Nikon N90 and Nikon compatible TTL Flash

[newcan1]

I have been trying to learn more about the flash capabilities of my Nikon N90. Reading the manual, it seems that with many Nikon branded TTL flash units, the camera automatically selects "automatic balanced fill flash" over "standard TTL flash". The former apparently takes account of ambient light and results in better exposure of the main subject; the latter can tend to over-expose the main subject and under-expose the background.

My favoritest flash of all time is not a Nikon branded one, but my Sunpak 555. I recently acquired a Sunpak Nikon TTL module and cable for it. Does anyone have any idea how the N90 will work with the Sunpak on TTL mode? Any idea where I could find some substantive commentary on the Nikon TTL capability of the Sunpak 555?

 

[markbarendt]

I have the N90s and with the compatible Nikon Speed lights it really does a good job with matrix balanced fill. This can drag the shutter down pretty slow as the light dims, which is just the nature of the beast. Don't know if the sun pack is compatible though.

 

[newcan1]

I don't know either -- the Sunpak TTL module is designed for Nikon TTL, but you never know how sophisticated a different brand is. I guess I'll use it with the TTL module and compare it with a legit Nikon flash, and see how it does. Have you used the N90S with a Nikon TTL flash for outdoor fill? Does it do well there?

 

[markbarendt]

Definitely worth a try.

 

[dorff]

Worth a try, yes. But I would expect just plain TTL capability out of that setup, not balanced fill-flash. You can do the latter by using manual exposure mode and dialling in flash compensation, if necessary. But you would have to have a pretty good understanding of what you are trying to achieve, and that would mean some experimentation. Not something I'd try with slide film, I think.

 

[markbarendt]

The other thing that's worth a try is setting the background exposure manually and using the auto mode in the flash unit to get subject exposure.