sb-15 always with ttl always blinks improper exposure

[denada]

hi,

i have a sb-15 i'm using with a nikon fa in tll mode. the manual says the red dot in the view finder and on the flash will blink immediately after the shot if there was not enough light for proper exposure. that light ALWAYS blinks after the photo. what's wrong? i can shoot something 3ft away with f2.8 and 800 speed film and it still blinks. or i can shoot a more reasonable distance within the guidelines and it still blinks. it blinks no matter what. both in the view finder and on the flash. i tried changing the batteries. it's killing me. i need it to work right now. what's up?

thanks,

eric

 

[compur]

Is your ASA set at 800?

That LED also blinks if you set the ASA dial over 400 or if shutter speed is set to M250 or B.

 

[denada]

no. had it set to 400 but maybe it's trading the film cartridge?

 

[Designer]

no. had it set to 400 but maybe it's trading the film cartridge?

Yes, your camera does read the barcode on the film canister. I think you can override it, but consult your manual.

 

[denada]

appreciate the reply and you successfully interpreting my reading / trading auto correct typo. i thought i did override by manually setting the camera to 400. i've of course already consulted the manual. i'll report back after trying it with a normal speed roll. as of now i suspect that's my problem.

 

[compur]

I don't think the FA reads film DX codes. Film speed is manually set via the ASA dial.

 

[denada]

so why does it keep flashing to indicate error? i'm currently spending the weekend with a 5 10" beautiful 20-something who has no problem lounging around as i snap away. it's overcast. i'm pretty frustrated this thing won't work as intended.

 

[denada]

even now with 400 in the camera and set accordingly it still blinks after each shot. i don't get it . can someone please help me? should i just use the m mode this weekend? why doesn't this work? do people use the sb-15? does it always blink after your shot with ttl? i've read all the manuals. please help me.

 

[compur]

Inside the SB-15's battery compartment there is a little secret switch with 2 positions. One position says "TTL." Is the switch set in the TTL position?

Edit: Ignore my dumb comment here. I was thinking of another Nikon flash model. Sorry.

 

[denada]

humor, right? how about just using m mode for the time being? does that create good results? until i can figure out what's wrong.

it's not really funny. i have a rare, pressured opportunity and i'm posting on a board of photographers who consider themselves alright at the hobby and the best answer i've gotten is check the manual.

please just help me use the flash given the current circumstances. freaking internet people.

where's @derrell when you need him. girl is getting more frustrated than me. guess i'll just shoot her with an xa.

would really appreciate it if someone could tell me if m mode is dependable or if the manual is misleading about what the blinking red light means in ttl.

thanks.

 

[Derrel]

The dial tells the acceptable range for the flash..Look at the lines and the distances they indicate for the ISO in use.

 

[bluewanders]

humor, right? how about just using m mode for the time being? does that create good results? until i can figure out what's wrong.

it's not really funny. i have a rare, pressured opportunity and i'm posting on a board of photographers who consider themselves alright at the hobby and the best answer i've gotten is check the manual.

please just help me use the flash given the current circumstances. freaking internet people.

where's @derrell when you need him. girl is getting more frustrated than me. guess i'll just shoot her with an xa.

would really appreciate it if someone could tell me if m mode is dependable or if the manual is misleading about what the blinking red light means in ttl.

thanks.

Of course manual mode is dependable. But it requires that you know how to use flash. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that in asking if manual flash mode produces good results, it means you don't know how to use flash. So the answer, if that is the case, is probably not for you and not right now. If you can't get the flash working and you don't know how to use it your best bet is to abandon it and use available light, since film is a limited resource, and you can't count on a malfunctioning flash to do your exposure work for you.

Let's be real here. You are using decades old equipment that you apparently aren't familiar with and haven't tested before hand. There could be any number of reasons why the system is reading a deficiency in light. Everything from "the light meter is broken" to "hot shoe is broken" to "flash shoe is broken" to "aperture ring isn't opening up on the lens" all the way out to the far end of "you're doing it wrong." I've never owned a Nikon FA... but I do own some geriatric nikormat FTs that require a small button battery for the light meter to work. Those batteries aren't available anymore today, so you have to either pay to get the system converted for the batteries that are available today or make/buy a converter for the batteries themselves. Have you checked if the light meter on the FA needs a battery, if it does do you know what kind? I do know the FA was the first camera with matrix metering and it has a small button on the front to switch between between center weighted and matrix... if you leave the button locked on center weight mode, a light will flash. Is that the light you are seeing? I don't know, I'm not there. I read somewhere that the FA ttl only worked at a 250th shutter speed... if that is true, that the camera defaults to 1/250th while using auto exposure are you accounting for that when calculating your aperture? If not, could that have something to do with why the camera is telling you the exposure is off?

People with knowledge ask questions to gather information so they can help troubleshoot. It isn't these "freaking internet people's" fault that you didn't test and familiarize yourself with the equipment before placing yourself in a rare pressured opportunity.

If you really want help, calm down... lose the attitude... accept responsibility for creating this situation yourself... and answer the questions you are asked with the respect that begging for a favor deserves. It certainly isn't going to engender much helpful response if you treat people with impatience and rudeness when you are the one asking them for their help.

 

[denada]

The dial tells the acceptable range for the flash..Look at the lines and the distances they indicate for the ISO in use.

i have been an it still blinks in ttl. even following those guidelines. that ok or should i use manual or eve the a1 a2 mode?

 

[compur]

Sorry, my suggestion about the switch in the battery compartment was incorrect. I was thinking of another Nikon flash model.

 

[Derrel]

I owned an SB-15 for a long time, but gave it away to a kid starting out something like 16 years ago, so I went to the MIR site and compiled this list of information, carefully double-checked against their web page information.

I would suggest using the SB-15 flash unit not in TTL mode, but in the AUTO modes, either A1 or A2 mode. Now, my recollection was that the pre-flash test systemn of that era was not for TTL exposure checking, but for a pre-shot AUTO-Thyristor test shot.

Anyway..the AUTO-mode flash method is plenty accurate for color neg and B&W neg film exposures, at leat 955 of the time. Here is some good information.

Keep in mind: in A2 mode, the "wide-aperture flash mode", your range WITHOUT any wide-angle diffuser panel is 2-20 feet; in the A1 or ther "deep depth of field" flash mode, your range is 2 to 10 feet, with ISO 100. If you have the ISO at 200, or 400, the flash range will be longer!

AUTO-flash is pretty reliable in my experiece: as long as the flash is set to the right mode, 1 or 2, and the F/stop is set right,and the ASA/ISO is set properly, AUTO flash mode works great!


Nikon SB-15/17 - Instruction Manual

MD setting is 1/13 power

AUTO MODE information: f/4.0 at ISO 100, Range in A2 mode is 0.6 to 6.2 Meters (2-20 feet)
AUTO MODE information: f/8.0 (ISO 100) Range in A1 mode is 0.6 to 3.1 Meters (2-10 feet)


Guide Number is 25, in METERS, at ISO 100.

Guide Number is 41 at ISO 25 in FEET (This would have made a lot more sense in 1984, shooting Kodachrome 25 ISO slide film!)