Why is Live View dark on a Nikon Z6 II when shooting with strobes?
Asked 1/27/2022
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I'm shooting in full manual with a Nikon Z6 II, a 24-70mm f/4, and two Godox SK400 II strobes. For flash exposure I've set ISO 200 and 1/200 sec, which makes the ambient light very low. In Live View, the image becomes extremely dark, but if I raise ISO or lower shutter speed so I can see better, the final flash photo is overexposed. Why does this happen, and is there a camera setting that makes Live View usable when working with studio strobes?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
4y ago
2 Answers
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You need to turn off exposure simulation in live view.
Exposure simulation can only show you what the image would look like without flash, because the flash burst isn't in the scene until you take the shot.
Since it's very common to underexpose or even kill the ambient with flash photography, most cameras allow you to turn off exposure simulation when using a flash for this reason, and will just try to give you the best live view image possible, without trying to simulate the exposure settings you're using, so that you have a bright enough view to judge focus and composition by. On a Z6 II, you're looking for the d9 Custom function to turn off Apply Settings in Live View.
Originally by user27440. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user27440
4y ago
0
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This happens because Live View is trying to simulate your ambient exposure settings, not the strobe burst. At ISO 200 and 1/200 sec, the ambient light is intentionally very dark for flash photography, so the preview looks dark too.
With studio strobes, the flash only appears during the actual exposure, so exposure simulation cannot preview it accurately. The fix is to disable exposure simulation / setting effect in Live View so the camera brightens the display for framing and focusing.
On the Nikon Z6 II, look for the setting that controls applying exposure settings to Live View (Custom Setting d9, often described as “Apply settings to live view”) and turn it off when using strobes.
That way:
- Live View stays bright enough to compose and focus
- Your manual flash exposure settings remain unchanged
- The final image is still exposed by the strobes, not by the brightened preview
A flash meter can also help dial in strobe power more consistently, though it isn’t required.
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