Nikon Speedlight SB-11 User manual

Nikon
INSTRUCTION MANUAL

NOMENCLATURE
CD Wide -Flash Adapter SW-3
oTilting flash head
mode selector
CD Sensor Unit SU-2
® ~ :Y,..,no",-., calculator dial
® flash sockets
G) Sensor socket
® Bracket mounting adapter
® Sync Cord SC - ll
@ Bracket mounting pin
@ Attachment screw
@ Bracket SK-4
@ Tripod socket
2

@ External power
terminal
f/stop scale (black) @
Power switch @
Di stan ce scale @
ASA/ ISO film ind ex @
Open -flash button @
Ready-light ®
dots @
Attachment screw slots @
Releaselloc
chamber Iid @
s
tand socket @
Handl e @
3

CONTENTS----------
NOMENCLATURE ....... .... . ... . ... . .. . . .. . ... 2- 3
FOREWORD ....... . ............ . . ... . .. . ... . ... ..5
BASIC OPERATION ....................... .. ... 6-12
CONTROLS IN DETAIL . ... . . . . . . . . . ..... . ... . . 13-21
Bracket SK-4 ..... .... .. ... . . .. .. . .... ... . .. .. 13
Bracket Mounting Adapter ........ .. . . . ..... ... 13
Tilting Flash Head ... . .... . .. . ................ 14
W ide -Flash Adapter SW -3 ..................... 15
Exposure Calculator Dial. . ... . .... ......... 16 -17
Sensor Unit SU-2 ...... ... ...... . . ... .... . .. . . 18
Ready-Light .. ... . ..... . . . .... . ... . . . .. ... . .. . 19
Open -Flash Button ....... . .. .. .. . ... .. . . .... .. 19
External Power Terminal ...... . . . . . . .. .... . .... 20
SynclMultiple Flash Sockets .... ... . .... .. ... .. . 20
Sync Cord SC-ll . ... . . .... . . . . .... .. . . ... . .. . 21
Synchronization Chart .. ...... . .... . .. .... . .... 21
ACCESSORIES . ........ ... ... . ... . .. ..... .... . . .. 22
TTL Remote Cords SC-12 and SC-23 . . .. ... .... . 22
Sensor Remote Cord SC - 13 .. . ...... . ...... .. .. 22
Sync Cord SC-15 .. . ........... . ............ . . 22
DC Unit SD -7 . . ... . ... ..... ........ . .. .. ...... 22
"RED EYE" .... . . . ... . ...... . .. . ..... . .. . . . . ... . . . 23
TIPS ON SPEEDLIGHT CARE . .... ... ........ . . 24 - 25
OPTIMUM BATTERY PERFORMANCE . .... .. ... . . . 26
SPECIFICATIONS ...... . .. ... .. .. . . . .. .. ......... 27
4

FOREWORD---------
Compafible wifh all Nikon SLR cameras, fhe brackef-
mounfing Nikon Speedlighf SB-ll feafures aufomafic
confrol of fhe flash exposure fo mafch fhe flash-fo-subject
disfance. By ufilizing a silicon-confrolled rectifier and
series circuifry, fhe speedlighf is also able fo conserve ifs
excess energy for fhe nexf shof when shoofing subjects af
close range thus reducing recycling fime and increasing
fhe number of flashes per battery sef. The opfional
accessory TTL Remote Cord SC-12 (for the Nikon F3-
series camera) or SC-23 (for fhe Nikon FA, FE2 , F-301l
N2000· or FG camera) allows fhe SB - ll to be used for
automatic TTL (fhrough-fhe-lens) confrol of fhe flash
exposure. In addifion, the SB-ll has a tilting flash head
allowing you fo bounce fhe lighf off fhe ceiling or walls
for more diffused lighting-a technique especially useful
when faking porfraifs or snapshots.
Even fhough fhe. SB-ll is exfremely easy fo use, you
should familiarize yourself wifh fhe unit's basic operation
as presented in fhe firsf section. For more de failed infor-
mafion, please refer fo "CONTROLS IN DETAIL. " A few
minufes wisely invesfed now will payoff lafer in years of
rewarding phofographic experiences .
• In the U.S.A. and Canada, the Nikon F- 301 camera is sold as the Nikon
N2000.
5

BASIC OPERATION------------
1. Open the battery
chamber.
Unscrew the lid @ at the bas e of the
handle and remove the battery clip.
6
2 Attach the bracket
•
mounting adapter ® to
the speedlight's handle @.
First, use the screwdriver provided
to loosen the two screws on the
br acket mounting adapter. Then,
slip
the adapter onto the speedlight's
handle and slide it to. the desired
position. Orient the adapter so that
its flat side is in the same plane as
the speedlight's
exposure calculator
dial ®. Make sure the locking wheel
® is facing toward the rear of the
speedlight.
3 Secure the bracket
•
mounting adapter.
Tighten the screws to secure the
adapter into place.

4. Load the batteries.
Insert ei ght AA-t ype penlight
batteries following the + and -
symbols on the inside of the battery
clip.
5. Install the battery clip.
Insert the battery clip into the
batte ry chamber. Make sure t he ter-
minal
end goes in first. Then line up
the V-shaped notch on the end of the
c
li p wi th the white dot on the rim of
t he battery chamber . Push the clip
unt il it drops into the fully seated
position.
6. Close the battery
chamber .
Screw the battery lid back into place.
7

- · BASIC OPERATION-continued------------
•
-f I
~ - - ~-
- -- --
7. Attach the bracket @ to
the camera.
Position the camera in the bracket
with the bracket mounting pin @) on
the same side of the camera as its
rewind knob. Then, screw the brack-
et's attachment screw @ into the
camera's tripod socket to secure the
two units together tightly.
Note: For attachment to the MD-4 Motor
Drive, you must reposition the bracket's
att
achmen t sc rew to the ather slot@. Fo r
details. refer 10
page 13.
8
8. Attach the .bracket to
the speedhght.
Insert the bracket mounting pin into
the hole in the bracket mounting
adapter with the two dots @ aligned;
rotate the camera forward.
9. Tighten the locking
wheel completely.

10. Attach the sync cord@.
Screw one end of the SC-ll
Sync Cord into either of the speed-
light's sync/multiple flash sockets® ;
screw the other end into the camera's
sync terminal.
11. Plug in the sensor 0 .
With the "Nikon" name up,
push
the Sensor Unit SU-2 into the
sensor socket
CD until it click-locks
into
place.
12 Rotate the flash head CD
• to the normal shooting
position.
9

-BASIC OPERATION-continued------------
13. Set the camera's shutter
speed for propersynchro-
nization.
Set the shutler spe ed dial to the
highest synchronization speed for
el
ectronic flash (e.g. set the F3 to the
"X" setting). For other camera mod-
els,
refer to the char t on page 2 1.
10
14 Set the exposure
• calculator dial ®.
Turn the dial until the ASAJISO
index @ is opposite the speed of the
film in use. T
he color-coded lines
underneath the £/stop scale@ indicate
the three usable £/ stops for automatic
operation, whereas the auto shooting
range indicators @ give you the
range of flash-to- subject distances .
For
example, if you' re using ASAJ
ISO 100 film and se l ect £/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
s pee dli ght.
15. Set the lens aperture
ring to
an appropriate
f/number.

16. Set the shooting mode
selector 0 .
Turn the ring on the front of the sen-
sor until
the white index is opposite
the color corresponding to that of the
£/stop selected. This sets the speed-
light for automatic operation.
17. Turn on the speedlight.
Slide the power switch @ to
uncover the red mark.
18. Watch the ready-light ®.
As soon as the LED ready-light
comes on, the speedlight is ready to
fire.
11

-BASIC OPERATION-continued------------
19. Take the picture.
After the speedlight fires, if
the ~eady - light, does not blink, you
have a perfect flash exposure.
12
20. Turn off the speedlight.
To conserve battery power be-
tween shooting sessions, slide
the
power switch to the OFF position.

CONTROLS IN DETAIL-----------
For MD-ll,
MD -I2, MD -I4,
MD-I5
For F3-series, F-30I1N2000
(withAH-3J.
FG, FG-20, EM, F2,
MD-2, MD-3, MD-E, MB-I, MB-2
• To fit the SK -4 securely onto the Nikon F-301lN2000 camera, use the
Nikon Tripod Adaptor AH-3_
Bracket SK -4 @
The Speedlight SB-ll 's bracket can be attached to various
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 sloL Once screw-
ed in, the attachment screw can be moved freely to any
position along the sloL The diagram indicates the recom-
mended position of the attachment screw for all Nikon
SLR cameras and motor drives_
Note: Th e bracket co nt oins a tripod soc ket @ for dir ec t attac hment of
the camera a nd spee d/ight to a tri po d,
Bracket Mounting Adapter ®
The release /locking wheel on the bracket mounting
adapter allows the speedlight to be removed from the
bracket for off-camera flash operation, To detach the
speedlight, loosen the releasellocking wheel completely
by
turning it to the end of its travel, push the locking
wheel to
the left to release the catch, tip the camera back-
ward until the two white 'dots
are aligned and pull the
camera away from the speedlighL
Note: The speedlight' s handle contains a tripod/light stand soc ket @for
mounting of the speed/ight on a tripodor /ight s tand for more c onvenient
off -camera operation,
13

-CONTROLS IN DETAIL-continued----------
Tilti ng F la sh Head CD
The SB-11 's tilting flash head has click-stops at 30°, 60°,
90°, and approx. 120°. For normal shooting, point the
flash head straight ahead. In this position, the light
travels directly out to the subject providing the maximum
amount of light possible. However, to soften the shadows
and lower the contrast for indoor snapshots, you can tilt
the flash
head back to bounce the light off the ceiling or
walls. Consult the illustration for details. You can also use
the open-flash button ® in conjunction with the ready-
light to
determine if there is enough light for correct ex-
posure before actually taking the picture. Please see
page 19 for more information. The color temperature of
the SB-11 's light output is balanced for use with daylight-
type color film.
14
Not ... :
1) When the flash head is tilted back only 30°, some amount of light from
the flash
head may reach the subject direclly, causing unevenness of
illumination. To avoid this, make sure the flash head is lilted back 60°
ormore.
2) Unless the surface you are using to bounce the light off is while or
silver, your colorphotogrophs will come out with an unnatural color
castsimilar to that of the reflectingsurface.

Wide -Flash Adapter SW-3 CD
The angle of illumination of the SB-ll by itself is 56°
horizontally
and 40° 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-
creases the illumination to 67° horizonta ll y and 48° ver-
tically providing just the right amount
of coverage when
a 28mm lens is used. With
the SW-3 attached, the light
output
of the speedlight is reduced resulting in a dec r ease
in gUide number from 36 (ASAIISO 100 and meters) to
25. The ASAIISO 25
and feet guide number is reduced
from 60 to 42.
Note: To detach the Wide·Flosh Adopter SW - 3, first rotate the tilting
flash
head to other than the horizontal position. Then lift up the catch 01
the top of the SW -3 to remove it.
15

-CONTROLS IN DETAIL- continued-------:: ::::====::::::::- -----
Exposure Calculator Dial ®
For Automatic Operation
The SB-ll 's exposure calculator dial helps you select the
usable range of £/stops for the speed of the film in use and
the flash-to, subject distance. On the dial, there are three
£/stops to choose from. Each £/stop determines the usable
distance range in which you can obtain the correct auto-
matic
exposure. The automatic shooting ranges for the
three £/stops are indicated by a set of curved color-coded
lines near 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 less depth of field in the final photograph.
16
Example 1
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 £/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:
Example 1
If you are using ASAIISO 100 film, you can shoot subjects
at distances from 0.6-9m (2-30ft) at £/4, 0.6 - 6.4m (2-
21 ft) at £/5.6, and 0.6-4.5m (2-15ft) at £/8.

Example 2
Example 2
With ASAIISO 100 and a subject three meters 00 feet)
away, you
can shoot at either fl4, fl5.6, or fl8. If a short
recycling time is preferable, use fl4. If greater depth of
field is
desired, use fl8.
Once you've selected an appropriate flstop for the film in
use
and the flash-to- subject distance, set this flnumber on
your lens and fire away. Your pictures will come out
properly exposed.
Example 3
For Manual Operation
Simply
read off the flnumber which appears directly
above the flash-to-subject distance W; then set this aper-
ture on your lens.
Example 3
At ASAIISO 100, if the subject is three meters 00 feet)
away, you
should set the aperture ring on your lens to fill.
17

-CONTROLS IN DETAIL-continued----------
Sensor Unit SU-2 CD
The plug -in Sensor Unit SU-2 controls the operation of
the SB-ll Speedlight. It has five settings to choose from.
At the Auto Positions
To shoot on Auto, lift up and turn the knurled ring on the
outside of the sensor to one of the three positions (orange,
yellow, or blue) which are color-coded for use with the
exposure calcu lator dial. At these settings, the SB-ll is
able to vary its light output automatically to match the
flash-to-
subject distance.
At the S (Slave) Position
At this setting,
the SB-ll emits a modulated burst of light
which can trigger a second electronic flash. The remote
flash unit is attached to the receiver portion of the optional
18
Modulite Remote Control Unit ML-l (which is set to
Channel 2), while the SB - ll Speedlight acts as the
transmitter.
At the M(Manual) 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-subject distance. In this case, you have to calcu-
late
the exposure manually by referring to the exposure
calcu lator dial. See page 17 for more information.

Ready-Light @
Built into the back of the SB-ll's flash head is a ready-
light which comes on as soon as the speedlight is recycled
and ready to fire. As an additional feature, the ready-
light blinks if the speedlight fires at its maximum output
indicating that the light might be insufficient for correct
exposure on Automatic. The warning blinks last for
approximately two seconds.
Open-Flash 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" effects
or paint the scene with light by firing the
speedlight repeatedly with the camera set to "B" or "T ."
The open-flash button is also
used in conjunction with the
ready-light to determine if you can get the correct expo -
sure when shooting on Automatic. This is especially
useful when doing bounce flash. After setting up the shot,
push the open-flash button. If the ready -light does not
blink, you
can take the picture. If it does blink, try moving
the speed light closer to the subject or bounce surface, or
reset the Sensor Unit SU-2 to a color-coded position
calling for a wider aperture.
19

-CONTROLS IN DETAIL-continued----------
External Power Terminal @ Sync/Multiple Flash Sockets ®
This terminal is for connection of a separate battery pack. Two standard Nikon screw-in type terminals are provided
on the SB-ll SpeedJight. Either terminal can be used to
attach the Sync Cord SC-ll, while the other is provided
for connecting the SB- ll with another speedJight in series
for multiple flash operation.
20