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shevs · Joined: 31 Jul 2008 Posts: 825 Location: Belgium

When i bought my Nikon it came with a Metz flash; i never really used it because you can't bounce it off and when i bought my studio strobes i felt for awhile i could cope well without another flash.
But now it's limiting and i want to invest in a Speedlight or something... issue is i know absolutely nothing about them (price, quality, performance...)
I'd love to get some pointers...which ones do you use, what's important to look at etc etc..
I dont like fancy 'gadgets' on it which i probably wont ever use, but it would be nice if it has some decent power so i still have enough light at a certain distance...and wireless slave would be nice too maybe...

Thanks in advance dear SS colleagues :)

camdoc3 · Joined: 30 Jun 2006 Posts: 739 Location: Trinidad&Tobago WI

What Nikon do you have?
I have aD80 & use a SB 800.
When I can afford it I'll upgrade to the newer SB 900
(Probably upgrade the camera body first)
I love the ability to fire it wirelessly,I use it this way 90% of the time.
The only thing negative I have to say about the SB800 is the battery cover,its flimsly and can pop off and get lost in your bag or worst elsewhere.but alltogether
I think that the SB800 is a great reliable flash.

shevs · Joined: 31 Jul 2008 Posts: 825 Location: Belgium

Ahh yes, i forgot! Right now im still on my Nikon D100, but it's only a matter of days/weeks now before i'm getting the D700, so thats the one i'll be using it on.
going to check out that SB 900!
My stock dollars need to be spent, not lost in the translation to euros ;)

camdoc3 · Joined: 30 Jun 2006 Posts: 739 Location: Trinidad&Tobago WI

I just last week had the use of a D700 for 4 days.............WOW what a camera,I hope to own one (or the newer Version) one day soon.

shevs · Joined: 31 Jul 2008 Posts: 825 Location: Belgium

Yay, nice to hear you loved the camera! I've been doubting so long whether to go for it or not. I keep reading and hearing nothing but good things about it, and also the online tests look promising, plus, i want a full frame, badly.
But Canon's 5D II beats it easily and so far Nikon doesnt seem to come with a response...so my fear was, and still is...the next Nikon HAS TO be great; and the D700 price would drop a lot probably.
That, and the fact that its still 'only' 12MP held me back for a whole while.
But i can't keep waiting forever so i'll just have to take the risk :)

I've been comparing the SB-800 and 900 and they both look excellent! Unless someone here pops up saying there's a nicer flash I'd go for the 900 i think because of the zoom range, faster recycling time and automatic full frame detection.
Then again, the 900 is a lot bigger..hmmm...

Thanks a lot camdoc! :)

tank_bmb · Joined: 04 Apr 2005 Posts: 1542 Location: Cincinnati, OH

Canon guy, but hang around with a lot of Nikon-ites. Sounds like you cant do any better than the SB-900 for a hot shoe flash. Some real neat features, such as the light output patterns.

vclements · Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 8:50 pm

SB600, SB800, SB900 - they're all great.
I use SB600s as I don't use then very often and don't need all of the wizz bang stuff of the 800s or 900s (although the wizz bang stuff does sound pretty cool)

hhltdave5 · Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 9:12 pm

I use the SB600 myself. It has given me all that I ever need for a flash of this type. If I needed all the other features I would go with the 800 or 900 but seeing I don't why spend the extra money?

mawear · Joined: 27 Sep 2005 Posts: 606 Location: Tennessee

I have three of the SB800's and they work great when you don't want to haul around the studio strobes and battery pack to run them.

shevs · Joined: 31 Jul 2008 Posts: 825 Location: Belgium

Thanks a bunch for your feedback guys!
Hmm...i'll have to do some more research between the different SB's and see what turns out the best one for me. The 900 looks really good to me (800 too) but if the 600 is roughly the same without all the fancy options i'd rarely use, its better value...
then again...i dont know how important FF detection etc is. More research to conduct!

shevs · Joined: 31 Jul 2008 Posts: 825 Location: Belgium

mawear · Joined: 27 Sep 2005 Posts: 606 Location: Tennessee

pwkirk · Joined: 22 Feb 2008 Posts: 496

I use the SB800. The SB900 has replaced it. Yes the "whiz bang" stuff is not only nice but extremely useful. I'll not go into any details but if you buy one I would recommened you also buy Hot Shoe Diaries: Big Light from Small Flashes by Joe McNally.

rinder99 · Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 1:34 pm

shevs · Joined: 31 Jul 2008 Posts: 825 Location: Belgium

I've been looking into it a bit more and i'll go for either the 600 or 900 (800 is such a small price difference with 900 it's not an option anymore).
It'll depend on whether i find a good deal on Ebay for the 900 or not.
The book tip is much appreciated pwkirk, i've been looking inside at Amazon and it looks like a must-have, definitely for flash-dummies like me. It's on its way to me already :)

Again, thanks for all the useful feedback lads and lasses!