(Nikon) Introduction Six Flash Units from Nikon on a bellows. With their circular flashtubes posi­ Nikon has recently expanded and updated its tioned between camera and subject, both ringlights entire line of electronic flash equipment, so that provide even shadowless illumination for a variety there are now a total of six high-quality units for of close-up and macrophotographic subjects. your customers to choose from: four S8 -series speedlights, the S8-5, 7E, 8E, and 9; and two The Importance of Supplementary Lighting ringlights, the SR-2 and SM-2. The creative photographer of today is an artist who Nikon speedlights are handsomely styled and range paints his scenes using light instead of pigment. in size from the slim, easy-to-use S8-9 designed for He realizes that his control of light is what gives the occasional snapshooter to the versatile and impact to his photographs. It gives roundness to powerful bracket-mounting S8-5 offering solid forms, creates color and texture, and most professional features, such as flash synchronization importantly, establishes the mood of the picture. with motor-driven cameras at 3.8 frames per This control of light is not as complicated as it second. While all the S8-series speedlights offer the seems. From a photographic point of view, there capability for automatic exposure control, the are basically only two forms of light: existing three larger units employ the latest energy-saving, (what is already there) and supplementary (what is series circuitry using a SCR (Silicon Controlled added by the photographer). While many photo­ Rectifier) or Thyristor to shorten recycling time graphers accept the existing light as is, the and increase battery life when photographing experienced cameraman knows there are certain subjects at close range. situations that can only be handled by using The two Nikon ringlights are non-automatic flash supplementary illumination and others which can units designed exclusively to fit Nikkor lenses. The be dramatically improved with it. SR-2 regular ringlight screws into the 52mm front Consider the following .. thread of any Nikkor lens from 35 to 200mm; the Shooting pictures in dim light situations. If you SM-2 macro ringlight bayonets onto the rear of a have to photograph people outside at night, be it Nikkor lens when mounted in the reverse position an evening wedding reception or a track and field event held in a flood-lit stadium, the only way to batteries. Electronic flash is certainly much less be sure of getting sharp and properly exposed color expensive than using a new flash bulb for each shot photographs is to shoot your film at the normal or having to replace a photoflood lamp after only ASA and add your own illumination to the scene. six hours of shooting. Taking indoor color snapshots. Even with the Another advantage of electronic flash is its color advent of high-speed color negative films, extra temperature. The color quality of its light is illumination is still needed because of the low-light approximately that of noon daylight (5500° ~ level present in most rooms, as well as the un­ 6000° Kelvin) making it the perfect supplementary desirable color casts caused by standard indoor light light source to use with readily-available daylight sources-fluorescent tubes creating green skin color films or as a fill-in outside in bright sun. tones and normal light bulbs producing excessively With almost all other light sources, you are required red ones. to use special color correction filters or tungsten­ Making close-ups. Many people attempt to take type film. close-up shots of flowers or insects with only Probably the most exciting benefit of using limited success. The reason is simple: lack of electronic flash, and one that most people overlook, sufficient light. It is a known optical fact that as is its ability to "stop" fast action. The light from a you focus the lens closer to the subject (with the fl ash unit is i nterm ittent and on Iy goes on and off aid of extension tubes or a bellows unit ), the lens at the instant of exposure. Some units on "Auto­ must be moved farther away from the film plane. matic" emit a burst of light which lasts only As a result, the actual light reaching the film is l/30,000 of a second. With that short a pulse of reduced, thus requiring slower and slower shutter light, virtually any motion can be "frozen," speeds the closer you get. At the same time, depth including a golfer's swing, a bursting balloon, of field decreases dramatically. Combine these two or an acrobat in mid air. Of course, more everyday factors-slow shutter speeds and shallow depth of subjects, like the fleeting expression on a child's field-and you have the basis for unsharp pictures. face or a bee on a flower, can be captured with just The solution is to raise the overall illumination as much ease. falling on the subject. Another attractive feature of electronic flash is its Photographing people outdoors in bright sun. Take coolness of operation. Unlike photofloods or a picture of a person facing the sun, and what do tungsten-halogen lamps, which are continuous light you invariably get? A high-contrast, uncompli­ sources generating tremendous heat, a flash unit mentary picture of a squinting subject! The best can be used all day without heating up the sur­ way to remedy this situation is to turn the person roundings. It is ideal for close-up photography of 3 away from the sun and use supplementary lighting delicate flowers, copywork, and indoor as fill-in to open up the shadows and reduce the portraiture. excessive contrast. But the main reason for the overwhelming Shooting indoor portraits. To create the soft, popularity of electronic flash is because it is so diffused-type of lighting which is so flattering to easy to use. Virtually all flash units today have both male and female subjects, a supplementary automatic exposure control. Depending on the film light source can be bounced off the ceiling or walls in use, the photographer just sets his lens to a or directed into a special photographic umbrella. prescribed f/stop, and the flash computes the In this way, you can avoid the harsh shadows correct exposure automatically. A special sensor created by direct lighting. instantaneously measures the light reflected back from the subject while the flash is firing and Electronic Flash Is Number One automatically determines its own flash duration For today's serious photographer, there is a to give just the right amout of light for subjects multitude of supplementary light sources available. at various distances from the camera. Thus, the These i ncl ude photograph ic reflectors wh ich photographer is completely relieved of the burden simply reflect the natural light back into the of computing his own exposures. shadow areas of a subject, artificial light sources of Beyond a doubt, electronic flash is the number one a continuous nature, such as incandescent bulbs, supplementary light source today, and the number photofloods, tungsten-halogen lamps, and fluores­ of units presently available attests to this fact. cent tubes, and finally intermittent light sources, like flash bulbs and electronic flash. All of them have certain advantages, but in terms of overall convenience and versatility, none can match electronic flash. Electronic flash is an extremely portable, clean, and highly reliable light source, and, after the initial purchase of the unit itself, is one of the most economical to operate over the long run. A flash unit is capable of producing thousands of flashes with only a periodic replacement or recharge of its Why Nikon Electronic Flash? With hundreds of other electronic flash units on of damage to the X-contact inside the camera or of the market today, why did Nikon bother to electrical shock when either the sync terminal or upgrade and expand its line? The reason is simple: the hot shoe is inadvertently touched. For the Nikon is, and always has been, primarily interested same reason, all Nikon flash equipment can be used in its (and your) customers. People buy Nikon, with any Nikon or Nikkormat camera without because they know it is the best, most reliable, affecting its metering circuits. camera equipment they can purchase. Behind the Being an integral part of the Nikon System, Nikon's name "N ikon" stands the System, the most wide­ flash units are designed to mate perfectly with all ranging and versatile in all of 35mm photography. Nikon cameras and lenses and to enhance their A Nikon System without the most advanced Nikon usefulness. A classic example of system planning is flash units is simply inconceivable. Consequently, the Nikon Speedlight SB-7E. This compact, shoe­ Nikon has created a comprehensive line of flash mounting unit has a special mounting foot which equipment which is not only the most up-to-date, locks securely onto the F2 Nikon accessory shoe but offers other advantages you would expect and automatically activates the unique flash ready­ from Nikon. light already present in the F2 finder. Even the Reliability was a major consideration. Nikon took bracket of the SB-5 head and handle unit has a close look at other automatic electronic flash cutouts to alJow access to the rewind button, and equipment and, in some cases, found two big the F2 Nikon OIC key for easy film reloading drawbacks: inflated guide numbers and inconsistent without bracket removal. These are small design exposure. It seems that all too many companies touches, but they spell the difference between a are overly optimistic about the performance of their N ikon flash unit and that of any other flash units.