Let there be light
Power is nothing without control and the same applies to flashguns
oing one step beyond regular TTL flash metering, Nikon developed the TTL-BL (Balanced Light) mode. This aims to give a better balance between flash and ambient lighting, for more naturallooking results. It works in wide-ranging scenarios, from dull indoor conditions to bright outdoor lighting where, for example, you’re using a flashgun to fill in shadows caused by direct sunlight. Typically, though, overall exposures can look a bit darker, so you might prefer the results you get with regular TTL mode. Either way, it’s easy to apply some positive or negative flash exposure compensation to adjust the flashgun’s output power to your desired value for any given shot.
GApart from the Nikon SB-500, all other flashguns on test have ‘zoom heads’. These have a zoom range of at least 24-105mm or more, in full-frame terms, equating to 16-70mm focal lengths on a DX camera. What’s more, the zoom mechanisms in the flashguns are motorized so, as part of the ‘dedicated’ features, the flash can automatically zoom to match the focal length or zoom setting of the lens you’re using. The bonus is that, as you sweep from wide-angle to standard and telephoto settings, the angle of flash coverage becomes narrower. This makes more power available for illuminating subjects at further distances, when using longer lenses.
All of the flashguns we’re featuring also have bounce and swivel heads. These enable you to bounce the light output off walls and ceilings, instead of firing directly at the subject. This can give a much softer quality of light that’s vastly more flattering for portraits. The softness of the light increases with the size of the light source so, if you bounce the light from a small flashgun off a large surface like a white wall or ceiling, it basically becomes much bigger.
Another enhancement in the lighting effect is to use the flashgun off-camera. This enables the creation of ‘modelling’ with shadows, which gives images a much more three-dimensional look, rather than typical ‘flashgun’ lighting which can appear flat. Check out the reviews to see which flashguns offer master/remote wireless connectivity for off-camera flash.