Nikon F3 TTL with SB-800 Flash

A friend of mine asked me to photograph her wedding. Even though on-camera flash photography is not my forte, she insists she loves my style and wants me to do it. I agree. Usually, everything I shoot with strobes gets metered with a flash meter and sometimes I even take Polaroids to make sure the lighting is perfect. Needless to say, I'm one of those people who needs to take their time when shooting.

I have a Nikon F3 and my girlfriend has a Nikon SB-800 flash which I'll be using for the wedding. I've never messed with the TTL capabilities of my Nikon F3 and I was wondering if I used a flash like the Nikon SB-800, would I be able to set it on auto and let the flash do the work for me? I really don't even know how to ask this question and I'm hoping someone knows what I'm talking about and gives me some wisdom on this. I just want to be able to take shots without worrying about setting the aperature every time I recompose. It's bad enough that I have to manually focus everything.

Thanks in advance for any help,
Ara

I don't shoot a whole lot of indoor on-camera flash shots either, but can tell you that the TTL metering on my F3 works well with my old SB-16 flash. I've also used a Metz CL-1 off camera with the flash on auto (camera at 1/80 flash sync, fixed aperture) with fine results with the F3.

Perhaps this is stating the obvious, but why not just run a test roll with the SB-800 before finding out the hard way (ie., after the wedding!) that there's a problem?

Best, Graham

GM Bennett said:

Perhaps this is stating the obvious, but why not just run a test roll with the SB-800 before finding out the hard way (ie., after the wedding!) that there's a problem?

Best, Graham

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Graham,
It's not stating the obvious because for some reason I didn't think of that. Thanks!
Ara

No problem. I guess the other issue that you may already have covered is that the F3 has the weird flash coupling, so that to use a flash with a standard foot like the SB-800, you'd need a flash coupler (the AS-17, I think, to keep the TTL capability, which I think costs more than it should, certainly more than the SB-16 I picked up on that auction site for cheap).

Good luck! Graham

Actually, I have the Vivitar adapter (I forget the model number) that has worked fine for me for years. I think it should work fine. I am assuming a lot of the more advanced flash features on the SB-800 won't work with the F3, but I'll test it all first. It is a really nice flash unit and I may just steal it from her.
Ara

Ara Ghajanian said:

Actually, I have the Vivitar adapter (I forget the model number) that has worked fine for me for years. I think it should work fine. I am assuming a lot of the more advanced flash features on the SB-800 won't work with the F3, but I'll test it all first. It is a really nice flash unit and I may just steal it from her.
Ara

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The Vivitar adapter won't give you TTL with that flash, it'll give you a hot shoe though. IIRC, it will give you TTL with a Vivitar 5200.

Rather than spend the $$$ on an AS-17, you might be better off finding a used SB-16 or SB-11.

Ara

Look into a used SB-16 or SB-11, as Bob Fowler suggested. I also highly recommend a flash bracket and a small softbox of some type.

Kiron Kid
www.quietlightphotography.com

Also, you'll want to use lithium batteries in the flash unit. They last MUCH longer than alkalines, and the flash unit will recycle almost immediately.

Kiron Kid