extension tubes and Nikon CLS (triggering SB-600 via Commander Mode)

[katia]

so after reading some good reviews on Amazon, i "splurged" HAHA and bought a set of the $6.99 extension tubes ones off ebay, just to see what they're like. i figured if they're crap and i never use them, hey, they were $6.99. and if i did happen to like them then i can save up my dollars to get good ones. these ones seem pretty sturdy, and they're all metal, so i think they were probably a decent buy, but i will more than likely upgrade.

one thing i'm wondering, with these extension tubes that i got, they have no electrical components, OBVIOUSLY. but i want to use the Nikon CLS to trigger my SB-600 wirelessly so i can do some off-camera lighting. however, my camera won't let me! i can use the flash when it's mounted on the hot-shoe, but as soon as i put the pop-up in Commander mode the whole flash box on the top electronic display starts flashing, and the camera won't take a picture. is it possible to do off-camera lighting with extension tubes?

is it just because these are cheapie ones? if i actually get the Kenko tubes with all the electrical components will i be able to trigger my flash with the pop-up via Commander Mode?

[scootermcq]

TTL is through lens.... obviously your lens can't talk to the camera, cause really it aint there. I have never tried, but if you use CLS in manual mode vs ttl will it over ride the fact the lens is not "attached". Give it a shot and let us know. If not, I can try tonight.

[katia]

hey for some reason i wasn't notified this thread had received any replies.

under Commander Mode I had it set to "--"

tried "M", and it still gives me all the weird blinking stuff on the top screen, and still won't shoot.

think it would behave this way if i had better tubes? there's got to be a way!

[scootermcq]

Originally Posted by katia

hey for some reason i wasn't notified this thread had received any replies.

under Commander Mode I had it set to "--"

tried "M", and it still gives me all the weird blinking stuff on the top screen, and still won't shoot.

think it would behave this way if i had better tubes? there's got to be a way!

I just tried it on my D300 with cheapo tubes with no computer contacts and it works fine. when it is set to -- that means off or no fire. Change commander mode to "M" or manual. Then on the right you set the output to what ever is appropriate 1/1, 1/8 etc. It should fire even though there are no contacts, because those are for ttl and you are by passing that with manual mode