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X1D and Flash

M

mkerouac

Member
Over the last few days I've been playing around with the X1D and flash. I started with Studio strobes. Using the Elinchrom Skyport or Skyport HS+(Nikon version) triggers works fine with Elinchrom Strobes. Next, I put a Nikon SB910 on the X1D hotshoe and again had no issues firing the flash off the hotshoe. So I was fully expecting the Nikon CLS wireless setup to work without any issues. So far that is not the case. First I tried placing an SB910 on the hot shoe in TTL Commander mode. I set up a second flash as a remote. The remote flash wouldn't fire and the X1D locked up. I had to pull the battery. Second try was with an SU800 on the hot shoe. That is Nikon's version of a Skyport HS+. Again the trigger would not fire the remote flash. But at least the camera didn't lock up. Next I tried placing the SU800 and the flash in manual mode, thinking TTL might be the issue. No luck, the flash wouldn't fire. I'm not a technical guru in terms of flash, but I don't understand why the Nikon remote won't fire. In my opinion, it should at least work in manual mode. The X1D hotshoe is configured for Nikon TTL. The SU800 and/or the SB910, used as a master, should have no issue picking up a fire flash signal. If the Skyport hadn't worked, I would think that the firmware wasn't there yet. But for the Skyport HS+(again Nikon version) to work and the Nikon branded triggering options not to work, just seems odd. I have a set of Nikon enabled pocket wizards. I need to dig those out and see what happens .

Anyone else played with this yet?
 
J

jduncan

Active member
mkerouac said:
Over the last few days I've been playing around with the X1D and flash. I started with Studio strobes. Using the Elinchrom Skyport or Skyport HS+(Nikon version) triggers works fine with Elinchrom Strobes. Next, I put a Nikon SB910 on the X1D hotshoe and again had no issues firing the flash off the hotshoe. So I was fully expecting the Nikon CLS wireless setup to work without any issues. So far that is not the case. First I tried placing an SB910 on the hot shoe in TTL Commander mode. I set up a second flash as a remote. The remote flash wouldn't fire and the X1D locked up. I had to pull the battery. Second try was with an SU800 on the hot shoe. That is Nikon's version of a Skyport HS+. Again the trigger would not fire the remote flash. But at least the camera didn't lock up. Next I tried placing the SU800 and the flash in manual mode, thinking TTL might be the issue. No luck, the flash wouldn't fire. I'm not a technical guru in terms of flash, but I don't understand why the Nikon remote won't fire. In my opinion, it should at least work in manual mode. The X1D hotshoe is configured for Nikon TTL. The SU800 and/or the SB910, used as a master, should have no issue picking up a fire flash signal. If the Skyport hadn't worked, I would think that the firmware wasn't there yet. But for the Skyport HS+(again Nikon version) to work and the Nikon branded triggering options not to work, just seems odd. I have a set of Nikon enabled pocket wizards. I need to dig those out and see what happens .

Anyone else played with this yet?
Click to expand...
Have you contact HB support ?
My understanding is that the profoto Triggers are working, but I will like to see if that is the case.

Best regards,
 
J

jvpictures

Member
mkerouac said:
Over the last few days I've been playing around with the X1D and flash. I started with Studio strobes. Using the Elinchrom Skyport or Skyport HS+(Nikon version) triggers works fine with Elinchrom Strobes. Next, I put a Nikon SB910 on the X1D hotshoe and again had no issues firing the flash off the hotshoe. So I was fully expecting the Nikon CLS wireless setup to work without any issues. So far that is not the case. First I tried placing an SB910 on the hot shoe in TTL Commander mode. I set up a second flash as a remote. The remote flash wouldn't fire and the X1D locked up. I had to pull the battery. Second try was with an SU800 on the hot shoe. That is Nikon's version of a Skyport HS+. Again the trigger would not fire the remote flash. But at least the camera didn't lock up. Next I tried placing the SU800 and the flash in manual mode, thinking TTL might be the issue. No luck, the flash wouldn't fire. I'm not a technical guru in terms of flash, but I don't understand why the Nikon remote won't fire. In my opinion, it should at least work in manual mode. The X1D hotshoe is configured for Nikon TTL. The SU800 and/or the SB910, used as a master, should have no issue picking up a fire flash signal. If the Skyport hadn't worked, I would think that the firmware wasn't there yet. But for the Skyport HS+(again Nikon version) to work and the Nikon branded triggering options not to work, just seems odd. I have a set of Nikon enabled pocket wizards. I need to dig those out and see what happens .

Anyone else played with this yet?
Click to expand...
yes, I tried the exact same setup and came to the exact same conclusions. the SU800 does not fire a remote SB910 unfortunately. strange is that on the LCD display of the SU800 the SB910 is recognized as a proper CLS capable device (by the the appropriate symbol) and even the manual test flash is working remotely, but heck still does not fire the flash upon shutter release. I told my dealer and he reported this to Sweden, but officially the SU800 is not listed on the supported devices as per my dealer. Maybe a future firmware update will fix that hopefully.
 
H

hcubell

Well-known member
jvpictures said:
yes, I tried the exact same setup and came to the exact same conclusions. the SU800 does not fire a remote SB910 unfortunately. strange is that on the LCD display of the SU800 the SB910 is recognized as a proper CLS capable device (by the the appropriate symbol) and even the manual test flash is working remotely, but heck still does not fire the flash upon shutter release. I told my dealer and he reported this to Sweden, but officially the SU800 is not listed on the supported devices as per my dealer. Maybe a future firmware update will fix that hopefully.
Click to expand...
From the X1D Manual on the Hasselblad website:
FLASH AND STROBE SETTINGS The X1D Camera can be used together with the following Nikon Flashes in TTL mode: SB-300 SB-500 SB-700 SB-900 SB-910 General information When using the A or S setting together with flash, the exposure requirements of the camera will dominate which might produce slow shutter speeds indoors, for example, requiring the use of a tripod. If P is selected instead, a shutter speed of 1/60 or faster is automatically chosen by the camera enabling the camera to be hand held. When using flash close up or when using larger aperture settings, remember that the flash unit’s output has a specific minimum duration which might still be too great for correct exposure. Read the back’s output specifications for further information regarding any potential restrictions. Rear sync is a useful feature used either for effect or to produce a more ‘natural’ look when combining long exposures involving light trails and flash. To change the balance between flash output and camera exposure requirements to produce a variety of effects, use the exposure compensation function. For various long exposure effects use the sync function. To make flash exposure tests use the flash measure function. Notes and WARNINGS! Only Nikon Flash units listed above and specially adapted for use with the X1D or Nikon compatible flashes can be connected to the hot-shoe of the camera. Note! Do not attempt to connect a flash unit dedicated for use with another camera brand via the hot shoe. The flash unit and / or camera could be damaged. Note! If using flash/strobe as the main light source and 1/800s or shorter shutter speed, remember to turn off the True Exposure func
 
J

Jake

New member
Hi, I can confirm that my profoto air remote is working 100% up to 1/2000th and max aperture.

jduncan said:
Have you contact HB support ?
My understanding is that the profoto Triggers are working, but I will like to see if that is the case.

Best regards,
Click to expand...
 
M

mkerouac

Member
hcubell said:
From the X1D Manual on the Hasselblad website:
FLASH AND STROBE SETTINGS The X1D Camera can be used together with the following Nikon Flashes in TTL mode: SB-300 SB-500 SB-700 SB-900 SB-910 General information When using the A or S setting together with flash, the exposure requirements of the camera will dominate which might produce slow shutter speeds indoors, for example, requiring the use of a tripod. If P is selected instead, a shutter speed of 1/60 or faster is automatically chosen by the camera enabling the camera to be hand held. When using flash close up or when using larger aperture settings, remember that the flash unit’s output has a specific minimum duration which might still be too great for correct exposure. Read the back’s output specifications for further information regarding any potential restrictions. Rear sync is a useful feature used either for effect or to produce a more ‘natural’ look when combining long exposures involving light trails and flash. To change the balance between flash output and camera exposure requirements to produce a variety of effects, use the exposure compensation function. For various long exposure effects use the sync function. To make flash exposure tests use the flash measure function. Notes and WARNINGS! Only Nikon Flash units listed above and specially adapted for use with the X1D or Nikon compatible flashes can be connected to the hot-shoe of the camera. Note! Do not attempt to connect a flash unit dedicated for use with another camera brand via the hot shoe. The flash unit and / or camera could be damaged. Note! If using flash/strobe as the main light source and 1/800s or shorter shutter speed, remember to turn off the True Exposure func
Click to expand...
Yup, I read all that prior to my tests. The Nikon SB5000 also works, but is not listed in the manual. So what the above is actually saying is that the X1D doesn't really communicate in TTL with the Nikon flash. Manual flash will always be the way to go. In terms of the comment not to use flash devices, not on the list, that applies to flashes only. Triggers are another story. We already said that the Profoto trigger and the Elinchrom Skyport, Skyport HS and Skyport HS+ also work. I'm betting that Pocket Wizards work too. So the irony is that 3rd party triggers work on third party strobes, but the trigger for the brand that the X1D was designed to be compatible with, Nikon, does not work. I can't remember the last time I mounted a flash to the hot shoe. This camera is designed for pro's and advanced amateurs, having the flash only work on the hotshoe and having it not really fully operate in TTL mode is a big miss. For now I will need to use an SC29 cord (not tested yet) just to get the flash off camera. But the cord severely limits the distance you can stand from the flash. Its like going backwards 10 years.

PS. I did test the SC29 cord. It works.
 
Last edited:
H

hcubell

Well-known member
mkerouac said:
Yup, I read all that prior to my tests. The Nikon SB5000 also works, but is not listed in the manual. So what the above is actually saying is that the X1D doesn't really communicate in TTL with the Nikon flash. Manual flash will always be the way to go. In terms of the comment not to use flash devices, not on the list, that applies to flashes only. Triggers are another story. We already said that the Profoto trigger and the Elinchrom Skyport, Skyport HS and Skyport HS+ also work. I'm betting that Pocket Wizards work too. So the irony is that 3rd party triggers work on third party strobes, but the trigger for the brand that the X1D was designed to be compatible with, Nikon, does not work. I can't remember the last time I mounted a flash to the hot shoe. This camera is designed for pro's and advanced amateurs, having the flash only work on the hotshoe and having it not really fully operate in TTL mode is a big miss. For now I will need to use an SC29 cord (not tested yet) just to get the flash off camera. But the cord severely limits the distance you can stand from the flash. Its like going backwards 10 years.

PS. I did test the SC29 cord. It works.
Click to expand...
Strange, the manual states that the listed Nikon flashes do work in TTL mode.
 
A

aDam007

New member
So what's the best flash to use with the X1D then? If the SB-5000 doesn't work with the the X1D via remote triggering, then might as well get the cheaper SB-700? Is the SB-700 to big, will the SB-500 do the trick or it's to underpowered? Even when the cam is wide open because you have the option of syncing at 2000th!!

Recap, if you want on camera TTL for indoor events or just overpowering the sun while taking vacation snaps of seagulls a Nikon flash on cam will do.
And the conclusion is that the Profoto Air remote TTL-N works in TTL mode with the X1D and B1 and B2 units?

Just trying to get up to speed and to lazy to go test all this stuff myself since I've sold off all my Nikon flashes (of course I did).


Also anyone know if the METZ 64 AF-1 (for Nikon) works with the X1D?
 
M

mkerouac

Member
For Hotshoe flash or off camera vis the SC29 cord, I would recommend the SB910 or SB5000. They both work.



aDam007 said:
So what's the best flash to use with the X1D then? If the SB-5000 doesn't work with the the X1D via remote triggering, then might as well get the cheaper SB-700? Is the SB-700 to big, will the SB-500 do the trick or it's to underpowered? Even when the cam is wide open because you have the option of syncing at 2000th!!

Recap, if you want on camera TTL for indoor events or just overpowering the sun while taking vacation snaps of seagulls a Nikon flash on cam will do.
And the conclusion is that the Profoto Air remote TTL-N works in TTL mode with the X1D and B1 and B2 units?

Just trying to get up to speed and to lazy to go test all this stuff myself since I've sold off all my Nikon flashes (of course I did).


Also anyone know if the METZ 64 AF-1 (for Nikon) works with the X1D?
Click to expand...
 
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