Josh Miller , Apr 26, 2007; 04:31 p.m.
I have been having problems with my Sb-800 and 600 set up. No matter how much compensation I dial in
everything comes out under exposed. I can remove umbrellas and point them at my subject from 5 feet
and they still under expose. If I just set one flash on iTTL it does fine, so it is not a power issue. I use a
TTL cord to place my master 800 off camera and then use it to control the 600.
My other problem is that some times in the middle of a shoot the hole system just stops working. I get
pre flashes, but the flash does not fire during the shutter. I get solid black no flash pics.
After searching the net I find other people talking about this under exposure problem as well. Does the
system just suck? should I just give up on TTL and go all manual. I was really hoping to avoid this
because of speed and ease.
Matt Laur 
, Apr 26, 2007; 04:57 p.m.
Josh: how are you metering? Meaning, CLS is TRYING to help you... but if you change your focal length, move your point of view, use spot focusing and happen to meter off the subject's shiny nose instead of her dark hair, you'll get wildly different results. If you're using matrix or multi-sensor metering and you have a white backdrop, CLS could be thinking that it's just trying to fill in a bit, rather than heavily light the scene. Are you adjusting the per-strobe/per-channel compensation, or the camera's EXPOSURE compensation?
Curt Wiler 
, Apr 26, 2007; 05:46 p.m.
Agreed it is TRYING to help you, but I have found that balanced fill flash (BL) can work against you. Try turning it off on the flash.
Josh Miller , Apr 26, 2007; 05:53 p.m.
I changing nothing about the shoot. Not shooting a white background. I am adjusting flash
compensation on flash for each channel.
Matt Laur , Apr 26, 2007; 07:09 p.m.
OK, so changing the flash exposure per channel helps with raios between them... but on the camera itself, do an overall exposure compensation, upwards.
Ellis Vener , Apr 26, 2007; 09:50 p.m.
Wha tf-stops are you working at ? try without the umbrellas. That's right just point them straight at your subject. Umbrellas and softbox absorb anywhere from one stop to 2 or three stops of light.
Tom Meyer , Apr 26, 2007; 11:39 p.m.
"should I just give up on TTL and go all manual?".... yes. If you want control, take control... t
Frank Skomial 
, Apr 26, 2007; 11:51 p.m.
If your pictures are under exposed, so you should get visual and audible warning, and you will know, there is no reason to guess. Make sure the sound monitor is ON, and listen to beeps after exposure, page 89 in the Manual for SB-800.
Perhaps reading the manual would help ?
Otherwise the flash will output proper amount of light.
So, if you do not pay attention to your flash, or do not understand how it operates... so perhaps it is not Nikon CLS...?
Frank Skomial , Apr 27, 2007; 12:18 a.m.
If your SB-800 displays amount of ender exposure (the display does not last long - so read it quickly), adjust the camera aperture flash by that amount, since the flash already used up all the power it had. Compensating, in case when flash does not have the power to spare, will not do any good for you.
Tom Meyer , Apr 27, 2007; 01:21 p.m.
"Otherwise the flash will output proper amount of light... I am impressed by the SB800/D200 combo, but I have never found a TTL system that is as accurate, reliable and controllable as a good thyristor-based auto exposing flash unit.
As for assessing flash exposure by listening for a beep... isn't it too late when the d__n thing beeps? Isn't that more of an apology than anything else? Especially since the very next TTL exposure may be fine, even if you change nothing? I occasionally use CLS and TTL (with appropriate compensation for the specific environment/effect), but certainly not with the flash mounted in an umbrella and never on a paying job.
Why would anyone want to use TTL flash with an umbrella modified, static positioned flash? Isn't consistent output from a light source what we are after in that situation? Use CLS for a wireless trigger, but determine your power settings for yourself. Facial expressions and body language are too fleeting and impossible to reproduce. The underexposure "beep" is a moot signifier that really means you just lost a moment that you'll never get back... t
