Five Different Ways Of Connecting External Flash To Nikon D7000

Nikon D7000 comes with a built-in flash which does pretty good job most of the time; specially when your subject is close, and you just need to fill the light. The power of the built-in flash is not enough to use it as a main source of light and this is when external flash comes handy. Nikon's every new DSLRs support external flash units but in addition, Nikon D7000 gives some extra options to connect external flash unit. Basically you have five different ways to connect an external flash unit to your Nikon D7000.

Nikon SC-29 TTL coiled remote cord

1. Mount on the accessory shoe: You can connect your flash unit to D7000 by sliding a compatible flash units into the accessory shoe, also called hot shoe. When you slide your flash unit to hot shoe, D7000 automatically detects Nikon speedlights and you can control it's function using camera menu options.

Nikon AS-10 TTL Multi-Flash adapter

2. Connect to the accessory shoe with a cable: Instead of mounting your flash directly into accessory shoe, you can also use Nikon standard cables; Nikon SC-28 or SC-29 TTL coiled remote cords to connect flash units with Nikon DSLRs. These coiled remote cords have an accessory shoe on one end of nine-foot cable to accept flash, and a foot that slides into the camera accessory shoe on the other end, providing a link that is the same as mounting flash directly sliding into hot shoe. But using these cables gives you flexibility of placing flash units into different orientations than being fixed on top of the camera. It is useful when you want to experiment with direction of lights using wired connection between flash units and camera.

Nikon SC-26:27 TTL Multi-Flash Sync cord

3. Connect using Multi-Flash cables: You can also use Nikon SC-27 or SC-26 TTL Multi-Flash Sync Cords to connect TTL flash units to each other or through the AS-10 TTL Multi-Flash adapter or SC-28 TTL remote cord for multi-flash operation. You may want to use this with older NIkon Flash units as it doesn't support i-TTL or D-TTL operation.

Nikon AS-15 Sync Terminal Adapter

4. Connect to a PC/X connector: Nikon D7000 doesn't have built-in PC sync connector, but Nikon offers an optional adapter, Nikon AS-15 Sync Terminal Adapter, that clips into hot shoe and provides a PC/X connector which can be used with studio strobes. These adapters are useful when they are combined with a voltage limiter so that you don't need to worry about frying your camera with an older flash units that has a triggering voltage that's too high.

Note: According to B&H online store, AS-15 Sync Terminal Adapter doesn't provide high-voltage sync protection, and is not recommended for flash units that have more than 6v.

5. Connect using Wireless technology: Nikon D7000 has a commander mode option which lets you trigger most of the Nikon speedlight units wirelessly. Using commander mode, these speedlights can be triggered by another master flash in commander mode or by the RU-800 infrared device. You can also use third party wireless device such as RadioPopper JrX or PocketWizards wireless flash triggers which are pretty much dominant in the market.

Using Autofocus With The Nikon D7000

Autofocus can sometimes be frustrating for the new digital SLR photographer, especially those coming from the point-and-shoot world. That’s because correct focus plays a greater role among your creative options with a DSLR, even when photographing the same subjects. Most non-DSLR digital cameras have sensors that are much tinier than the sensor in the D7000. Those smaller sensors require shorter focal lengths, which have, effectively, more depth-of-field. The bottom line is that with the average point-and-shoot camera, everything is in focus from about one foot to infinity and at virtually every f/stop. Unless you are shooting close-up photos a few inches from the camera, the depth-of-field, is prodigious, and autofocus is almost a non-factor.

The D7000, on the other hand, uses longer focal length lenses to achieve the same field of view with its larger sensor, so there is less depth-of-field. That’s a good thing, creatively, because you have the choice to use selective focus to isolate subjects. But it does make the correct use of autofocus more critical. To maintain the most creative control, you have to choose three attributes:

1. How much is in focus: Generally, by choosing the f/stop used, you’ll determine the range of sharpness/amount of depth-of-filed. The larger the DOF, the "easier" it is for the autofocus systems’ locked-in focus point to be appropriate (even though, strictly speaking, there is only one actual plane of sharp focus). With less depth-of-field, the accuracy of the focus point becomes more critical, because even a small error will result in an out-of-focus shot.

2. What subject is in focus: The portion of your subject that is zeroed in for autofocus is determined by the autofocus zone that is active, and which is chosen either by you or by the Nikon D7000. For example, when shooting portraits, it’s actually okay for part of the subject- or even part of the subject’s face to be slightly out of focus as long as the eyes (or even just the nearest eye) appear sharp.

3. When focus is applied: For static shots of objects that aren’t moving, when focus is applied doesn’t matter much. But when you are shooting sports or birds in flight, or children, the subject may move within the viewfinder as you are framing the image. Whether that movement is across the frame or headed right towards you, timing the instant when autofocus is applied can be important.

Reference: David Busch's Nikon D7000 Guide to Digital SLR Photography