nikon speedlight sb 700 manual

Nikon SB-700 Manual⁚ A Comprehensive Guide

This manual provides a comprehensive guide to the Nikon SB-700 Speedlight, covering its key features, specifications, compatibility, modes of operation, flash control, wireless flash photography, advanced techniques, troubleshooting, and maintenance. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced photographer, this manual will equip you with the knowledge and skills to master the SB-700 and elevate your flash photography to new heights.

Introduction

The Nikon SB-700 is a high-performance Speedlight designed for use with Nikon’s Creative Lighting System (CLS). It offers a versatile range of features and capabilities, making it an excellent choice for both amateur and professional photographers. This manual serves as your comprehensive guide to understanding and utilizing the full potential of the SB-700. It delves into its key features, specifications, compatibility, modes of operation, flash control, wireless flash photography, advanced techniques, troubleshooting, and maintenance.

The SB-700 is a mid-tiered flash in Nikon’s lineup, striking a balance between size, features, and affordability. Its compatibility with Nikon’s CLS ensures seamless integration with compatible cameras and accessories, enabling you to achieve professional-quality lighting results. This manual will walk you through the intricacies of the SB-700, empowering you to master its controls and harness its capabilities to create stunning images.

Whether you’re a beginner seeking to enhance your flash photography skills or an experienced photographer looking to expand your creative options, this manual will be your invaluable companion. It provides clear explanations, detailed instructions, and practical examples to guide you through the world of flash photography with the SB-700.

Key Features and Specifications

The Nikon SB-700 boasts a comprehensive set of features designed to enhance your flash photography experience. Its key features include⁚

• i-TTL Flash Control⁚ The SB-700 utilizes Nikon’s i-TTL (intelligent Through-the-Lens) flash control system, which automatically adjusts flash output based on the scene’s lighting conditions and camera settings. This ensures optimal exposure and balanced lighting in various scenarios.
• Guide Number⁚ The SB-700 has a guide number of 28/39 (ISO 100/200, m) at the 35 mm zoom head position in Nikon FX format with standard illumination pattern at 20°C. This indicates the flash’s power and the distance it can effectively illuminate a subject.
• Zoom Head⁚ The SB-700 features a zoom head that automatically adjusts its coverage pattern to match the focal length of the lens. This ensures optimal illumination across different lens focal lengths, minimizing vignetting and maximizing flash efficiency.
• Wireless Flash Control⁚ The SB-700 supports Nikon’s CLS for wireless flash control, allowing you to trigger multiple flashes remotely. This opens up a world of creative lighting possibilities, enabling you to create dramatic effects and control light direction.
• Built-in Bounce Card⁚ The SB-700 features a built-in bounce card that helps soften the light and create more natural-looking shadows. This is especially useful for portraits and other subjects where a softer, more diffused light is desired.
• Advanced Flash Modes⁚ The SB-700 offers a range of flash modes, including Auto, Manual, and Rear Curtain Sync. These modes provide you with flexibility in controlling flash output and timing to achieve different lighting effects.
• Other Features⁚ The SB-700 also includes features like a large, easy-to-read LCD screen, fast recycle times, auto thermal protection, and auto filter detection.

Compatibility with Nikon Systems

The Nikon SB-700 is designed specifically for use with Nikon’s Creative Lighting System (CLS), ensuring seamless integration and optimal performance with compatible Nikon cameras and accessories. Here’s a breakdown of its compatibility⁚

• Nikon DSLRs⁚ The SB-700 is compatible with a wide range of Nikon DSLRs, including those equipped with Nikon’s i-TTL flash control system. This includes models like the D7000 series and newer, ensuring compatibility with current and future Nikon DSLR releases.
• Nikon Speedlights⁚ The SB-700 can be used as a master or slave unit in a wireless flash setup with other CLS-compatible Nikon Speedlights, such as the SB-900 and SB-5000. This allows you to create complex lighting setups and control multiple flashes remotely.
• Nikon Lenses⁚ The SB-700’s zoom head automatically adjusts to match the focal length of compatible Nikon lenses, ensuring optimal illumination and minimizing vignetting. This compatibility ensures that the flash effectively covers the field of view of your lens, regardless of its focal length.
• Nikon Accessories⁚ The SB-700 can be used with various Nikon accessories, such as the optional SU-800 Wireless Speedlight Commander, which allows you to control multiple flashes wirelessly from a distance.

It’s important to note that the SB-700 is not compatible with older Nikon cameras that do not support CLS. If you have an older Nikon camera, you’ll need to consult the camera’s manual to determine its compatibility with the SB-700.

Modes of Operation

The Nikon SB-700 offers a variety of modes of operation to provide flexibility and control over your flash photography; Here’s a breakdown of the key modes⁚

• i-TTL (Intelligent Through-the-Lens) Mode⁚ This is the primary mode of operation for the SB-700, providing automatic flash exposure control based on the scene’s brightness and the camera’s settings. The SB-700 uses TTL technology to communicate with the camera and determine the optimal flash output for balanced exposure, delivering consistent results.
• Manual Mode⁚ In this mode, you have complete control over the flash output. You can adjust the flash power in 1/3-stop increments, providing precise control for creative lighting effects. This allows you to override the camera’s automatic settings and fine-tune the flash output to your liking.
• Rear Curtain Sync Mode⁚ This mode allows you to synchronize the flash with the second shutter curtain, resulting in a trailing effect of the subject’s motion. This creates a sense of movement and is particularly useful for capturing subjects like cars or athletes in motion.
• Slow Sync Mode⁚ This mode combines flash with a slow shutter speed, resulting in a combination of flash-lit foreground and ambient background. This is a great way to create dramatic images with a soft, diffused background while still capturing the subject in sharp focus. This is useful for capturing subjects in low light or when you want to create a sense of depth and atmosphere.
• High Speed Sync Mode⁚ This mode allows you to synchronize the flash with shutter speeds faster than the typical flash sync speed, providing greater flexibility when shooting in bright daylight. This mode is especially useful for shooting subjects in motion or when you need to use a small aperture for a large depth of field. This is great for freezing fast-moving subjects, achieving a shallow depth of field in bright light, and using the flash to fill in shadows.

The SB-700’s versatility in modes of operation makes it a valuable tool for photographers of all levels, allowing them to achieve a wide range of creative effects in various shooting scenarios.

Flash Control and Settings

The Nikon SB-700 offers a comprehensive set of controls and settings to fine-tune your flash output and achieve desired lighting effects. Here’s a closer look at some key aspects of flash control and settings⁚

• Flash Power Control⁚ The SB-700 offers precise control over flash power, allowing you to adjust the output in 1/3-stop increments. This provides flexibility in adjusting flash intensity to suit different lighting situations and creative visions.
• Zoom Head⁚ The SB-700’s zoom head adjusts to match the focal length of your lens, ensuring optimal coverage for your subject. The zoom head can be adjusted manually or automatically, depending on the camera’s capabilities. This allows for efficient light distribution and consistent flash coverage across different focal lengths.
• Bounce Flash⁚ The SB-700’s flash head can be tilted and rotated, enabling bounce flash techniques. This allows you to direct the flash light off of a nearby surface like a ceiling or wall to create softer, more natural-looking lighting. This technique helps soften shadows and create a more pleasing, diffused light.
• Flash Mode Settings⁚ The SB-700 provides various flash mode settings, including Auto mode, Manual mode, Rear Curtain Sync, Slow Sync, and High Speed Sync. Each mode offers specific advantages for different shooting scenarios, allowing you to select the most appropriate option for your creative vision.
• Color Temperature Adjustment⁚ The SB-700 allows you to adjust the color temperature of the flash output, compensating for different lighting conditions. This ensures consistent color balance and prevents unwanted color casts in your images.
• Flash Exposure Compensation⁚ This feature allows you to adjust the overall brightness of the flash output, providing further control over the exposure of your images. This is useful for adjusting the balance between flash and ambient light, or for adding creative flair to your images.

These controls and settings empower you to take command of your flash photography, fine-tuning the light to achieve your desired results.

Wireless Flash Photography

The Nikon SB-700 is a versatile flash unit that excels in wireless flash photography, opening up a world of creative possibilities. Its compatibility with Nikon’s Creative Lighting System (CLS) enables seamless wireless control and communication between multiple flash units. This allows you to create complex lighting setups and achieve dynamic effects that are impossible with a single flash.

• Master/Slave Control⁚ The SB-700 can function as both a master flash unit, controlling other SB-700s or compatible Nikon Speedlights, or as a slave flash unit, responding to commands from a master unit. This flexibility allows you to create various lighting configurations for different scenarios.
• Wireless Modes⁚ The SB-700 offers multiple wireless modes, including i-TTL, Manual, and Commander modes. i-TTL mode ensures automatic exposure control for seamless integration with your camera’s metering system. Manual mode provides greater control over flash output, allowing you to adjust flash power independently for each unit. Commander mode allows you to control flash output from a distance, ideal for complex multi-flash setups.
• Group Control⁚ The SB-700 allows you to group multiple slave flash units, enabling independent control over their flash output. This is particularly useful for creating dynamic lighting effects, such as adding rim light or accentuating specific areas of your subject.
• Remote Control⁚ The SB-700 can be controlled remotely using a compatible Nikon camera with built-in CLS capabilities. This allows you to adjust flash settings, change modes, and trigger flash units from a distance, providing greater flexibility and creative control over your lighting setup.

By harnessing the power of wireless flash photography with the SB-700, you can unlock creative lighting possibilities, experiment with different lighting techniques, and create stunning images with dramatic depth and dimension.

Advanced Techniques and Applications

The Nikon SB-700 is more than just a basic flash unit; it’s a powerful tool for photographers looking to push their creative boundaries. With its advanced features and capabilities, you can explore a range of techniques and applications that will elevate your photography to a new level.

• High-Speed Sync⁚ The SB-700 supports high-speed sync, allowing you to use flash with fast shutter speeds, typically beyond the camera’s normal flash sync speed. This is incredibly useful for freezing fast-moving subjects in bright ambient light or achieving shallow depth of field effects with wide apertures.
• Bounce Flash⁚ The SB-700’s tilting and swiveling flash head allows you to bounce flash off nearby surfaces, creating softer, more natural light. This technique diffuses the light, softens shadows, and produces a more flattering and aesthetically pleasing result, particularly for portraits.
• Macro Flash⁚ When shooting macro subjects, the SB-700’s dedicated macro mode provides optimized flash output for capturing intricate details. This mode ensures balanced exposure and minimizes harsh shadows, allowing you to capture stunning close-up shots.
• Creative Lighting Effects⁚ Experiment with various lighting techniques to create dramatic effects. Use multiple flash units in a wireless setup to create rim lighting, accentuate specific areas of your subject, or add depth and dimension to your images. With the SB-700’s versatility, you can explore your creativity and push the boundaries of traditional flash photography.

By mastering these advanced techniques and exploring the SB-700’s capabilities, you can unlock a world of creative possibilities and elevate your photography to new heights.