Attn: Nikon CLS Users D700 Trick for you Off Camera Flashers

I have always been a Nikon CLS fan. That was one of the biggest things that I missed when switching to Canon for those couple years. Lately, the Nikon CLS (Creative Lighting System) has gotten even more robust and now allows you to control your off camera flashes directly through your camera! No need to run over to all your slave speedlights and set them right there.



As a D700 user, I have found a nice little trick that will give you one click access to this menu for ease of use and so you can get to the CLS menu.

First off, I set my D700's pop-up flash to Commander Mode. I also disable the flash so it will only relay messages to my flashes and won't affect my exposure any.

Attn. Here is the important part! From there, you need to access the custom "My Menu" camera setting and Add the Commander Mode as a new item and make sure it is at the TOP OF THE LIST! You'll see why later when I talk about custom setting f5.

D700 Custom Settings used:

e3: Flash Control for Built-in Flash = Commander Mode*

*To disable the flash, dive one step deeper into commander mode (via a right click of the ) to access the wireless commander control panel and set the Built-in Flash to nothing (--) so it won't fire the flash.

f5: Assign FUNC button = "Access top item in My Menu" This will make the FUNC button (the button near the camera lens that you can feel with your pinky finger of your right hand). Easy access yet out of the way.

So all you have to do is click on the FUNC button with your one finger and you'll have immediate access to the in-camera flash control menu!

Pretty sweet huh?
Thanks for stopping by,
Mike