Nikon Speedlight SB-11 User manual

INSTRUCTIONMANUAL

NOMENCTATURE
O Wiae-Flash
AdapterSW-3
@ fittins flash head
@ Sttooting mode selector
@ S.ttsor Unit SU-2
@ U*posure calculator dial
@ Sy"c/multiple llash sockets
@ S"ttsor socket
@ Bracketmounting adapter
@ Sy"c Cord SC-II
@ Brucket mounting pin
@ Attuchment screw
@ Bt"cket SK-4
@ Ttipod socket
t
2
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I
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f/stop scale (black) @
@ External power
terminal
Auto shooting range indicators (color-coded) @
Power switch @
Distance scale (white) @
ASA/ISO film speed index @
Open-Ilash button @
Ready-light @
Alignment dots @
Attachment screw slots
@
Release/locking wheel @
Battery chamber lid @
Tripod/light stand socket @
Handle @

CONTENTS
NOMENCLATURE ....2_3
FOREWORD.
. ..... s
BASICOPEnATION.. .6_12
CONTROTSINDETAIT ...I3_2I
BracketsK-4 ...13
BracketMounting Adapter ... .. lg
Tilting Flash Head
Wide-Flash
Adapter
SW-3. ..... ls
Exposure
Calculator Dial ... 16-17
Sensor
UnitSU-2 .... 18
. Ready-Lisht. ...... lg
Open-Flash
Button. ....... lg
External Power Terminal .. ZO
Sync/MultipleFlash
Sockets ....20
SyncCordsc-fl ....21
Synchronization
Chart .... 2l
SPECIFICATIONS .......22
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lFOREWORD
Compotible with aII Nikon SLR cameras, the bracket-
mounting Nikon Speedlight SB-11 fieotures automatic
control of theIlosh exposure to match the flash-to-subject
distance. By utilizing a silicon-controlled rectifier and
series circuitry, the speedliqht is also able to conserve its
excess energy for the nert shot when shooting subjects at
c/ose range thus reducing recyclinq time and increasing
the number of flashes per battery set. In addition, the
SB-11 hasa tilting flosh head allowing you to bounce the
Iight ofI the ceiling or walls for more dilfused lighting-
a technique especially useful when taking portraits or
snapshots.
Even though the SB-11 is ertremely easy to use, you
should familiarize yourself with the unit's basic operation
as presented in the first section. For more detoiled in-
formation, please refer to Y;aONTROLS IN DETAIL." A
few minutes wisely invested now wiII poy oIf hater in
yeorc of rewarding photogrophic experiences.

l. Qn"tt,the bcrtterY
cnclmber.
Unscrewthelid @ atthebaseofthe
handle
andremovethebattery
clip.
/
D Attcrch
the bracket
ia mounting crdcrpter
@ to
the speedlight's hcndle @.
First, use the screwdriver provided
to loosen the two screws on the
bracket mounting adapter. Then,
slip the adapter onto the speedlight's
handle and slide it up about 2.5cm
(approx. one inch). Orient the adapt-
er so that its flat side is in the same
plane as the speedlight's exposure
calculator dial O. Make sure the
locking wheel @ is facing toward the
rear of the speedliqht.
$. Secure.the brcrcket
mounting crdcpter.
Tighten the screws to secure
adapter into place. the
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{. Locrdthe batteries.
Insert eight AA-type penlight
batteries following the + and
symbols on the inside of the battery
clip.
$. Instcrll the bcrttery clip.
Insert the battery clip into the
battery chamber. Make sure the ter-
minal end goes in first. Then line up
the V-shaped notch on the end of the
clip with the white dot on the rim of
the battery chamber. Push the clip
until it drops into the fully seated
position.
$. Close,the bcrttery
cnClmDer.
Screwthe battery lid back into place.

-BASIC OPERATION- conrinued
/. Attcch the brcrcket @ to
the ccrmerct.
t
Screw the bracket's attachment screw
@ into the camera's tripod socket to
securethe two units together tightly.
IVote.' For ottochment to the MD-4 Motor
Drive, you must reposition the brocket's
otlochment screw lo the other slot@. For
detoils, reler lo poqe 13.
R Attcch the brcrcket to
-' the speedlight.
Insert the bracket mounting pin @
into the hole in the bracket mounting
adapter with the two dots @ aligned;
rotatethe camera forward.
$. Ti.Shtenthe locking
wheel completely.
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lQ. Attcch thesynccordO.
Screw the straight end of the
SC-II Sync Cord into either of the
speedlight's sync/multiple flash
sockets@; screw the angled end into
the camera's sync terminal.
t t Pluc in the sensorO.
--t with- th" "Nikon" name up,
push the Sensor Unit SU-2 into the
sensor socket @ until it click-locks
into place.
l() Rotcrtethe flcrshhead @
tLAa to the normal shooting
position.

-BASIC OPERATION
- conrinued
l$. Setthe ccrmerq's
shutter
- - - speedIorproper slmchro-
nizclion.
Set the shutter speed dial to the
highest synchronization speed for
electronic flash (e.g. setthe F3to the
"X" setting). For other camera mod-
els,refer tothe chart on page 21.
l{- Setthe exposure
- -' c(rlculcrtoidicl @.
Turn the dial until the ASA/ISO
index @ is opposite the speed of the
film in use. The color-coded lines
underneath the f/stop scale@indicate
the three usable f/stops for automatic
operation, whereasthe auto shooting
range indicators @ give you the
range of flash-to-subject distances.
For example, if you're using ASA/
ISO 100
film and select I/4, the auto-
matic shooting range is indicated by
an orange line. Thus you can shoot
any subject located between 0.6 and
9 meters (2 and 30 feet) from the
speedlight.
l$. Setthe lens qperture
ring to crnappropricrte
f/number.
l0
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16. S"j theshootingmode - -- selector
O.
Turn the ring on the front of the sen-
sor until the white index is opposite
the color corresponding to that of the
f/stop selected. This sets the speed-
light for automatic operation.
17. L"Tt?t thesPeedlisht.
Slide the power switch @ to
uncover the red mark.
18. Watchtheready-light@.
As soonasthe LED ready-liqht
comes on, the speedlight is ready to
fire.
11

BASIC OPERATION- continued
19. Tgke
the
picture. 20. Jurn
oII
thespeedlight.
- After the speedlight fires, if To conserve battery power be-
the ready-hght, does not blink, you tween shooting sessions, slide the
havea perfect flashexposure. powerswitch
totheOFF position.
t
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t-z
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CONTROTS
IN DETAIT
Nikon FM/FE Motor Drive MD-4
Motor Drive Nikon F2/F3/EM,
MotorDriveMD-I/MD
-2IMD-E,
CordlessBattery
PackMB-I/MB-2
MD-TT/MD-12
Brcrcket
SK-[@
The Speedliqht SB-
Il's bracket can be attachedtovarious
camera and/or motor drive combinations. To change the
attachment screw from one slot to another, slide it to the
threaded end of the slot and unscrew it; then screw it
back into the threaded end of the other slot. Once screw-
ed in, the attachment screw can be moved freely to any
position along the slot. The diagram indicates the recom-
mended position of the attachment screw for all Nikon
SLRcamerasand motor drives.
IVote: The brocket contoins o tripod socke/ @ fo. direct ottochment of
the comero ond speedlight to o tripod.
Bracket Mounting Adcrpter @
The release/locking wheel on the bracket mounting
adapter allows the speedliqht to be removed from the
bracket for off-camera flash operation. To detach the
speedliqht, loosen the release/locking wheel completely.
Then tip the speedlight forward until the two white dots
are aligned and pull the speedliqht awayfrom the bracket.
IVote: The speedlight's hondle eontains a tripod/light stond soc.kef @ for
mounting of the speedlight on o tripod or light stond for more eonvenient
off-comero operotion.
13

- CONTROTS IN DETAIT
- continued
Tilting Flcrsh
Hecrd@
The SB-ll's tilting flash
head hasclick-stops
at 30o,60o,
90o, and approx, I20". For normal shooting, point tft"
flash head straight ahead. In this position, the liqht
travels directly out to the subject providing the maximum
amount of light possible. However, to softenthe shadows
and lower the contrast for indoor snapshots,you can tilt
the flash head back to bounce the liqht off the ceiling or
walls. Consultthe illustration for details. Youcan also
use
the open-flash button @ in conjunction with the ready-
liqht to determine if there is enouqh light for correct ex-
posure before actually taking the picture. Please see
page t9 for more information. The color temperature of
the SB-
Il's liqht output is balanced for use with dayliqht-
type color film.
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l\Iote: [Jn]ess the surfoce you ore using to bounce the liqht off of is white
or silver, your color photogrophs will come out with on unnoturol color
cost similor to thot of the reflecting surfoce.
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tffide-Flcsh AdcrpterSW-3
O
The angle of illumination of the SB-ll by itself is 56o
horizontally and 40o vertically-wide enough for use
with a 35mm wideangle lens. When the Wide-Flash
Adapter is clipped onto the front of the flash head, it in-
creasesthe illumination to 67" horizontally and 48o ver-
tically providing just the right amount of coverage when
a 28mm lens is used. With the SW-3 attached, the liqht
output of the speedlight isreduced resulting in adecrease
in guide number from 36 (ASA/ISO 100 and meters) to
25. The ASA/ISO 25 and feet guide number is reduced
from60lo 42.
IVole: 7o deloch the Wide-Flosh Adapter SW-3, first rotote the tilting
flosh head to other thon the horizontol position. Then lilt up the cotch ot
the top oI the SW-3 to remove it.

-CONTROLS IN DETAlT-continued
Exposure
Calculcrtor
Dicrl
@
For Automctic Operqtion
The SB-ll's exposure calculator dial helps you selectthe
usable range of f/stops for the speed of the film in use and
the flash-to-subjectdistance. On the dial, there are three
f/stops to choose from. Each f/stop determines the usable
distance range in which you can obtain the correct auto-
matic exposure. The automatic shooting ranges for the
three f/stops are indicated by a setof curved color-coded
linesnear the center of the dial.
If the subject distance remains the same, the wider the
aperture you select, the faster the recycling time of the
speedlight and the greater the maximum shooting dis-
tance, but the lessdepth of field in the final photograph.
Conversely, if you choose a small aperture, the depth of
field will be greater, but the recycling time will be longer
and the maximum shooting distance is less.
Therefore, in
choosing an appropriate f/stop, you should take all these
factors-depth of field, recycling time, and maximum
shooting distance-into consideration.
The following examples explain how to use the exposure
calculator dial:
Excrmple I
If you are using ASA/ISO I00 film, you can shoot subjects
atdistances
from 0.6-9m (2-30ft) atI/4,0.6-6.4m (2-
2l ft)atI/5.6,and 0.6-4.5m (2-l5ft) atI/8.
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Example
2
Excmple 2
With ASA/ISO I00 and a subject three meters (10 feet)
away, you can shoot at either f./4,I/5.6, or f./8. If a short
recycling time is preferable, usef'/4. If greater depth of
field isdesired, use
{/8.
Once you've selected an appropriate f/stop {or the film in
useand the flash-to-subject
distance, set
this f/number on
your lens and fire away. Your pictures will come out
properly exposed.
Example
3
For Mcrnucl Opercrtion
Simply read off the f/number which appears directly
above
theflash-to-subject
distance
@;thenset
thisaper-
ture
on
your
lens.
Excmple 3
At ASA/ISO 100,if the subjectis three meters
(10feet)
away,
youshould
set
theaperture
ring onyourlens
tof/l I.
17

CONTROTS IN DETAlT-continued
Sensor
Unit SU-z@
The pluq-in Sensor Unit SU-2 controls the operation of
the SB-11Speedlighi. It hasfive settings
to choose
from.
At the Auto Positions
Toshooton Auto, lift up and turn the knurled ring on the
outsideof the sensor
to one of the three positions (orange,
yellow, or blue) which are color-coded for use with the
exposurecalculator dial. At thesesettings,
the SB-ll is
able to vary its light ouiput automatically to match the
flash-to-subject
distance.
At the S(Slave) Posirion
At this setting, the SB-ll emits a modulated burst of liqht
which can trigger a second electronic flash. The remote
flash unit is attached to the receiver portion of the optional
1B
Modulite Remote Control Unit ML-l (which is set to
Channel 2), while the SB-11 Speedliqht acts as the
transmitter.
At the M (Mcnucl) Position
Set the SU-2 to the M setting and the SB-ll operates
manually at its maximum light output regardless of the
flash-to-subjectdistance. In this case, you have to calcu-
late the exposure manually by referring to the exposure
calculator dial. See page 17
formore information.
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Recdy-Light @
Built into the back of the SB-ll's flash head is a ready-
light which comes on assoon asthe speedlight is recycled
and ready to fire. As an additional feature, the ready-
liqht blinks if the speedlight fires at its maximum output
indicating that the liqht miqht be insufficient for correct
exposure on Automatic. The warning blinks last for
approximately two seconds.
Open-Flcrsh
Button@
The red open-flash button is used to fire the speedlight
manually without having to trip the camera's shutter. In
this manner, you can create multiple-exposure "strobo-
scopic" effectsor paint the scenewith liqht by firing the
speedlight repeatedly with the camera set to "B" or "T."
The open-flash button isalsousedin conjunction with the
ready-light to cietermineif you can get the correct expo-
sure when shooting on Automatic. This is especially
usefulwhen doing bounce flash. After setting up the shot,
push the open-flash button. If the ready-light does not
blink, you can takethe picture. If it doesblink, try moving
the speedlight closer to the subject or bounce sur{ace,or
reset the Sensor Unii SU-2 to a color-coded position
calling for awider aperture.
19