Nikon SB-26 Instruction Manual - Page 70

"Red Eye" "Red eye" is a common problem in flash photography. Normally, flash pictures are taken when the surroundings light is dim, and under such conditions the subject's eye pupils will be dilated (open very wide). Red-eye effect occurs when light from the camera's flash reflects off the interior of the eye and back into the camera's lens. The wide-open pupil allows much light to enter, and as a result, the center portions of a subject's eyes can appear bright red (white in a black and white picture). It is interesting to note that the intensity of the red-eye effect varies among individuals, and with two people in the same photograph, one may have red-eye and the other may not. The appearance of red-eye is also based on the angle at which the light flash on the subject and is reflected back to the camera's lens. If the angle is 2 to 2.5 degrees or narrower, red-eye will occur. As you move closer to a subject, the angle becomes wider, and the likelihood of red-eye effect decreases. As you move farther from a subject, the angle narrows and the incidence of red-eye increases. When you get very far from a subject, the size of the eye in the picture may become so small that red-eye is not apparent, but when you switch to a lens with a longer focal length the redeye will become more apparent. Angle of reflection vs. distance to subject 2.5° ≥ θ A narrow angle of reflection (Q: less than 2.5°) increases the likelihood of red eye. 2.5° ≤ θ It is sometimes possible to reduce red-eye effect by moving closer to the subject, or the right or left, thereby increasing the angle of reflection. Chapter 5 Flash Sync Mode Selector W vs. q Position The SB-26 is capable of synchronizing flash output with shutter curtain movement, for either the front (first) curtain or rear (second) curtain. At W position, the Speedlight synchronizes flash output at the moment the front curtain has fully opened (at the end of front curtain movement) but before the rear curtain has started to travel. This is called "front-curtain sync flash," and is the most popular sync method in flash photography. At q position, the unit synchronizes the flash to the instant before the rear curtain starts to close (the end of film exposure). Therefore, it is called "rear-curtain sync flash." The q position can be chosen to create special effects, and is most effective for freezing a moving subject at the end of a light flow, especially in flash photography at a slow shutter speed. For F5, F90X/N90s, F90-Series/N90, F70-Series/N70, F4Series, F-801/N8008 and F-801s/ N8008s Users: • Front-curtain sync is performed at W setting. • "Rear-Curtain Sync" flash is performed at q setting. For F-601/N6006 and F-601M/N6000 Users: • The sync mode, whether front- or rear-curtain, or slow or not, must be set on the camera. The selection is executed regardless of the SB-26's selector position. Therefore, we recommend you leave the selector switch on the W position in any circumstances. For F50-Series/N50, F-401x/N5005, F-501/N2020, F-301/N2000, F-401/ N4004, F-401s/ N4004s, FA, FE2, FG, Nikonos V, F3-Series, F2-Series, FM2 and FG-20 Users: • Front-curtain sync is performed at either W or q setting. These models are not capable of rear-curtain sync. Therefore, regardless of circumstances, we recommend you leave the selector switch on W position. 138 139