Nikon SB-12 Flash Unit - Instruction Manual

	Mounting Foot. The SB-12 features a mounting foot designed for exclusive use with the F3's new accessory shoe. Inside the foot are three pins which make contact with the three electrical contacts on the accessory shoe. They provide: 1 ) direct synchronization contact between the flash unit and the camera;
2) LED ready-light signal transmission, plus auto switching to the proper synchronization speed of 1/80 sec. with the camera on "AUTO", or manually set to 1/125 sec. or above; and 3) through-the-lens control of the flash exposure using the camera's SPD metering cell as the auto sensor.

Flash Head The SB-12's flash head rotates through an arc of 180° with click-stops every 90°. With the speedlight unit mounted on the camera, it is recommended to turn the flash head to the horizontal position (with the calculator dial on top) to insure adequate coverage when using wideangle lenses.

	In this position, the angle of coverage is 56° horizontal and 40° vertical allowing the SB-12 to be used with a 35mm wideangle lens.
With the optional Wide-Flash Adaptor SW-4, coverage is wide enough for a 28mm lens. Using the SB-12 in the vertical position is generally not recommended, since this will result in inadequate coverage with light falloff in the corners of the frame. The colour temperature of the SB-12's light output makes it suitable for use with daylight-type colour film.

Shooting Mode Selector On Auto: To shoot on Auto, slide the shooting mode selector to "A." The SB-12 is able to vary its light output automatically to match the camera to-subject distance.

	The farther away the subject is, the more light is emitted; the closer the subject, the less light is given off. In addition, recycling time varies with distance. The closer the subject, the shorter the recycling time and vice versa.
On Manual: The SB- 12 incorporates an override for man control. You can use it in situations require a regular electronic flash unit. To use, slide shooting mode selector to "M." Then the SB will fire at its maximum light output.

Flash synchronization

As soon as the SB-12 is mounted onto the f accessory shoe and turned on, the shutter speed is automatically switched to the pro synchronization speed of 1/80 sec. This is case when the shutter speed dial is at "A" manually set to 1/125 sec. and above. However if the dial is manually set to 1/80 sec. (X) below, the flash unit synchronizes with shutter speed selected.

Exposure Calculator Dial (For Automatic Operation)

The SB-12's exposure calculator dial helps you select the usable range of f/stops for the speed of the film in use and the camera-to-subject distance. On the dial there are eight f/stops to choose from.

Each f/stop determines the usable distance range in which you can obtain the correct automatic exposure. The automatic shooting range for each f/stop is indicated by a colour-coded line. When the subject distance remains the same, the larger the aperture selected, the less the depth of field in the final photograph, and the maximum shooting distance is greater, but the recycling time of the speedlight is shorter. On the other hand, the smaller the aperture, the greater the depth of field, but the recycling time is longer and the maximum shooting distance is less. Therefore, in choosing an f/stop, all these factors should be taken into consideration.

The following two examples explain how to use the exposure calculator dial:

Example 1 If you are using ASA/ISO 100 film, you can shoot subjects at distances from 0.6m to 12m (approx. 2ft to 40ft) at the respective f/stops shown in the table.

f-stop	Film sensitivity (ASA/ISO)					AUTO shooting range m (ft)
	400	200	100	50	25	AUTO shooting range m (ft)
	2	-	-	-	-	4-15 (13.1-49.2)
	2.8	2	-	-	-	3 - I 5 (9.8 - 49.2)
	4	2.8	2	-	-	2-12 (6.6-39.4)
	5.6	4	2.8	2	-	1.4 - 8.8 (4.6 - 28.9)
	8	5.6	4	2.8	2	1 - 6.2 (3.3 - 20.3)
	11	8	5.6	4	2.8	0.8-4.4 (2.6- 14.4)
	16	11	8	5.6	4	0.7-3.1 (2.3- 10.2)
	22	16	11	8	5.6	0.6 - 2.2 (2.0 - 7.2)
	-	22	16	11	8	0.6 - 1.5 (2.0 - 4.9)
	-	-	22	16	11	0.6 - 1.1 (2.0 - 3.6)

Example 2 With ASA/ISO 100 film and a subject at 3 meters (approx. 10ft ) away, you can shoot any aperture from f/2 to f/8. If a short recycle time is preferable, use f/2. If greater depth field is desired, use f/8. A good compromise is f/5.6. Once you' ve selected the appropriate f/stop the film in use, set this on your lens and f away. Your pictures should come out properly exposed. For Manual Operation: Simply read off the f/stop which is opposite distance from camera to subject; then set this aperture on your lens.

Note: When using the Wide-Flash Adaptor SW-4 attached to the SB-12, the guide number (value to determine the power of the flash) will be diluted with the flash intensity being disperse to cover a wider angle of flash coverage, you have to refer to another section of the value on exposure calculator dial when with SW-4.

Flash Ready-Light

Built into the back of the SB-12 is a ready-light which comes on as soon as the speedlight is recycled and ready to fire.

Another readylight also appears inside the camera's viewfinder at the same time. Thus, without removing your eye from the eyepiece, you can tell when the flash unit is ready for the next shot. Both ready-lights also blink to warn you of the following conditions: 1) when the SB-12 is not attached properly to the F3's accessory shoe; 2) when the ASA/ISO dial on the camera is not set between ASA/ISO 25 and 400; or 3) when the speedlight fired at its maximum output indicating that the light might have been insufficient for correct exposure. The warning blink is approx. 2 seconds in duration. Note: The white plastic plate fauna in new cameras not only serves to protect the shutter curtains, but also can be used when making test shots with the speedlight. Without film or the white plastic plate in place, the ready-lights blink even if the camera and flash unit are at the correct setting.

Open-Flash/Test Button Located on the back of the SB-12, the red open-flash button is used to fire the flash unit manually without having to trip the camera's shutter.

In this manner, you can create multiple exposure "stroboscopic" effects or paint the scene with light by firing the speedlight repeatedly with the camera set to "B" or "T." The open-flash button is also used for test-firing the speedlight.

Sync Socket/Multiple Flash Connection
Plug one end of the optional SC-11 Sync Cord into this socket and the other end into the camera's sync terminal.

Then you can remove the speedlight from the F3's accessory shoe for off-camera operation.

WARNING: Automatic operation is not possible when using the SB-12 off-camera. In this case, set the shooting mode selector to "M" and compute the exposure manually. The sync socket also allows you to connect more than one SB-12 together for multiple lighting setups.

Wide-Flash Adaptor SW-4 This diffuser slides over the SB-12's flash head to increase the angle of coverage from the normal 56° horizontal and 40° vertical to 67° and 48° respectively. This insures that there will be adequate coverage when a 28mm wideangle lens is used or if you wish to dilute the flash output. At the same time, the guide number (ASA/ISO 100 and meters) is reduced from 25 to 18, or from 40 to 28 (ASA/ISO 25 and feet). When you use the exposure calculator dial with the SW-4 attached, turn the dial until the ASA/ISO index with the white "W" is opposite the speed of the film in use and then read off the usable f/stops and shooting ranges. For automatic operation, the following two examples explain how to use the exposure calculator dial.

Example 1 If you are using ASA/ISO 100 film, you can shoot subjects at distances from 0.6m to 8.8m (approx. 2ft to 29ft) at the respective f/stops shown in the table.
Example 2 With ASA/ISO 100 film and a subject three meters (approx. 10ft) away, you can shoot at apertures from f/2 to f/5.6.

For manual operation, simply read off the f/stop in the same way as without the wide flash adaptor attached.

f-stop	Film sensitivity (ASA/ISO)					AUTO shooting range m (ft)
	400	200	100	50	25	AUTO shooting range m (ft)
	2	-	-	-	-	2.5 - 15 (9.2-49.2)
	2.8	2	-	-	-	2.l - 12 (6.9-39.4)
	4	2.8	2	-	-	1.4 - 5.5 (4.6 - 25.9)
	5.6	4	2.8	2	-	1.0 - 6.2 (3. 3 - 20.3)
	8	5.6	4	2.8	2	0.7 - 4.4 (2. 3 -14.4)
	11	8	5.6	4	2.8	0.6 - 3.1 (2.0-10.2)
	16	11	8	5.6	4	0.6 - 2.2 (2.0-7.2)
	22	16	11	8	5.6	0.6 - 1.5 (2. 0-4.9)
	-	22	16	11	8	0.6 -1.1 (2.0-3.6)
	-	-	22	16	11	0.6 - 0.8 (2.0-2.6)

"Red Eye": "Red eye," an optical phenomenon in which a subject's eyes appear red in photographs taken with a flash unit, are a result of the flash light's directly illuminating the retina. This happens when the subject looks straight into the camera on which a flash unit is mounted. The effect becomes more pronounced if there is little or no ambient light. In this case, the iris of the eye is wide open, and the illuminated retina is clearly visible.

To reduce the chances of such phenomenon of "red eye", you can take any or all of the precautionary steps:
1. Brighten the room to minimize the opening of the subject's pupils.
2. Instruct the subject not to look straight into the camera.
3. Keep the flash unit as far away as possible from the camera by means of a sync cord.

Note: that once "red eye" appears, there is no way of retouching the negatives other than remove them after digitize the shoot by scanning or manually retouch them off in the print.