Nikon Speedlight Unit User manual

FOREWORD


 The versatileNikon Speedlightfeaturesa I(odachrome
 II (ASA 25) guide number of 46  (feet) and 14
 (meters),fast recyclingand a built-in monitor circuit
 that delivers constant light output for every flash,
 throughout the entire life of a battery. Illumination
 is even over the entire wide 650 angle of coverage.
 Flash duration is 1/2000 second -  short enough to
 freeze extremely fast motion. Color temperatureis
 60000 K, so the light producesno biaswith daylight
 film. And an extensionsocketmakespossiblemultiple
 flashhookups without the use of slaves.
 More than just an electronic flash unit, the Nikon
 Speedlightis the core of a professionallighting system
. that lets you choosefrom among four power sources,
 two ringlightsfor close-upwork and other accessories
 to meet almost any photographiclighting requirement.
The standardunit is suppliedwith main unit, Ni-Cd
 batteries, AC unit/charger, bracket and synch cord.

or storage,simply loosenthe locking screwand press
the quick-releasecatch.
Note: The camera bracket and flash unit can be clipped
together for compact storage as shown at right.





                            L o ckirrg Scr ew

FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY  WITH  BASIC ASSEMBLY    - continued
lnstalling the Ni-Cd Batteries      FIash Synchroniza tion /
A stack of rechargeableNickel-Cadmiumbatteries  Shutter Speed
SN-l is suppliedwith the Nikon Speedlight.Fully   The Nikon Speedlightsynchronizeswith the shutter
charged.one stack of batteriesis good for about 80    of the Nikon F at speedsof 1/60 secondor slowerand
flashes.Recyclingtime is 4 secondsat full chargeand    with the Nikkormat at 1lI25 or slower.
will decreasegraduallyto about 6 secondsafter 50   To connect the speedlightto the Nikon F,  lift and
flashesand to 8 secondsafter 60 flashes.                turn the synchro-selectorring until the FX mark
To install the batteries,remove the bottom cap from    appearsin the window (Photomic-seriesfinders must
the grip and slide the stack into the battery chamber.  be removed prior to this step).
The stack is tapered to  insure correct insertion.
Note: The batteries supplied with  the speedlight are fully
charged. However, some loss of power may  occur over a                         Nikon F
period of time. even if the batteries are not used' After one
month, about 4 hours of charging should restore them to full
charge (5 hours after 3 to 4 months). For details on recharg-
ing Ni-Cd batteries see page 19.

                          <-                  B





                                Ni Cd tsa tte rle s

connect the synchro socket on the speedlightto the
flash terminal on the side of the cumira by meansof
the synchro cord sc- l supplied with the speedlight.
To connect to the Nikkormat, plug the synchro cord            6sx"sc-l  into the     terminal on the sideoi the camera.





                 N ikkormat

FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY WITH BASIC ASSEMBLY-  continued
Exposure Determination              To find the guide number for a particularfilm/speed-
The exposure calculator disc helps you  find the    light combination,set the film speed opposite the
f-numberfor correct exposureat any flash-to-subject  triangular index mark on the film speed scale.The
distance.Set the speed of the film you are usrng   guide number will appearoppositethe arrow on the
opposite the triangular index mark by turning the   guidenumberscale.The guidenumberscaleis marked
disc. Then read off  the f-number which appears   in both feet and meters.
opposite the distance.                           For additional information, consult the instruction
Thereare two index marks; a white mark (B&W) for    booklet which comeswith the GN Auto Nikkor lens.
black-and-whitefilm and a red one (COLOR) for                                                      F lash-to-Su bject
color. Dots between the numbers on the film speed                                            D i s t a n c e S c a l e
scalerepresentintermediatesettingssuch as 32, 40,
etc. The flash-to-subjectdistancescale is marked in
both feet and meters.                                                F / n u m b e r  S c a l e
For example,if color film with a speedof ASA 25 is
used, 12 feet appearsopposite fl4.  lf a black-and-
white film with a speedof ASA 125 is used,9 feet
appearsoppositef/16.                                .             G u i d e N u m b e r
                                                           S calefor GN
GN Auto Nikkor 45mm f/2.8 lens                   A u t o N ikkor
The Nikon SpeedlightUnit's exposurecalculatordisc     F i l m S p e e d  I n d e x
alsohas a scalefor usewith the GN Auto Nikkor lens.
This ingeniouslenshas beendesignedto provide fully
automatic exposure determination in flash photo-
graphy.Once the lens has been set for the film speed
and speedlightguidenumber,it automaticallychanges
the aperturediaphragmas you focus: there is no need
to estimatedistancesand calculateapertures.

1 0

SHORT.RANGE AND CLOSE-UP LIGHTING
Ringlight SR-l
A compact, lightweight unit designed to provide
shadowlesslighting for short-rangework. With 65"
angle of illumination, it  fits any Nikkor lens from
35mm to 200mm. Recyclingtime and number of                                                                                                 ':tffiF:'           '.f':iafi,  ,,
flashesare the same as for the main unit with the
different power sources.A switch on top of the ring-
light allowsit to be usedat full or ll4 output depend-                             4 - P i n P l u g
ing on working distance.The Nikon F synchro set-
tings are l/60 sec. or slower with the FX synchro
selectorsetting. With the Nikkormat, shutter speeds
of l/125 sec.or slowercan be used.                                            Light- OutputPowerSelectorCord
                                                                                  Switch





                                                   R i n g l i g h t




                                                                              Synchro Cord

SHORT-RANGE AND CLOSE-I'JPLfiG[-ITING
For example,if the Nikkor Auto 50mm f/2 lens is              ExposureCalculatingDiagram
used with film of ASA 25 at distanceof 364mm                 (Subjectdistance= 20Omm-6O0mm)
measuredfrom the film plane using the extension
ring K-l, the table showsf/11 as the correctaperture.
The ExposureCalculatingDiagramis basedon expo-
sureindexesfor ASA speed 25 at l/4 reducedpower'
For combinationsother than ASA 25 film at  Il4
output, use the f-numberindicatedby the Exposu
CalculatingDiagramand add or subtractthe exposure         (D                  m
factor       indicated                   in the table below for the combi-      500                                                                                              x€oulC        in        use.nation
Note: Use the f-number engraved on the lens aperture ring.    =                                      o
 not the effective number  for close distances since the tablc           (D 400                                                   f(D
 and diagram accommodate the lens extension.
 For subjects closer than 0.2m, use of the Macro Ringlight
                                                              o Unit SM-1 is recommended.
                                                                                       o 300
 Exposure Factors  for Film Speed (ASAI                                                       3 AssLmed as a standard (-1) for the lrght output 1/4 and the f ilm speed ASA 25                                     f
   F i l m                             t*toT                                                    o)                  =-'-    speed                                                                 20c   (ASA}                   Light output FULL                     I     Light output  1/4
    25     1/4X (Decreasa2 stopsl        1 X
   32     1/5.2X (Decrease2-113stoPs)   1/1.3X (Decrease1/3 stopl
    50     1/8X (Decrease3 stops)        1/2X (DecreasaI stopl
    64     1/10.4X (Decrease3-1/3 stopsl   1/2.6X (Decreaso l-l/3  stops,
   100     1/16X (Decrease4 stopsl       1/4X (Decrease2 stoPsl                              f-nrrb"t-_-
    125     1/20.8X (Decrease4-113stopsl  1/5.2X (Decrease2-113stoPs)                ASA 25 Light output 1/4
   160     1125.6x (Decrease4'2l3 stoPs)  1/6.4X (Decrease2'213stoPsl



 1 L

Macro Ringlight SM-l
     The Macro Ringlight SM-l  is identical to the Ring-
       light SR-l except that  it  is designedfor use with
     lensesfrom 24mm to l05mm for reproductionratiosI    greaterthan  l: l. The ringlight has a bayonetmount
       for attachmentto a lens mounted in reversepositiont   on a bellows unit by meansof the BR-2 Macro Ring.                         Power Cord
    A built-in focusing lamp illuminates
      precisefocusing,and a selectorswitch locatedon t
                                                                                                                                 \     back of the ringlight allows you to use the unit at full
     output or ll4 output.


                                                   Lens Aperture Opening
                                                       Button
                                                            Focusing Lamp


l
                                                                  Synchro CordI

Before / using.  check  to                      Rechargingthe Ni-Cd Batteries
makesrirethe voltageselec-                     You can also use the AC unit/chargerto rechargethe
tor is $et for the proper                           batterieswhetherusingthe cameraand speedlighton
voltage.Thereare 100,I 17,                  AC power or not. But normally rechargingis done
)20 and 240-volt settings.                    when the speedlightis not in use.
Inserta smallcoin into the                        Turn off the power switchon the main unit. Connect
slot and turn it so that the                       an AC power sourceto the speedlightby meansof
red  indicator  is opposite the proper voltage.          the AC unit/chargerjust as you would to use the
Before connecting the power, turn  off  the power    speedlightwith an AC power source. The Ni-Cd
switch in order  to prevent drain on the Ni-Cd bat-   batterieswill start to chargeup.
teries if they are left in place. Plug the unit into an   Rechargingtime variesdependingon how many times
AC source. The speedlight begins to charge up, emit-   the flash has been fired. After about 40 flashes,7 to
ting a buzzing sound.                              8 hours should be sufficient. Completely depleted
Recycling takes 5 seconds.However, if the speedlight   batteriestake 14 to 16 hours.                                .
Itas not been used for some time,  it may take longer    C ' a u t i o n :  I t ' t h c     \ (   u n i t    i s  t o    l r c L r s c d f o r a   l o n g  t i r n c .  t h e
for the pilot lamp to light up. Fire the flash several       \i- ( 'tl   blttcr ics  shoultl  lr c  r clnovctl  Othcnr isc thcv  r nav be
times using the open flash button to restore it to its        ,llr nr ;,r gcrlri l  ur e r . lur r !.itr :l
normal operating condition.

Batteriesare easy to install or replace.To insert the     Caution:  Remove  the  battery when  not  in use to prevent
510-volt battery, unbutton the flap and slide the     leakage of electrolyte  fluid.
battery into the pack. To insert the AA-type batferies,   Whenever you replace the 5l0-volt  battery, replace the four                                                           AA-type batteries at the same time.
unscrew the cover on top of the AA-type bfttery
chamber, using a small coin. When loading tfte bat-
teries, make sure that  their positive andr4tegative(+ and -) polesare alignedcorrectly.       /      Zaqerd   De*tfrfr,t
When the 510-volt battery pack is y'6,a as powersource, the power switch on the battery pack over-    /+/54,S.ffi
ridesthe one on the main unit. Turn off the switch on  r
the main unit. Connect the battery pack to the ring-'                        &orre  J22-3?rflight socket on the main unit with the coiled cord
which comes with the pack. The cord is fitted with
a 4-pin plug at one end and a 3-pin connector at the  :
other. The connector alsohas a locking screwto hold
it securely. To preservethe batteries,do not leave '-
the switch on unnecessarilv.

OTHER POWER SOURCES-
 D-Cell Pack SD-2                             Gharacteristicsof "D" Cells
 The D-cell pack is designedto hous.kll  D-size b           Type        Recycling time     Number of flashes-EtE
                                                                              16O,---      The numberof flashesand recyclingtihElo-.              ,  t           General      6  -7 sec.          about
  different types of D-size batteries are given in the          High-rate     5  -6 sec.          about 30O
  table at right. Wl'renloadingthe batteries,be sure to          Alkaline      3.5-5 sec.          about 1000
  align the positive and negativeterminalscorrectly as
 shown inside the pack.
 To connectthe D-cell pack for use,
  plug the cord that comeswith the pack
  into the AC socketon the speedlight
  main unit and the socketon the sideof
  the pack. This disconnectsthe Ni-Cd
  battery circuit so there is no needto
 removethe Ni-Cd batteries.The power
  switch on the main unit acts as the
  on-off switch.





                                                                              D - C e l lP a c kS D - 2

CHARACTERISTICS OF POWER SOURCES


       Power Source             Recycling Time    Number of Flashes
  Ni-Cd bafteries (fully charsed)    about 4 sec.          about 8O
  6 D-cells (higtrrate)                 5                 300
  6 D-cells (alkaline)                  4                1,(X)O
 510V battery                     1 . 5             700
 AC unit/charger                    5                 indefinite





                                 Number of firings (in sequenceof one time per 30 sec.)

MULTIPLE FLASH
As many as three speedlightunits may be connected
in seriesand fired at the same time. One unit is
connectedto the camera:a secondunit is connected
to the first with the ExtensionCord SE-2,an optional
accessory,linking the extensionsocketon the first to
the synchro socket on the second;and a third unit is
connectedto the secondunit with an additionalSE-2.
Note: Extension flash is not possible when using the ringlight
units.





                                                      E x t e n s i o nC o r d S E - 2

FEATU R ES/SPECI F I CATI O NS
GuideNumber:     ASA 25 film      46 (feet)
               ASA 125 film    149 (feet)
PowerSources:


                          10V laminated
                        Tery,D-cellbattery as
                      optional.
FlashDuration:      1/2000sec.
Color Temperature:  60000K
 Angle of Coverage:  650
 Life of FlashTube:   Approx. 30,000times
 Automatic Voltage
   Stabilizer:        Provided
 Light Extension:    Up to 2 additional units
 Weight:           Main Unit with Ni-cd
                       batteries          67Oe
                     BracketSK-2        2609
               AC Unit/Charger        lkg





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