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Speedlight
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SB-400
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Instruction Manual
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Speedlight SB-400 Instruction Manual En ■ Preparation • For your safety .................................................................................................2 Foreword .........................................................................................................8 Confirm receipt ................................................................................................8 Compatible cameras...........................................................................
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Preparation For your safety Before using your product, please read the following safety En precautions carefully and thoroughly to ensure correct and safe use and to help prevent damage to your Nikon product or injury to yourself or others. For quick reference by those who use the product, please keep these safety instructions near the product. In this manual, safety instructions are indicated with these symbols: Disregarding instructions marked with this symbol WARNING could result in pe
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4 If the flash unit is dropped and damaged, do not touch any exposed interior metal parts. Such parts, especially the speedlight's capacitor and associated parts, could be in a high-charge state and if touched could cause an electric shock. Disconnect the power or remove the batteries and be sure that En you do not touch any of the product's electrical components, and then bring the flash unit to your local Nikon dealer or authorized service center for repair. 5 If you detect heat, smoke or
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Preparation 11 Keep small accessories out of the reach of children to avoid the possibility of the accessory being swallowed. If an accessory is accidentally swallowed, immediately consult with a doctor. 12 Use only the batteries specified in this instruction manual. En Batteries other than those specified could leak corrosive liquids, explode or catch on fire or otherwise not perform satisfactorily. 13 Do not mix battery types, brands or old and new batteries, as the batteries could leak c
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CAUTIONS for Speedlights 1 Do not touch the flash unit with wet hands, as this could cause an electric shock. En 2 Keep the flash unit away from children to prevent them from putting the unit in or near their mouth, or otherwise touching a dangerous part of the product; as such contact could cause an electric shock. 3 Do not apply strong physical shocks to the unit, as this could cause a malfunction that could cause the unit to explode or catch on fire. 4 Never use active agents that contai
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Preparation 6 Do not carry or store batteries along with metallic materials such as necklaces and hair pins because such materials could cause the batteries to short-circuit, leading to battery leakage, heat generation or an explosion. In addition, specially when carrying a quantity of batteries, place them En carefully in a storage case that prevents the battery terminals from touching another battery's terminals because if they touch in reverse order it could also cause the batteries to
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15 If corrosive liquids seep from the batteries and come in contact with your skin or clothes, wash immediately with running water. Prolonged contact could injure your skin. 16 When recycling or disposing of batteries, be sure to insulate their En terminals with tape. If the battery's positive and negative terminals short- circuit after coming into contact with metallic objects, it could cause fire, heat generation or an explosion. Dispose of used batteries in accordance with local governme
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Preparation Foreword Thank you for purchasing the Nikon Speedlight SB-400. To get the most out of your Speedlight, please read this instruction manual thoroughly En before use. In addition, keep your camera instruction manual handy for quick reference. Confirm receipt Confirm receipt of contents in your kit Instruction manual Warranty card SB-400 Soft Case Instruction manual Warranty card Using your Speedlight correctly The Nikon Speedlight's performance has been optimized for use with Nikon
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Take trial shots Take test photos before photographing important events, such as weddings and graduations. En Have Nikon regularly spot-check your Speedlight Nikon recommends that you have your Speedlight serviced by an authorized dealer or service center at least once every two years. Life-long learning As part of Nikon's "Life-long learning" commitment to ongoing product support and education, continually updated information is available online at the following sites: For users in the U
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60 75 90 Preparation Compatible cameras This Speedlight, which features the Nikon Creative Lighting System (CLS), provides i-TTL flash operations in combination with CLS-compatible En cameras. Manual mode is also available with the D40-Series camera. D3, D2-Series, D300, D200, D80*, D70-Series*, D50*, Cameras compatible D40-Series*, F6, COOLPIX 8400, COOLPIX 8800*, with CLS COOLPIX P5000, COOLPIX P5100 *When using the SB-400 with these cameras, the SB-400 must be turned on. Speedlight parts
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Install the batteries following 2 the i and j marks as 1 shown. Then close the battery chamber lid by En sliding it into place while 2 pressing down. Usable batteries Install two AA-type penlight batteries (1.5V or lower) of any of these types: Alkaline-manganese (1.5V), Lithium (1.5V), Oxyride (1.5V), Ni-MH [Nickel Metal Hydride (rechargeable), (1.2V)] When replacing batteries, replace both with fresh ones of the same brand. High-power manganese batteries are not recommended for use wi
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Basic operation 1 Attach the SB-400 to the camera Make sure the SB-400 and 1 En the camera body are turned off. Rotate the mounting foot 2 lock lever to the left, slide the SB-400's mounting foot into the camera's accessory shoe and turn the lock lever to the right. (illust. A and B) In case the mounting foot lock lever does not stay to the right and a red line appears (illust. C), the mounting foot lock lever is not fully rotated to its right position. Re-attach the SB-400 to the
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Turn the SB-400 and the 2 camera body on. En 3 Setting the camera's mode Setting the camera's exposure mode and metering 1 mode For more details, see your camera instruction manual. Check the ready-light on the SB-400 or in the 2 camera's viewfinder, then start shooting. Flash shooting distance range The SB-400's usable flash shooting distance range is 0.6m to 20m (2 to 66 ft.) and varies, depending on the camera's ISO sensitivity and lens aperture in use. ISO sensitivity Aperture 1600 4
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Available flash modes The SB-400's available flash modes vary, depending on the cameras and lenses in use or the camera's exposure mode. Each mode should be set on the camera body, since it cannot be set through the SB-400. For details, see you camera instruction manual. En For shooting with slow shutter speeds, use of a tripod is recommended. Slow-sync flash The flash is controlled at a slow shutter speed to obtain the correct exposure for both the main subject and background in low-ligh
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Effective usage of Speedlight With the SB-400 mounted on your camera's hot shoe, you can tilt the flash head in four steps (horizontal, 60º, 75º and 90º) to bounce the light off the ceiling. En Tilt the flash head 90º upper Horizontal Bounce flash Shooting using the light bounced off the ceiling or other surfaces by tilting the flash head is called the bounce flash operation. This technique offers following advantages: Eliminates Red Eye Creates soft shadows Prevents hair or clothes app
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Effective usage of Speedlight Notes on bounce flash For a simple bounce flash technique, tilt the flash head upward and bounce the flash light off the ceiling. Note that the flash should not En directly illuminate the subject. Lightproof white paper White ceiling 60º 75º 90º 1-2m The recommended distance between When the distance between the flash the flash head and reflective surface head and reflective surfaces is long, (ex. ceiling) is 1 to 2m (3.3-6.6 ft.). use some A4-size white pap
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When the subject has a mottled appearance with the flash light, raise the tilting degree of the flash head. En Illuminated subject in a mottled tone Shooting with the flash head tilted up 90º Depending on the lens' focal length and tilting degree of the flash head, the bounced light may illuminate the subject in a mottled tone. Tilt the flash head 90º and take the shot. In case the light is not enough When the flash light is insufficient Shooting with higher ISO sensitivity When the reflecti
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Reference information Optional accessories TTL Remote Cord SC-28/17 (1.5m) TTL Remote Cords SC-28/17 provide TTL auto flash En operation when the SB-400 is used off-camera. Their flash shoes come with one tripod socket. Tips on Speedlight care WARNING Never use thinner, benzene, or other active agents for cleaning the Speedlight, as this may damage the Speedlight or cause it to catch fire. Using these agents may also impair your health. Cleaning Use a blower brush to remove dirt and dust fr
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Take the Speedlight out once a month, insert the batteries, and fire the unit several times to reform the capacitor. When the Speedlight is stored together with a desiccant, renew the desiccant occasionally. En Operating location An extreme temperature change can cause condensation to form inside the Speedlight. When exposing the Speedlight to high temperatures from very low temperatures, or vice versa, place it inside an airtight container such as a plastic bag. Leave it inside the c
