Ron wrote: "The question I have is would using AF-D technology cause
the camera/flash combination to know that the intended
subject were the people and not the table cloth and
expose the TTL flash correctly?"
Most likely, yes. While it's not perfect, and the ability varies slightly
from camera to camera, using D lenses has a noticeable impact on accuracy of
flash exposure in most situations. The situation you describe--white
tablecloth in foreground, people behind--is one where I'd expect the flash
and camera to do the right thing with a D lens and the flash set on TTL. Of
course, the right thing would overexpose the table cloth, but since you're
using print film, overexposure isn't a sin; indeed, I tend to overexpose
print film as a matter of course.
But D technology also has a minus side: you have to focus on the intended
subject--if you make any attempt to adjust focus point for depth of field,
you're playing with randomness.
Thom Hogan
Executive Editor, BACKPACKER Magazine
author, The Nikon Field Guide (Silver Pixel Press)
www.bythom.com
