Nikon Camera F3AF - Manual (Page 75)

FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY
The Nikon F3AF has been specially designed to make electronic
flash photography easier than ever. When used with an acces­
sory Nikon dedicated flash unif, the camera offers fully auto­
matic through-the-lens (TTL) control of the flash exposure. This
means that while the shutter is open, the camera's silicon
photodiode (SPD) reads the light reflected directly off the film
and tells the flash unit to cut itself off when the exposure
is correct.
To prevent mistakes, the camera also offers automatic switch­
over of the shutter speed for proper synchronization. With the
shutter speed dial @ set at A or 1/125 sec. or above, the shutter
speed is automatically switched to 1/80 sec. as soon as the
flash is turned on. As a reminder, the LCD shows 80 on auto or
M 80 on manual. For creative fill-in flash effects, you can set the
speed manually to 1 /60 sec. or below and the shutter fires at the
speed set with the speed in use displayed in the viewfinder.
For non-dedicated flash units, an X setting is provided, giving
you the proper manual speed of 1/80 sec. At X, M* 80 appears
in the LCD. Flowever, if you use a Nikon dedicated flash unit at
this setting, M 80 appears as soon as the unit is turned on.
When shooting manually with any flash unit, it is necessary to
determine the flash unit's guide number for the film you are
using; then set the aperture to match the shooting distance.
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