Flash value always 9 or 16

Erkki,

I'm not sure why Aperture does not decode all the EXIF data, but using the EXIF standard ([EXIF standard|http://www.exif.org/Exif2-2.PDF] on page 35 if you're interested), we can at least figure out what your camera recorded. (I'm not an EXIF expert, though, so I may be misinterpreting the standard.)

A value of 9 means "Compulsory flash firing" and "Flash fired". This means you told your camera to unconditionally use the flash (assumedly in a manual mode), and that the camera *was able* to use the flash.

A value of 16 means "Compulsory flash suppression". I imagine this means you were in a manual mode and did not have the flash on.

I'm not sure how to interpret the values for the flash in your situation, but maybe knowing what "9" and "16" mean will help you figure it out yourself.

nathan

Can you tell me where I can find a listing of the EXIF FLASH metadata values? I shoot with an SB 800 and Nikon D200 and note that my EXIF FLASH metadata field often displays 0, 5 or 71. (And perhaps other numbers.) Is there a printed translation can find somewhere? Many thanks for your time and effort in respnding.

Yes, it's annoying that Aperture just uses numbers to interpret most EXIF data.
Also annoying: it used to display my flash exposure compensation just fine, and now it's just blank on all my images.