Help Needed with Speedlite YN460-II

[L Plater]

Hi There I have a Nikon D40 and bought a Speedlite YN460-II and when I attach it to my camera and put it in Auto or portrait mode and take a shot the shutter speed slows right down but if I take flash off shutter speed gos back to normal:confused013am I doing something wrong ? when I bought it they told me it was compatible with D40 can any one HELP pleeeeeeese.
L Plater

[kiwi]

Hi There I have a Nikon D40 and bought a Speedlite YN460-II and when I attach it to my camera and put it in Auto or portrait mode and take a shot the shutter speed slows right down but if I take flash off shutter speed gos back to normal:confused013am I doing something wrong ? when I bought it they told me it was compatible with D40 can any one HELP pleeeeeeese.
L Plater

Quite normal, the d40 has a maximum sync speed of 1

[kiwi]

Oops

1/250s. Just google or look I'm the manual about flash sync speed

[L Plater]

Is there any way to speed it up like when speedlite not attached? because all my photos come out blurry when I use speedlite? sorry if I sound dumb but am very new to all this hence the name L Plater.

[kiwi]

In fact you shouldn't need to, the flash itself freezes motion at something like 1/10000s regardless of shutter speed

It might be another issue causing blurry shots

Post some up

[L Plater]

when I take the speedlite off and shoot using built in flash it works perfectly? it only slows down when I attach speedlite, have looked in manual and cant find any thing to help me it has a section on optional flashes and says it should just over ride inbuilt flash not sure what to do?

[L Plater]

I think I get the slightly blury shots because the shutter speed slows down with speedlite flash and I don't hold camera still enough but this doesn't happen with inbuilt flash as it doesn't slow the shutter speed down and am hoping I can have the same shutter speed with speedlite as i have with in built flash if this makes sense.

[Scotty72]

I think I get the slightly blury shots because the shutter speed slows down with speedlite flash and I don't hold camera still enough but this doesn't happen with inbuilt flash as it doesn't slow the shutter speed down and am hoping I can have the same shutter speed with speedlite as i have with in built flash if this makes sense.

When you say it slows down, how slow 1/?? sec?

What mode are you using the camera in? I suspect a setting other than Manual.

What I suspect is happening is:

That flash is a manual flash (not TTL) so, the camera doesn't 'talk' to it. It doesn't really recognise there is a flash stuck to the top of it. When it is doing its metering, it is assuming there is no flash (as the pop up can't pop up with the speedlight attached).

In effect, it is metering for a dark scene that it assuming wont be filled with light.


When you take it off and pop up the in-built flash (which is ttl) the camera recognises a flash and 'talks' to it - together, they decided how much light is needed. Knowing there is a light source, the camera can now decide to up the shutter speed.

The rub is, it is a manual flash that you have to use in manual mode.

If you need to use modes other than manual, you need a TTL flash.

Hope this helps

Scotty

[L Plater]

That all makes sence, because the flash still tries to come up when I go to use it in auto modes.
Not sure how to put a number on how slow it is but noticeably (really new to this) and the problem is in all auto modes auto ,portrait,ect. What would the best mode do you think I should use? me being stupid I thought this flash was a auto not manual.
Cheers

[ricktas]

That all makes sence, because the flash still tries to come up when I go to use it in auto modes.
Not sure how to put a number on how slow it is but noticeably (really new to this) and the problem is in all auto modes auto ,portrait,ect. What would the best mode do you think I should use? me being stupid I thought this flash was a auto not manual.
Cheers

Manual mode. good starting point ISO-100, Aperture F8, Shutter speed 1/200 or 1/250. You will then need to adjust your settings from there based on the results. Why? Cause we don't know what you are taking photos of, how dark it is etc. There is no 'perfect' setting or solution.

If you are really new and do not understand the correlation between the camera settings. head over to our New To Photography forum and have a read.

[L Plater]

Thanks for that have set to your suggestions and had a play and am starting to win :) photos and flash starting to make more sence to me and photos look a lot better. To all who helped me and put up with my beginner questions THANKS HEAPS love the site keep up the good work Cheers.

[Scotty72]

First thing you need to do is understand the basics of exposure in good light without flash.

That is, set your camera to M and then adjust shutter speed and aperture until the light meter is pretty well centred. Basically, as you increase the shutter speed, the more you need to open up the aperture (smaller number) and vice-versa (within the limits of your camera and your ability to hold the camera steady at slower speeds).

Once you are able to do that, then start thinking of the flash as a way to compensate for the light meter being a stop or two (or even more) below a proper exposure.

How many stops below? Well, that depends on the power and setting of your flash (the yn-460 II is pretty strong).

Just remember though, the stronger the flash (so you are closing up the aperture in order to not overexpose or quickening the shutter (or some combo of both)) the more the flash will overwhelm the ambient light - the more your foreground will light up and background will darken.

So, you need to experiment between flash, exposure (SS / apper) in order to get as evenly a lit picture as possible. In general, use only as much flash as you absolutely need.

Do a youtube search on 'Shutter Drag' or '2nd (rear) curtain flash'... there a a few good instructional vids that will help - once you understand the manual exposure mode.

Hope I've not confused you too much.

Scotty

[L Plater]

Confused hell yer :confused013 but have to start somewhere, have been doing alot of reading and playing around in manual mode, I will have a look at YouTube, do you think I would be better off buying a automatic flash ? the reason I wanted a better flash in the first place was because I take alot of night shots with fishing, thanks again for your help:th3:.
Cheers

[Scotty72]

I had typed a brilliant, long answer to this on


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[Scotty72]

I had typed a brilliant, long answer to this on my PC. But just as I was about to post it, bloody iiNet goes kaput for the night. So, I'm stuck tapping on the iPhone. Anyway, I'll post it tomorrow when, hopefully iiNet will be back up.

Meanwhile, the short answer is, stay with manual as your will learn much more, much faster.

Scotty


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Scotty72]

I would say no to the expense of a ttl flash.

Why? You will learn so much more quickly if you go manual. I have a Canon 580ex II (TTL) and 2x YN-460II and a YN-460 (I accidentally ordered this from flea - bay :) my mistake). I rarely use TTL mode anymore and even when I do I find myself always dialing in a compensation factor (over-riding the autosetting - as I can guess what the flash will set)

Once you are comfortable setting manual exposure when there is no need for flash, try this..

Attach a lens that can can be set to about 50mm (either a prime of a zoom - so long as it can be set to about 50mm (this is a reasonable setting for taking a portrait)

Put the camera in full AUTO (for the moment)

Go into a slightly dark room that is reasonably large wall (judge slightly dark by finding a light level where the auto flash wants to pop - but not too dark) and after putting the flash back down, setting the ISO to 400 (reasonable for indoor and, will make this task easier) and putting the camera in manual mode. Focus at 50mm on an object that is only a couple of feet from the camera but few feet out from a wall - try to get the foreground and background in the shot. Try to get the pointer in the light meter to the centre (proper exposue). This should be the lowest F setting your lens can (say f4).

You should find the shutter speed is ridiculously slow (maybe 1/10 - 1/30 sec - too slow for hand held unless you have the world's best image stabilisers or have ice-water in your veins) (if the shutter is faster than 1/30 - then reduce the ISO). Take an exposure at about 50mm. You ought to notice that it looks a bit blurry (image shake). But you should notice the light should be pretty even across the image (assume the light is even in the room)

Next, without touching any other setting. Set your shutter to 1/60sec (at 50 mm this speed should elimate shaking unless you are a very shaky person). Take the exposure - it should be rather dark - but, evenly dark. (still can see what the picture is but, way too dark).

Now, attach your YN-460 II and set it for the lowest setting. Retake the picture. Hopefully it will look far better (you may need to increase the flash power slightly (if still a bit dark) or increase shutter speed (if a bit too bright)). You will notice the foreground is brighter than the background ( shouldn't be too tragic - but noticeable.)

NOw, ISO - 100 (or the lowest you can go)... Shutter speed to 250 (don't go too much higher or else you'll get flash banding) and apperture to f22 or as high as you can. Take the photo. Should be very dark.

Now, gradually increase the flash power until it gets lighter. You should notice that the more you rely on the flash, the less evenly exposed it is (foreground very bright / background dark). This will also depend on the distances between flash and foreground and foreground and background.

So, you need to experiment with the lowest shutter speed you can sensibly handle, (look up the shutter speed vs focal length rule of thumb as a rough guide), the lowest f# you can get (experiment with this later) in combination with the lowest flash power you need to light the frame. You'll be surprised how slow a shutter you can get if the scene is darkish, as the flash will tend to freeze the foreground (assuming that it the subject) - but stay around 1/60 the for 50mm until you get better.

Obviously, if you start taking low light sports action etc. the rules change a bit :)


Good luck..

Scotty