Nikon CLS [chinese shipping sucks]

[Pure]

So until my poverty wizards arrive in the mail, a blazing 11 or so days from now, I need to figure out Nikon CLS.

What is really confusing me is why does my onboard flash need to fire in Remote mode on my SB-800? I thought it used infrared in remote mode, not flash.

The D90 manual says it is because it needs to fire "monitor pre-flashes."
WAT?

WHAT GIVES?

I'm probably just an idiot, but whatever

 

[SpeedTrap]

The pre flashes are used to meter, the system sends out one flash to check levels and then fires all the flashes together. The on board flash does not affect the exposure.

 

[chrisburke]

your poverty wizards probably wont take the time they said it would... they sent me a message saying mine would take at least 15 days.. i had them in 5 (regular shipping) and that included 2 weekend days... i ordered them last friday, monday they sent a message saying they have been shipped, i received them on Wednesday

 

[Kegger]

I put my onboard flash or 800 if I get my hands on it, to commander mode. Then set the slaves manually. No preflash that way.

 

[Pure]

The pre flashes are used to meter, the system sends out one flash to check levels and then fires all the flashes together. The on board flash does not affect the exposure.

But the flash does affect the exposure a little bit. It's probably like 1/128 power, but it still adds some amount of flash. I thought the Nikon CLS was completely Infrared?Plus why does my camera need to meter in M?

your poverty wizards probably wont take the time they said it would... they sent me a message saying mine would take at least 15 days.. i had them in 5 (regular shipping) and that included 2 weekend days... i ordered them last friday, monday they sent a message saying they have been shipped, i received them on Wednesday

Hopefully. I got the confirmation of shipping on Friday, so maybe by Wednesday?

I put my onboard flash or 800 if I get my hands on it, to commander mode. Then set the slaves manually. No preflash that way.

This is why I'm confused. I thought the CLS was based on infra red signals. The Onboard flash is set to -- and the flash is set to M in the commander mode screen. So Confused.

 

[Dweller]

The short answer is no, CLS is not completely infrared. You can use an SU-800 Remote Commander in place of your built in flash to use Infrared communication but otherwise in that configuration you will need the on-board flash to fire.

As for output from the on board while in commander mode, I have played with it and the output is practically nonexistent from an exposure standpoint. I have many series of test shots where I was dialing up the exposure one step at a time, with and without the slaves active and on board never contributed to the scene that I could tell.

 

[kundalini]

The on board flash does not affect the exposure.

Unless you want it to; either with Manual or TTL settings.

I put my onboard flash or 800 if I get my hands on it, to commander mode. Then set the slaves manually. No preflash that way.

So assuming no other device is invloved...... how do you suppose the flash will fire without a pre-flash?

But the flash does affect the exposure a little bit. It's probably like 1/128 power, but it still adds some amount of flash.

In the Commander mode menu with the Built-In flash set to (--) it does not contribute to the scene. However, if you're close up on your subject and particularly if it is a reflective surface, then yes, it will show. You could use tissue paper to diffuse if needed.

This is why I'm confused. I thought the CLS was based on infra red signals. The Onboard flash is set to -- and the flash is set to M in the commander mode screen. So Confused.

It is IR based.

 

[Pure]

Ok. I guess I'll just use it until my poverty wizards come and I'll hope they come asap.

 

[JerryPH]

Wow, I actually found CLS *easier* to use than my Gadget infinity setup, becuase there was nothing to do on my end... just aim, compose, press the shutter, CLS did the rest for me and thats it... lol.

Have you tried places like:

The Jerry Blog!: Nikon CLS play time!

The Jerry Blog!: Specific settings for various CLS Configurations

The Jerry Blog!: 60 Second Strobist #1

Nikon CLS Practical Guide: 1. Nikon Flash - Two Separate Metering Systems

Strobist: New Nikon Video: 154 Minutes of CLS Goodness

Strobist: Nikon CLS Tutorial Video

There were about 15,700 hits for "Nikon CLS tutorials" on google, but these were the first few. Youtube had a couple hundred as well.

BTW, I've mentioned it here at least 5-6 times that the GI triggers/receivers were also available from MPEX.com... faster shipping than from Hong Kong and a couple dollars cheaper. They are based out of Ohio... a little closer so shipping cost and time is lower as well.

 

[czsmola]

are you using the poverty remotes to fire more then just the SB 800.. Personally The CLS system is really easy to use. its all built into the gear you already have you dont need to worry about the batteries, other then in the flash and camera my remotes just sit in my bag i have only found a few situation where i needed to use the them.. but i still use the cls to fire my sb900 and attach my trigger to the PC port of the Flash to fire the other lights.

 

[Pure]

I need the wizards for a location where the flash won't see onboard flash, so I need them to trigger it.

Thanks for the tutorials guys!

I guess I'll pick up a copy of the official Nikon CLS video.

 

[kundalini]

I need the wizards for a location where the flash won't see onboard flash, so I need them to trigger it.

If you're indoors, the chances are good that the pre-flash still fires the off camera flash within 20-30 feet. You don't necessarily need line-of-sight. Outdoors in bright light is a different kettle of fish.

I've had my off-camera flashes fire from behind walls using the built-in to trigger. Of course, I try to position the receiver in the most opportune direction.

 

[JerryPH]

I need the wizards for a location where the flash won't see onboard flash, so I need them to trigger it.

Thanks for the tutorials guys!

I guess I'll pick up a copy of the official Nikon CLS video.

Save yourself the money. All this info is on the web all ready for you to find and read.

If you set the local flash settings in CLS to "--" for the on board flash, it talks to the off camera flashes to trigger them, but ADDS NO LIGHT TO THE PICTURE FROM THE ON BOARD FLASH.

Oh, you are aware that unless you successfully mod the triggers, they are not all that much better than CLS? Did you know that there is no iTTL with the off camera flashes? EVERYTHING is manual.

Also... here is a hint on how to remove the pre-flashes that you TOTALLY missed from my blog, so let me lay it out here:

With the off camera strobe scenarios, there are two challenges that I encountered that reduced the effectiveness of the CLS system. The first was that in faster moving actions, the preflashes took time to occur, often, just long enough to permit us to miss the shot or event.

The solution to this was no further away than the D200's menu. We could reconfigure the D200's FUNCTION button to become the FV LOCK button. In effect, we would aim the camera in the area we wished to shoot, press the FUNC button and it would fire the CLS TTL pre-flashes and then lock in the settings. This is done by going into the menu and assigning the FV LOCK option to the FUNC button at the F4 menu to FV LOCK and select OK.

The next time you pressed the shutter (after hitting the FUNC button before hand ONCE), there was NO delay becuase there were no pre-flashes and the settings were properly calibrated and locked in for as long as the FV LOCK was in place. You can then take 100 pictures in a row with the same exposure values and NO metering pre-flashes! There was the one single preflash to trigger the off camera flashes, but that was so fast, it was NOT noticeable.

 

[kundalini]

^^ I'm still a bit confused on how to set Group C. I have three flashes and want to control each with different values.

 

[Pure]

If you're indoors, the chances are good that the pre-flash still fires the off camera flash within 20-30 feet. You don't necessarily need line-of-sight. Outdoors in bright light is a different kettle of fish.

I've had my off-camera flashes fire from behind walls using the built-in to trigger. Of course, I try to position the receiver in the most opportune direction.

I realize this, but the flash will be far away in a maze of piping and as far as I can tell, too enclosed for the onboard, which leads me to the PW as my only option minus a long ass sync cord.

Save yourself the money. All this info is on the web all ready for you to find and read.

If you set the local flash settings in CLS to "--" for the on board flash, it talks to the off camera flashes to trigger them, but ADDS NO LIGHT TO THE PICTURE FROM THE ON BOARD FLASH.

Oh, you are aware that unless you successfully mod the triggers, they are not all that much better than CLS? Did you know that there is no iTTL with the off camera flashes? EVERYTHING is manual.

Also... here is a hint on how to remove the pre-flashes that you TOTALLY missed from my blog, so let me lay it out here:

With the off camera strobe scenarios, there are two challenges that I encountered that reduced the effectiveness of the CLS system. The first was that in faster moving actions, the preflashes took time to occur, often, just long enough to permit us to miss the shot or event.

The solution to this was no further away than the D200's menu. We could reconfigure the D200's FUNCTION button to become the FV LOCK button. In effect, we would aim the camera in the area we wished to shoot, press the FUNC button and it would fire the CLS TTL pre-flashes and then lock in the settings. This is done by going into the menu and assigning the FV LOCK option to the FUNC button at the F4 menu to FV LOCK and select OK.

The next time you pressed the shutter (after hitting the FUNC button before hand ONCE), there was NO delay becuase there were no pre-flashes and the settings were properly calibrated and locked in for as long as the FV LOCK was in place. You can then take 100 pictures in a row with the same exposure values and NO metering pre-flashes! There was the one single preflash to trigger the off camera flashes, but that was so fast, it was NOT noticeable.

Thanks.