Using an SB-600 flash on a Nikon F100 with film: what should I watch for?
Asked 6/9/2012
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I’m planning to use flash with film for the first time and want to know what differs from using flash on digital. My setup is a Nikon F100 with an SB-600, shooting Portra 400 and Neopan 400. I’ve used flash on digital before, both on- and off-camera.
What should I be careful about when using flash with film, especially regarding exposure and color? Is the F100’s matrix metering with TTL flash reliable enough for general-purpose shooting, or should I work more manually?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
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There are two things that I can think of to be aware of:
The white balance of the film. Unlike digital raw shooting, it's not something you can easily correct after the fact and film is designed for specific lighting conditions. I should note that the porta 400 doesn't need correcting gels for electronic flash or daylight, but be sure that the color temperature of your flash is within that range.
You need to plan your lighting more carefully. Digital lets us be a little sloppy, we can test out some angles, play with strengths, and then see the result quickly and so then adjust. Not so with film. While the metering in your camera is fine for shooting with ambient light, it's not so useful with flash and you're best to spend a little time working with the guide numbers and distances to ensure correct lighting otherwise you may find you've expended the roll and under or over exposed.
Download the spec sheets for each film and read them. You can find the Porta 400 on Kodak's site and the Neopan 400 on the Fuji site. Of course, I've linked them anyways.
Okay, that was 3... :)
Originally by user472. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user472
14y ago
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The basic flash technique is not fundamentally different on film versus digital: the same light is being recorded, just on film instead of a sensor. With your F100 and SB-600, TTL flash is generally a good choice for general-purpose shooting, and those films are fairly tolerant of small exposure errors.
The main extra concern with film is color balance. Unlike digital RAW, you can’t easily correct white balance later. Portra 400 is well suited to daylight/electronic flash, so it usually works fine with normal flash color. Black-and-white film is less affected by color temperature.
The other big difference is feedback: with film you can’t instantly review and adjust, so it helps to be more deliberate about lighting, flash placement, and exposure. TTL should work well, especially with compatible lenses that provide focus distance information, but careful planning still matters because you can’t chimp the result.
So for general use: start with TTL flash and matrix metering, keep film color balance in mind, and be a bit more methodical than you might be with digital.
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