Activating The Onboard Flash; Metering Modes; Front-Curtain Sync; Red-Eye Reduction - Nikon D200 Manual

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Part I Using the Nikon D200
Activating the
Onboard Flash
Unlike some of Nikon's other dSLR models
that have the capability of activating the
electronic flash (and popping it up from its
retracted position automatically) when the
camera detects low light levels suitable for
flash photography, you must always activate
the D200's flash unit manually. Pop up the
flash by pressing the flash button on the left
side of the camera.
Chapter 4 contains more infor-
mation using flash.
If you're using Program, Shutter Priority,
Aperture Priority, or Manual modes, hold
down the flash button and spin the main
command dial to switch among:
Front-curtain sync. The flash fires
as soon as the shutter opens. Set
the shutter speed of your choice
(generally up to 1/250 second)
when using Manual or Shutter
Priority modes. In Program and
Aperture Priority modes, the D200
sets the shutter speed between
1/60 and 1/250 second.
Red-eye reduction. Triggers the
front-panel lamp (also used for
focus assist) 1 second prior to
exposure to reduce the red-eye
effect.
Slow sync. Uses slow shutter
speeds (as long as 30 seconds) to
add background illumination to the
flash exposure. It is not available
with Shutter Priority or Manual
modes.
Slow sync with red-eye. Adds
red-eye reduction to slow sync
mode.
Rear-curtain sync. The flash is
delayed until just before the shut-
1.19 Flash options.
In certain modes, such as
Tip
Program mode, the camera's
viewfinder will signal the user
with an icon when flash is sug-
gested so that the user can
press the flash button to raise
the flash head.

Metering Modes

The D200 can use any of three different
exposure metering methods when it's set to
any of the semi-automatic or Manual expo-
sure modes (which I discuss later in the
chapter). Select the metering mode by turn-
ing the metering selector dial to the right of
the viewfinder eyepiece:
Matrix. The camera examines
1,005 pixels in the frame and
chooses the exposure based on
that information (plus, with Type G
and D lenses, distance range data).
ter closes. This
records the flash
image after any
"ghost" images
from the ambi-
ent light caused
by moving
objects so the
ghost images
seem to "trail"
the flash image.