TTL mettering, something to remember

[Grandpaw]

I just thought I would pass this on about using an SB800 or SB600 for fill lighting. I don't use flash very often but the other night I went to take a few shots of some cars in our Crusin The Coast show which has over 4,000 old cars on display. I started out without flash and as the sun started to go down I grabbed my flash SB800 flash and placed it on my camera to fill in the shadows. To my surprise it wouldn't work and I tried adjusting the flash without any positive results. Today I took the time to figure out what the problem was and low and behold it was a very simple answer. It was an answer I wished I had figured out while trying to take the pictures that I missed. The answer was very simple one, I had been shooting on spot metering and center weighted and failed to change it to matrix so the flash would not work. The reason I am posting this is not to show how dumb I can be, but to remind everyone that when using TTL metering that the camera needs to be on matrix for it to work. So I am putting myself in for the dumb @ss award, Jeff

[n8]

Hmm. Never thought about it myself, but I don't think I hardly ever switch metering modes.

[Frog]

Maybe, that's why mine didn't work a couple of weeks ago.
Was late and I forgot to investigate why the next day. Now that is the first thing I'll check.

[Grandpaw]

Let me make a correction on how I worded my original post. I figured out that if you want to use fill flash or TTL-BL (Through the lens balanced flash) it is not that it won't work in spot or center weighted it is just that it will not work in P,S, A or M modes that will allow you to use spot or center weighted. The TTL-BL will only be available and operate on your flash in the auto modes such as full auto (GREEN) or any of the other auto modes such as portrait, landscape, close up or the others, Jeff

[drg]

What body and lens combo are you using? I think I am reading this backwards as the non-Matrix modes should work in the Shutter or Aperture priority modes (a little differently in Manual) but the Matrix mode in the auto modes on cameras with built in flash. Or is that with SB-900 and not the other flashes??

I have seen charts as to differences based on lens series/body combo use but all that stuff is at the office and I have not looked it all up online today.

[Grandpaw]

I guess I still haven't worded it clearly. The matrix, center weighted and spot metering will work in P,S,A,M modes. The problem is that if you want to use fill flash in these modes you can't. You will not be able to set your flash to TTL-BL in any of the above modes.

If you want to use fill flash the flash itself can only be set to TTL-BL or (fill flash) if you are in one of the automatic modes such as full auto, portrait, landscape, macro or one of the other auto modes. I am talking about an external flash because the on board flash doesn't give you a fill flash option, Jeff

I am using my Nikon D80 and D90 with an SB600 or SB800 flash.

[Mark Woodworth]

Let me make a correction on how I worded my original post. I figured out that if you want to use fill flash or TTL-BL (Through the lens balanced flash) it is not that it won't work in spot or center weighted it is just that it will not work in P,S, A or M modes that will allow you to use spot or center weighted. The TTL-BL will only be available and operate on your flash in the auto modes such as full auto (GREEN) or any of the other auto modes such as portrait, landscape, close up or the others, Jeff

I'm not sure if you mean that ttl-bl doesn't work in manual modes entirely, or just in certain metering modes. But if it helps for anyone, I shoot in ttl-bl in manual mode, and it works fine.

[Grandpaw]

I stand corrected. I play ed with it some more and the TTL-BL fill flash mode will work in all modes as long as you are not using your meter in spot mode. It will work in all modes if you are using center weighted or matrix metering. Sorry about telling everyone the wrong information, I thought it was correct. Thanks go to Mark for his reply that got me checking this out far enough to get the information correct for me and everyone else, Jeff

[Mark Woodworth]

I stand corrected. I play ed with it some more and the TTL-BL fill flash mode will work in all modes as long as you are not using your meter in spot mode. It will work in all modes if you are using center weighted or matrix metering. Sorry about telling everyone the wrong information, I thought it was correct. Thanks go to Mark for his reply that got me checking this out far enough to get the information correct for me and everyone else, Jeff

Thanks to you for the post!