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e1 Flash Sync Speed
As you may already know (or will learn in Chapter 12), the focal plane shutter in the
Nikon D7000 must be fully open when the flash fires; otherwise, you’ll image one edge
or the other of the vertically traveling shutter curtain in your photo. Ordinarily, the
fastest shutter speed during which the shutter is completely open for an instant is
1/250th second. However, there are exceptions when you can use faster shutter speeds
with certain flash units (such as the Nikon SB-900, SB-700, SB-800, SB-600, and SB-
R200) for automatic FP (focal plane) synchronization. There are also situations in which
you might want to set flash sync speed to less than 1/250th second, say, because you
want ambient light to produce secondary ghost images in your frame. (I’ll address all
these sync issues in Chapter 12.) You can choose the following settings:
■ 1/320 s (Auto FP). This setting can allow use of flash with any shutter speed from
1/320th second to 1/8,000th second, with certain external flash units, but not with
the D7000’s built-in flash. If you’re using the Nikon SB-900, or SB-700, the earlier
SB-800, the SB-600, or SB-R200 external flash unit, shutter speeds from 1/320th
to 1/8,000th second can be used; synchronization is produced by firing the unit
continuously over a longer time period in short repeating bursts, so the effective
power of the flash is reduced (meaning that the distance range of the flash is cur-
tailed). You’ll need to shoot subjects that are closer to the camera. When using
Program or Aperture-priority mode (which both automatically select a shutter
speed), high-speed sync will kick in whenever the actual shutter speed is faster than
1/320th second. Other flash units, including the D7000’s built-in flash allow the
D7000 to sync with flash at speeds of up to 1/320th second.
■ 1/250 s (Auto FP). This setting allows using the named external flash units with
high-speed synchronization at 1/250th second or faster, and activates auto FP sync
when the camera selects a shutter speed of 1/250th second or faster in Program and
Aperture-priority modes. Other flash units, including the D7000’s built-in flash,
will be used at speeds no faster than 1/250th second.
■ 1/250 s-1/60 s. You can specify a shutter speed from 1/250th second to 1/60th sec-
ond to be used as the synchronization speed for internal and external flash units.
e2 Flash Shutter Speed
This setting determines the slowest shutter speed that is available for electronic flash syn-
chronization when you’re not using a “slow sync” mode (described in Chapter 12). As
you may know, when you’re using flash, the flash itself provides virtually all of the illu-
mination that makes the main exposure, and the shutter speed determines how much,
if any, of the ambient light contributes to that second, non-flash exposure. Indeed, if
the camera or subject is moving, you can end up with two distinct exposures in the same
frame: the sharply defined flash exposure, and a second, blurry “ghost” picture created
by the ambient light.
Chapter 9 ■ Setup: The Custom Settings Menu 301