Using a flash with the Zeiss Ikon

[Bullwinkle]

This may sound like a dumb question but I suspect I'm not alone:

I'm going on a trip in two days and I wanted to bring my Nikon Speedlight SB600 so I could take pictures like a p&s over dinners with family and friends. The question is: if I set the shutter speed at sync speed (125) and shoot at f4 and set the flash unit on automatic, will that work? Is the camera transmitting the f-stop and ASA info to the flash?

The flash works great on my Nikon camera -- where it gets info on everything, f-stop, speed, focal length and distance. But I can't imagine the ZI transmitting the same amount of data.

As a backup, I've pre-calculated a table of manual flash settings to carry with me, but I'd like to know if auto mode works. And if the flash unit isn't getting focusing distance info, what sort of assumptions should I make about valid distances?

Thanks in advance.

[FanMan]

Originally Posted by Bullwinkle

This may sound like a dumb question but I suspect I'm not alone:

I'm going on a trip in two days and I wanted to bring my Nikon Speedlight SB600 so I could take pictures like a p&s over dinners with family and friends. The question is: if I set the shutter speed at sync speed (125) and shoot at f4 and set the flash unit on automatic, will that work? Is the camera transmitting the f-stop and ASA info to the flash?

The flash works great on my Nikon camera -- where it gets info on everything, f-stop, speed, focal length and distance. But I can't imagine the ZI transmitting the same amount of data.

As a backup, I've pre-calculated a table of manual flash settings to carry with me, but I'd like to know if auto mode works. And if the flash unit isn't getting focusing distance info, what sort of assumptions should I make about valid distances?

Thanks in advance.

No - aperture value has to be chosen manually. I use a small Metz Mecablitz - if I use the flash's auto mode the aperture is determined by the flash (can be read from a scale at the back of the flash). The aperture has to be set at the lens manually. Only the flash's intensity is adjusted automatically.

But I don't like the use of electronic flash. I prefer to use B&W film then (e.g. 400 ASA - mostly sufficient for indoor use).

[Bullwinkle]

Thanks. Maybe I should simplify my question:

If I set the shutter speed to 125 and put the SB600 flash on automatic, will it, in the words of Spike Lee, "Do the right thing"?

[Mazurka]

No. The SB600 is TTL only. No other auto modes with non-Nikon bodies.

[Bullwinkle]

Okay, thanks for the answer. That's what I need to know.

Bullwinkle