Nikon SB-16A/B

Open Flash Button The ready-light on the SB-16 can be used as an open flash button 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 flash unit repeatedly with the camera set at B.

In this case, make sure that the flash unit is not connected to the camera. The open-flash button is also useful for test-firing the SB-16 to determine whether the illumination from the flash was sufficient for proper exposure in the non-TTL automatic mode. With the shooting mode selector set at one of the colour-coded dots (A1 or A2), push the " FLASH " button; if it starts blinking, then you know the amount of light might have been insufficient for the subject. In this case, reset the selector to A1 if it was set at A2, or move closer to the subject. This test-firing is especially useful when the flash head is tilted and/or rotated for bounce flash. In the TTL mode, test-firing must be performed by tripping the shutter. Note that, without film loaded in the camera, the ready-light will blink even if the correct exposure is obtainable. As a substitute for loaded roll film, you can use a strip of cut film (provided it is not too old) or a piece of grey paper.

Tilting/Rotating Flash Head For truly creative bounce flash photography, the SB-16 has two flash heads.

The main head tilts back 90° with click-stops at the 30°, 45°, 60°, 75° and 90° positions. It also rotates through an arc or 270°, 90° clockwise with click stops at 30°, 60° and 90° positions, and 180° counter clockwise with click-stops at 30°, 60°, 90°, 120°, 150° and 180° positions. To rotate it, push the flash head locking lever ~D up as you move the flash head until it clicks into place. Notes: 1) In the MD mode, only the main head fires. 2) A special red LED /s built into one end of the flashcube to ensure stable light output If you re/ease the camera's shutter or push the open-flash button before the SB-16 is fully recycled, the LED might light up - this not a malfunction.

Secondary Flash Head The smaller secondary head is built into the front of the flash unit and faces straight ahead. Its purpose is to fill in the shadows in the eye sockets and provide a catch light for the eyes when doing bounce flash. The secondary head has a guide number of 8.

Wide Flash Adaptor SW-7 The Wide-Flash Adaptor attached in front of the SB-16's main flash head with the zoom head set at W1 (for a 28mm lens) increases the angle of coverage from the 70° horizontal and 53° vertical to 78° and 60° respectively, allowing the SB-16 to be used with a 24mm wideangle lens. With the SW-7 attached. remember to set the zoom head knob on the exposure calculator dial at W2. Because the SW-7 diffuses the light emitted from the SB-16, the guide number is reduced to 19 at ASA/ISO 100 and meters, and the auto shooting ranges are less.

TTL Multiple Flash Terminal & Sync/Multiple Flash Terminal

The TTL multiple flash terminal is provided for TTL multiple flash photography.

A threaded terminal which serves two purposes:

These sockets can be used to attach a sync cord to the SB-16 for off-camera operation or you can attach a second electronic flash in series for manual multiple lighting setups. Notes: 1) When the SB-16 is used off-camera via a sync cord, ready-light indication inside the camera's viewfinder and automatic sync speed setting are not available, and TTL auto flash operation cannot be performed. 2) When attached to an all-metallic accessory shoe, such as the one on the Nikkormat FTN camera, the SB-16 does not fire even if it is connected to the camera body with a sync cord In this case, isolate the flash contact with vinyl tape or use the optional accessory sync cord, SC-10 as required.

Synchro-Sunlight fill-in Flash Photography A backlit subject, such as a person outside with his/her back to the sun or indoors in front of a window, may come out almost as a silhouette if the background is correctly exposed. On the other hand, if exposure compensation is made to give the correct exposure for a backlit subject, the background may be washed out. To fill in the shadows and balance the illumination levels of the subject and background, you can use an electronic flash unit even in daytime.

Without flash or exposure compensation: the backlit subject comes out too dark.
Without flash, but with the exposure compensation dial set at + 2: the subject's face is correctly exposed, but the background is too bright.

One important fact to remember in balancing the exposure for both subject and background is this: Exposure with a flash unit is determined only by the aperture selected, whereas exposure for ambient daylight is determined by a combination of shutter speed and aperture.

With fill-in flash: both the subject and the background come out properly exposed

Synchro-sunlight fill-in flash photography is possible with the SB-16's shooting mode selector set to the TTL-automatic, non-TTL automatic, or manual mode. Operation in the manual mode assures you of good results in virtually all cases, so we will describe this procedure first.

In the manual mode 1) Set the shutter speed on the camera manually. Set the camera manually to the highest synchronization speed for electronic flash or a slower one. 2)Take a meter reading of the background. Frame the background in the camera's viewfinder, so that the backlit subject is not included. Turn on the camera's exposure meter to determine the proper f/stop for the shutter speed you have set. 3) Determine the flash-to-subject distance. Using the equation below, calculate the flash-to-subject distance using the guide number for the film in use and the f/stop set on the lens:

flash-to-subject distance = Guide number divided by f/stop 4) Position the SB-16 at the correct distance. Set the flash-to-subject distance on the lens distance scale; then move in and out until the subject appears sharp in the camera's viewfinder. To vary the composition, you can use a wideangle-to-telephoto zoom lens. As an alternate method, remove the flash unit from the camera using a separate sync cord and position it at the correct distance; then you can shoot from any position. 5)Take the picture. Set the SB-16 for manual operation, turn it on and wait until it is fully recycled before taking the shot. This procedure balances the exposure for the subject with that of the background. However, in synchro-sunlight fill-in flash photography, it is a good idea to use the light from the flash unit as a secondary light by decreasing the flash illumination by approx. one or two stops to eliminate harsh shadows caused by the ambient daylight. There are two ways of decreasing flash illumination. One is to use an aperture that's one or two f/stops smaller than that determined in step 2) in combination with a shutter speed that should be slower by one or two steps to give the background a correct exposure; the other is to use a flash-to-subject distance 1.4 or two times longer than that determined through the equation. You will obtain more natural-looking results with either method. You can also combine the two methods. Some photographers prefer to overexpose the background by one stop in order to create an intentionally backlit effect by using a shutter speed that's slower by a further one step.

In the TTL-automatic mode 2) Same as Steps 1) and 2) in the manual mode. 3)Take the picture. With the SB-16 set at TTL and turned on, just take the picture.

Notes: 1) With a strongly backlit subject (such as a scene containing the sun), the desired exposure balance may not be obtained In this case, use the SB- 16 on manual. 2) To give different exposures to the subject and background, you can reset the camera's shutter speed dial and exposure compensation dial accordingly. For example, use a slower shutter speed to make the background overexposed and turn the exposure compensation dial in the direction to make the subject underexposed.

In the non-TTL automatic mode 1)Set a shooting aperture on the lens. Read off the two usable apertures from the exposure calculator dial and set one of them on the lens. 2) Take a meter reading of the background. Frame the background in the camera's viewfinder and turn on the camera's meter to determine the proper shutter speed for the aperture you have set. Note that the shutter speed should be within the flash synchronization range for the camera you are using. 3)Take the picture. With the SB-16 set at A1 or A2 and turned on, take the picture only if a proper synchronization speed is available. Notes: 1) Exposure is more easily affected by the brightness of the background in the non-TTL automatic mode than it is in the TTL-automatic mode. 2) Because the usable apertures are limited In the non-TTL automatic mode, a proper shutter speed to match the shooting aperture may not be available.

Synchronization with slow shutter speeds If you are using the SB-16 at a high shutter speed under dim light, the background may come out too dark. To avoid this, use a slower shutter speed. The procedure for synchronization with slow shutter speeds is the same as that described before; however, you should mount the camera on a tripod to avoid camera shake at speeds of 1/30sec. and below. Also, it is recommended that you make the background somewhat underexposed. Note: When using colour film, especially transparency film, unnatural colour casts may occur when the ratio of flash illumination to ambient light is low.

Fast synchronization speed: the background is too dark
Slow synchronization speed: now details in the background can be seen.

Diffusing the Light

Light is what gives form to solid objects. If the flash is pointed directly at the subject and located near the lens, the subject will look flat because of the lack of shadows. However, if the flash is moved off-axis, shadows start to appear on the side opposite the light source, thus giving the impression of roundness. But because the light still comes directly from the flash, the shadows are harsh and unattractive. By diffusing the light, you can eliminate the harsh shadows, making snapshots and portraits much more attractive. There are two ways to diffuse light: you can either bounce the light off a broad reflective surface, such as the ceiling or walls, or use a diffuser between flash and subject.

Bounce flash photography With the SB-16's main flash head tilted back and/or rotated, the light travels directly to the ceiling or wail and then bounces back to the subject.

Combination bounce and direct flash: Soft natural looking lighting with a pleasing catch light in the eyes Direct flash: harsh, unflattering lighting Acting as a broad reflector, the ceiling or wall scrambles the direction of the light rays, making the lighting diffused and much more natural looking. Because the SB-16's secondary flash head faces straight ahead, it provides a small amount of direct illumination to fill in unflattering shadows around the eyes and creates a catch light for the eyes.

The procedure for bounce flash is as follows: 1) Choose the bounce surface. Select the ceiling or wall you want to bounce the flash off of; then tilt and/or rotate the main flash head so that it points in that direction. The position of the flash unit, the bounce angle, and the setting of the zoom head should be determined after considering the size and shape of the subject and the effect desired. With a subject having great depth, some light should reach the point furthest away from the camera to create a three-dimensional effect. For portraits, consider how much brightness you want for the background. 2) Set the zoom head. In bounce flash photography, a large amount of light is required, because the light has to travel a longer distance than in direct flash photography, and also the bounce surface absorbs a certain amount of light. Therefore, it is recommended that the zoom head be set at T The ratio of diffused illumination (from the bounce surface) to direct illumination (from the secondary flash head) is also an important consideration. If the bounce surface is too far away or is not very reflective, the level of the diffused illumination may be almost the same as the direct illumination, thus effectively cancelling the diffused lighting effect. In this case, adjust the angle of the main flash head or shorten the bounce distance so that there is more difference in illumination levels. 3) Choose an aperture. Test firing the flash is necessary, because exposure in bounce flash photography depends on so many conditions, such as reflectivity of the bounce surface and the bounce distance. Note that, in bounce flash, shooting distance cannot be read with the exposure calculator dial. 4) Bracket your exposures. It is recommended that you take additional shots, with the camera's exposure compensation dial set in the + direction for TTL automatic shooting or with the lens opened up one or two f/stops in the regular (non-TTL) automatic mode.

Notes: 1) In general, there is a two or three f/stop loss of illumination because of the absorption of light by the reflective surface. 2) Unless the surface of the reflector you are bouncing the light off of is white or silver, your colour photographs will come out with an unnatural colour cast similar to that of the reflecting surface 3) When the flash head is tilted back 45° or less, some amount of light from the flash head may reach the subject directly, causing unevenness of illumination. To avoid this, make sure the head is tilted back 60° or more. 4) In bounce flash, the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.

Using a diffuser it is also possible to diffuse the light by placing a translucent material, such as one or more sheets of tracing paper, between the flash and subject. You can create more pronounced diffusion by placing a certain distance between the diffuser and flash than by wrapping the diffuser around the flash head. Experimentation with different flash-to-diffuser distances and/or with more than one diffuser is recommended.

One flash unit: standard, rather static lighting. Two flash units (right): dramatic lighting resembling window light.With the SB-16 and F3-series, FA, FE2, F-501/N2020, F-301/N2000, FG or Nikonos-V camera combination, both TTL and manual multiple flash photography are possible. In both cases, one important fact to remember is that the effect produced by using more than one flash unit depends on the lighting ratio or balance of illumination between flash units. So first you should determine the role of each flash unit, deciding which flash will be the main flash and which the secondary.