Nikon F6 Creative Lighting System, TTL Flash Control, TTL Balanced Fill-Flash, Standard TTL Flash

Creative Lighting System

The F6 supports flash photography when an optional Speedlight is mounted on the camera’s accessory shoe. A flash can be used not only when natural lighting is inadequate, but also to fill in shadows, illuminate backlit subjects, and even to add a catchlight to the eyes of a portrait subject.

The Creative Lighting System

When used with an SB-800 or SB-600 Speedlight (available separately), the F6 supports the full range of options available with the Nikon Creative Lighting System (CLS), including i-TTL flash control, FV Lock, Auto FP High- Speed Sync, and AF-assist illumination for multi-area autofocus. When used with multiple SB-800/SB-600 flash units, the F6 also supports Advanced Wireless Lighting.

•i-TTL Flash Control

When used with the F6 and set to TTL, the SB-800/SB-600 automatically uses one of the following types of i-TTL flash control:

i-TTL Balanced Fill-Flash

The Speedlight emits a series of nearly invisible preflashes (monitor preflashes) immediately before the main flash. Preflashes reflected from objects in all areas of the frame are picked up by the five-segment TTL flash control sensor or 1,005-pixel RGB sensor and are analyzed in combination with information from the Matrix Metering system to adjust flash output for natural balance between the main subject and ambient background lighting. When a type G or D lens is used, distance information is included when calculating flash output. Precision of calculation can be increased for non-CPU lenses by providing lens data (focal length and maximum aperture; x 144). Select a metering system on the F6 other than Spot Metering. (With Spot Metering, the Flash mode automatically switches to Standard TTL flash.)

Standard TTL Flash

Flash output is adjusted to ensure the main subject is correctly exposed; background brightness is not taken into account. Recommended for shots in which the main subject is emphasized at the expense of background details, or when exposure compensation is used. Standard TTL flash is activated automatically when Spot metering is selected.

Monitor Preflash will not normally operate in Standard TTL flash; it does, however, operate in Auto FP High-Speed Sync or FV Lock (Standard i-TTL flash).

Flash may not fire when the background is extremely bright.

150