2. Z 9 Reference Guide
  3. Flash Photography
  4. Using an On-Camera Flash

Using an On-Camera Flash

  1. Mount a flash unit on the camera accessory shoe.

    See the documentation supplied with each Speedlight for information on mounting the unit on the camera.

  2. Turn on the camera and flash unit.

    The flash will begin charging; the flash-ready indicator (c) will appear in the shooting display when charging is complete.

  3. Choose the flash control mode (Flash Control Mode) and flash mode (Flash Modes).

  4. Adjust shutter speed and aperture.

  5. Take pictures.

Shutter Speed

Shutter speed can be set as follows when an optional flash unit is used:

Shooting mode

Shutter speed

P, A

Set automatically by camera (1/200 s–1/60 s) *

S

1/200 s–30 s

M

1/200 s–30 s, Bulb, Time

  • Shutter speed may be set as slow as 30 s if slow sync, slow rear-curtain sync, or slow sync with red-eye reduction is selected for flash mode.

Caution: Third-Party Flash Units

The camera cannot be used with flash units that would apply voltages over 250 V to the camera’s X contacts or short-circuit contacts on the accessory shoe. Use of such flash units could not only interfere with normal operation of the camera but also damage the flash sync circuits of the camera and/or flash.

i-TTL Flash Control

When an optional flash unit that supports the Nikon Creative Lighting System is attached and set to TTL, the camera uses monitor pre-flashes for balanced or standard “i-TTL fill-flash” flash control. i-TTL flash control is not available with flash units that do not support the Nikon Creative Lighting System. The camera supports the following types of i-TTL flash control:

Flash control

Description

i-TTL balanced fill-flash

The camera uses “i-TTL balanced fill-flash” flash control for a natural balance between the main subject and ambient background lighting. After the shutter-release button is pressed and immediately before the main flash, the flash unit emits a series of monitor pre-flashes which the camera uses to optimize flash output for a balance between the main subject and ambient background lighting.

Standard i-TTL fill-flash

Flash output is adjusted to bring lighting in the frame to a standard level; the brightness of the background is not taken into account. Recommended for shots in which the main subject is emphasized at the expense of background details, or when exposure compensation is used.

  • Standard i-TTL fill-flash is activated automatically when [Spot metering] is selected.

The Sync Terminal

A sync cable can be connected to the sync terminal (which features a JIS-B locking nut) as required. Do not connect another flash unit via a sync cable when performing rear-curtain sync flash photography with a flash unit mounted on the camera accessory shoe.