Can a Nikon D5500 trigger an SB-800 off-camera, and does it support commander mode?
Asked 1/23/2024
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I want to use a Nikon SB-800 speedlight remotely with a Nikon D5500. Many tutorials say to enable commander mode on the camera, but I can't find that option on the D5500. Can this camera trigger the SB-800 off-camera, and if so, what features are available?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
2y ago
2 Answers
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The SB-800 can be put into optical slave (SU-4) mode and be triggered by the popup flash on your camera.
First, turn on your flash.
Press and hold the "sel" button for 2 seconds.
Arrow right (the "single tree" button) to get the upper right quadrant highlighted.
Push the select button again.
Scoll down ("-" button) until "SU-4" is highlighted.
Push "sel" again to select.
Push and hold "sel" for 2 seconds to get out of the submenu.
Your flash will now say "REMOTE."
This is not remote control/commander, only remote triggering. It only works well when both flashes are set to manual, and it does have the limitations of being optical; but it is also free.
Originally by user70370. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user70370
2y ago
0
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Yes, but with limits. The Nikon D5500 does not have built-in commander mode for Nikon CLS/AWL, so it cannot fully control an SB-800 wirelessly from the pop-up flash.
What you can do is put the SB-800 into SU-4 optical slave mode and use the D5500’s pop-up flash to trigger it. In that setup, the SB-800 simply fires when it sees another flash burst. This is basic optical triggering only, not full remote control.
Important limitations:
- manual flash use is the practical choice
- no TTL remote control
- no HSS/FP remote control
- optical triggering requires line of sight and can be less reliable in some situations
If you want true remote control, Nikon’s dedicated commander option is the SU-800. Many photographers instead use RF wireless flash triggers, which are more versatile because they don’t need line of sight. Another simple option is a TTL off-camera cord if you want to keep the flash connected off-camera.
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