Help with flash recharging

cellman2010

Senior Member
How can I force a shot on the D3 even if the flash has not recharged for the next photo ?
Right now its locking the shutter until the flash is ready.

Thanks for any help
 

WayneF

Senior Member
Which flash? Many flashes will trigger anyway even if not recycled yet. That is bad news, because it does not yet have full power, and it can only be a partial flash if not recycled. But some will anyway, and some will not.

On Nikon flashes, typically only the camera internal flash will not trigger until recycle, but the D3 does not have the internal flash.

I'd say count your blessings. If faster shooting is necessary, rearrange your situation to need less flash power, with higher ISO, wider aperture, or closer flash distance, or maybe all three. Less flash power is faster recycle.
 
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cellman2010

Senior Member
I'm using a Yungou flash. I'm shooting football. The flash is to assist but not necessary. My 9 FPS is more important, even if I'm only getting flash on every 3 rd shot. Is it possible to override the 'wait' ?
 

WayneF

Senior Member
Sorry, I don't know a way to override it. An external flash power supply should speed it up some, but probably not that much. Flash on every third shot sounds like maybe 1/3 of the current power level might possibly be close to working? One stop boost of aperture or ISO is 1/2 power, two stops is 1/4 power.

Other flash brands might continue firing anyway, but then all but the first shot would have insufficient power... It does not sound very useful.
 
I would never use a flash in football. Most coaches would have you kicked off the field. The flash in the eyes of someone catching the ball or running past you would be very distracting. You could lose the game for someone doing that.
 

aroy

Senior Member
I would also avoid Flash in any sport. Faster lenses and high ISO is what is needed.

If you insist on using flash, then try AFC, central spot only, that may override the "flash not ready" signal.
 

editorial_use_only

Senior Member
I'm using a Yungou flash. I'm shooting football. The flash is to assist but not necessary. My 9 FPS is more important, even if I'm only getting flash on every 3 rd shot. Is it possible to override the 'wait' ?

Why would you want flash every third frame? It makes no sense. If your other six frames are significantly underexposed, they're wasted anyway and you'd be better off just shooting CL and setting option d2 for 3. If your other six are only slightly underexposed, you're probably better off kicking up your ISO cutting flash power and getting your desired fill with all your frames.

Anyway. What mode or settings are you shooting with? My recollection is that in full manual mode, you should not be locked out. Flash ready or not, the shutter trips. If you're in TTL you may get locked out until the flash is ready.

What batteries are you using? I've had excellent results with the eneloops.

You might explore a flash bracket. Those will mount three or four speedlights, and you can trigger them simultaneously. One of the brackets, I forget which one, includes triggering. With four times the flash power, you can drop your power level so each flash will be able to recycle more quickly.

Be aware though that when shooting in CH overheating is a significant risk. Your flash will just stop working completely. I think of the SB-800 as a rugged, dependable speedlight. A wedding shooter was telling me how he fried one of his shooting CH. You might check your flash's manual for continuous shooting. Nikon's include guidance for max frames.
 
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