Nikon SB-26 Instruction Manual - Page 8

The combination of high shutter-speed range and flash sync capability provides you with more options for flash photography in day-light conditions. It enables you to use a wider aperture to blur the subject's background (create a shallow depth of field), light up shadowed areas in outdoor photography, or even create light flow for fast moving subjects. FP high-speed sync flash is only available in the SB-26's Manual flash mode when using the F5, F90X/N90s and F90Series/N90. For details, see "FP High-Speed Sync Flash - Flash Photography At Higher Shutter Speeds" on page 98. SB-26 sync flash Y Y Y Light output FR F R F R X X X 1 FP High-Speed Sync Flash 2 Front-curtain sync flash 2 Rear-curtain sync flash X: Time duration Y: Shutter curtain movement Ï: Front-curtain movement ®: Rear-curtain movement ⁄: Film surface is exposed to flash light throughout the entire duration. ¤: Film surface is exposed to flash light for only part of the time that the curtain are open. 14 Rear-Curtain Sync Flash In "normal" flash synchronization, the flash fires at an early stage of exposure (i.e., front-curtain sync). At slow shutter speeds with a moving subject, this results in unnatural light patterns. For more natural lighting, use Rear-Curtain Sync. With this method, the flash fires at a later stage of the exposure, just before the rear, or second, shutter curtain starts to close (i.e., rear-curtain sync), turning available light into a stream of light that follows the flash-illuminated moving subject. Rear-Curtain Sync is available with the F5, F90X/N90s, F90-Series/N90, F70-Series/N70, F4-Series, F-801/N8008, F-801s/N8008s, F-601/N6006 and F-601M/ N6000. For more details, see "Rear-Curtain Sync Flash - For Natural Light Flow," page 105 and "Flash Sync Mode Selector W vs. q," page 139. Chapter 1 Main Features/Functions A slow shutter speed could create light flow from a moving subject. Rear-Curtain Sync Flash catches him/her with natural-looking light stream. 15