SB80 vs. SB800 for D70, what is iTTL?

[teephud]

I am about to buy a D70. I (think) I understand that I that I can use my old SB80, but will not have iTTL functionality. Doesn't this mean it won't meter right? Do I need to upgrade to the SB800. I use the flash a lot for fill, bounce, etc.
Thanks!

[Spec A!]

That's correct. Nikon's D-SLR's will not meter very well with their film speedlights. And by not metering right I mean no TTL(thru the lens), non matrix, ect. It will fire but be too hot or not enough, and totally won't take into account the distance. They tried fixing this problem with the DX series of speedlights, and although results were much better, it wasn't always consistent like an F5 with an SB-80 would be. The new SB-600/800 are supposed to have that consistency- they were designed for the D-SLR's.

So that being said- you can try your 80 on a D70 and it may work well for you. You may get a shot here and there that are totally off. You can always use it manually as well. If you want fool proof point anf shoot flash photography you would be best off with the newer SB-600/800.

[Franglais]

I am about to buy a D70. I (think) I understand that I that I can use my old SB80, but will not have iTTL functionality. Doesn't this mean it won't meter right? Do I need to upgrade to the SB800. I use the flash a lot for fill, bounce, etc.
Thanks!

Film cameras like my F100 meter flash exposure off the film during the exposure. This doesn't work too well with digital sensors because the sensor is shiny and reflects too much light. In i-TTL the camera uses two pre-flashes before flipping the mirror up to meter the flash using the camera's normal meter.

It doesn't work quite as well as the film flash system (I seem to have problems with mirrors) but for fill-in outdoors it's excellent (remember the D70 flash syncs up to 1/500 sec).

You have the choice between the SB600 and the more expensive SB800 - which I chose because of the Stofen thing included and the 5th battery.

Charles

[another view]

You don't need to upgrade, but won't have iTTL which will probably make your life easier. What have you been using your SB80 with? If neg film and a newer camera, it's probably almost 100% accurate. But take the differences here already described and put them with digital which requires a much more accurate flash exposure - and it will take some practice to get the results you want. Even then, near-100% is probably impossible.

I've been using my Fuji S2 in non-TTL Auto mode and it's far from perfect. One big attraction of the latest DSLR's is iTTL, and if I had a camera that did it I'd get the SB800.