sb-15 always with ttl always blinks improper exposure

[Derrel]

hi. after reading the manual and trying test shots, the ttl feature of this flash still won't work. i bought another to make sure i don't have a defective until. all contacts have been cleaned. new batteries. tested with multiple nikkor ai-s lenses.

i see derrel prefers auto for this flash. i bought it for ttl. did functional ttl tech not exist in the time of the sb-15 and fa and this is a gimmick that never worked? or is there something i am missing!

Actually, TTL flash was "relatively" new when the FA came out...it had only been a couple generations of Nikon cameras that had TTL flash when the FA was a new, medal-winning camera. The FA won the Camera Grand Prix, for its use of the then BRAND-NEW "matrix" metering system that Nikon invented, with the 100,000-plus actual photos analyzed and held in memory being used to help with the flash metering and also with ambient light metering. At the time, the FA had a then amazing 8-bit microprocessor chip inside the camera! This was radical, revolutionary stuff back then...this was the 1980's...before personal computers for the masses, before smart phone, back in the DOS days.

The FA was released before cameras used DX coding on film cannisters, and keep in mind that color negative film and color slide film used different approaches to metering. Color negative film benefitted from a generous shadow exposure (and in general some slight over-exposure) while color transparency film benefitted from an exposure that placed the highlight tones high up (basically under-exposure was the way to go) with an exposure that "pegged" the highlight tones, and which allowed the rest of the scene to go darker. So...functional TTL was basically, IMO, a compromise. There was no real way for the FA to differentiate between negative or positive film stocks.

I dunno...AUTO-flash works great! I love AUTO-mode flash...Set the ISO speed on the flash, see what the recommended f/stops are for that ISO (there are usually TWO AUTO-f/stop settings on most lower-powered flashes), and then either set that f/stop OR set a slightly different variation of that f/stop, and then shoot away. The AUTO-system will squelch the flash once it gets what it considers to be the "right" expousre level for the ISO and f/stop being used.

TTL flash was at the time, sold mostly as a way to be able to get "ballpark right" exposures at ANY f/stop, automatically! In Ye Olden Times, most flashes had two AUTO f/stops...one wide aperture value setting, the other for a smaller aperture opening...these two stops varied, according to the film's ISO value. Only very high-end, very powerful flash units had more than two AUTO f/stop values. TTL flash was pushed mostly as a way to get flash automation at any f/stop....or if you forgot to set the right f/stop, or when using flash in more-complex setups,something more than just flash-on-hotshoe.

In the olden days, if you wanted automatic flash control, you generally had f/2.8 and f/5.6, or f/4 and f/8, or f/5.6 and f/11...usually about two full f/stops apart were the two, AUTO-mode color settings...when it was initially introduced, TTL flash gave you the entire aperture range, with automatic flash control! SO, from like f/1.4 to f/22, it was suddenly possible to shoot automatically-exposed flash shots. That degree of flexibility was very welcome back in the day.

 

[compur]

any ideas what's wrong? i'd like to to be able to chose between more than the two aperatures the a1/a2 setting offers. thanks!

What lens are you using on the FA?
What style of mount? (Non-AI, AI, AI-S, etc)
What exposure mode are you using on the camera?
What mode are you using on the flash?

 

[denada]

i appreciate the history and very much want that f stop flexibility, Derrel.

compur, i am using nikkor ai-s lenses. i have tried it on all exposure setting with fail, but mostly A (aperature priority). TTL is the mode i am attempting to use on the flash.

 

[compur]

OK, the TTL feature should be working.

I'm assuming you're mounting the flash directly to the camera's hot shoe. If you're using a cord of some kind to connect the flash then I would try mounting it directly on the shoe because some cords don't support TTL.

Otherwise, I would suggest closely inspecting the camera's hot shoe to see if there is any corrosion or damage on its contacts. If all the contacts aren't making a good connection to the flash then that could cause the TTL feature to not work. In any case I suggest cleaning the shoe with rubbing alcohol and try again. Clean the flash foot too.