my on board flash is firing my SB600 but now I'm getting a little annoyed. I want it so that the onboard flash doesn't fire but still signals my strobe. I also want to be able to control my strobe in the manual mode rather than having to do it on camera. I'd rather just walk up to my flash and decrease/increase the power than have to fidget with my camera.

Can this be done or is this something I have to get used to now?

Thanks for any help!

eric-holmes · Feb 11, 2010

To make the commander flash to signal the strobe without affecting the picture you need to set it so the built in flash is set to "--".

kundalini · Feb 11, 2010

Shall I'll be the first to really answer your qeustion?

RFTM :biggrin:

Look in the Index for Flash > Commander Model. The off camera operations will be found in there. But first you'll want to familiarize yourself with the Custom Setting menus. But the short answer is already given by Eric.

indeedies · Feb 11, 2010

So I've set the built in flash to "--" and the on board flash is still firing. I now realize that when my SB600 is synced I won't be able to control the power through it but have to rely on the camera and that's fine. But this stupid built in flash is killing me :er:

Layspeed · Feb 12, 2010

[quote='kundalini"]...RFTM :biggrin:

...[/quote]

Do you mean RTFM? :lol:

Sorry indeedies I don't have a solution for you, but I'm interested it what you find out.

kundalini · Feb 12, 2010

Layspeed said:
Do you mean RTFM?

Opps.... I was tired. :blushing:

indeedies said:
But this stupid built in flash is killing me :er:

If you've set the built-in to "--", the flash is only sending a pre-flash to signal the SB unit. In a typical situation, it does not add to the scene. If you're doing close-up work on reflective material, there may be some effect.

PhotoXopher · Feb 12, 2010

Get yourself one of these:
(Yes I have one, and it works great. Wireless still works as it should.)

4905 Nikon SG-31R Replacement IR Panel for the Built-in Flash on the D200, D70s or D70 Digital Cameras.

jnm · Feb 12, 2010

indeedies said:
So I've set the built in flash to "--" and the on board flash is still firing. I now realize that when my SB600 is synced I won't be able to control the power through it but have to rely on the camera and that's fine. But this stupid built in flash is killing me :er:

the onboard flash still fires on --, it just doesn't add to the exposure. to control the power go into the commander menu and bump up or turn down the compensation on the flash. unless you're doing something extreme it should be enough to get you the results you want.

from the manual

D90 manual said:
The built in flash does not fire, but the AF-Illuminator lights. The built-in flash must be raised so that it can emit monitor pre-flashes

DScience · Feb 12, 2010

PhotoXopher said:
Get yourself one of these:
(Yes I have one, and it works great. Wireless still works as it should.)

4905 Nikon SG-31R Replacement IR Panel for the Built-in Flash on the D200, D70s or D70 Digital Cameras.

LOL Guys, when it's set to "--" the light doesn't not effect the picture!

fiveoboy01 · Feb 12, 2010

DScience said:
LOL Guys, when it's set to "--" the light doesn't not effect the picture!

:lmao:

To the OP, just in case it isn't obvious, the pop-up flash MUST fire to control your remote speedlight.

kundalini · Feb 12, 2010

DScience said:
LOL Guys, when it's set to "--" the light doesn't not effect the picture!

Unless of course, you didn't read my earlier post about reflective materials.

Built-in flash set to "--", off camera flash set to TTL w/ no comp.

Oh, b-b-but, that's just the off camera flash causing the specular highlights. Oh really?

Built-in flash set to "--", off camera flash set to "--" (and did not fire).

Not scientific proof nor under labratory conditions, but this is repeatable.

Again, under typical situations, the effect is not an issue.

kami · Feb 12, 2010

Also on a side note, make a custom menu so you don't have to scroll all the way down to flash settings when you want to change your strobe power. There's a lot of menus that you don't need once you've set them up, so you can just keep them off your own custom menu.

Once you get used to setting your flashes on-camera, you'll never want to walk over to your strobe and manually set it. You'll learn in the long run that manually walking over to your strobes is a pain-in-the-butt.

indeedies · Feb 12, 2010

Thanks everyone. This was a huge help. Now I know I'm not going crazy lol. I read that same statement in the manual and for some reason thought the built in flash would emit just the infared light and not an actual flash. I didn't really notice a huge change when the flash fired but was just sitting at my desk shooting at the couch and wanted to make sure. Thanks again everyone and I assure you I'm not an idiot who doesn't read the manual. Just confused :lol: