Nikon Speedlights - which one should i get?

[jcardona1]

Thinking about finally picking up a speedlight for my nikon D40. not sure if if the SB-600 is good enough or should i pony up and get the SB-800 which seems to cost twice as much?

I know that the 800 works as a commander as well, but i dont see myself using multiple flashes at this point. In any case, ill eventually be using this flash with nikon's wireless transmitter but for now the long cord will work, or even one of the cheapy wireless triggers.

so anybody got some input?

 

[killarbb]

i use the sb 600. with a hotshoe extension it works well. i am thinking of upgrading from a d 60 to a d90 so i can run speedlights wirelessly.....pipe dreams

 

[jcardona1]

yeah my long term goal is the D300 have you ever used those cheapy wireless triggers?

BUMP for more input!

 

[haynchinook334]

Bump....
Want to know as well.

 

[jcardona1]

well i ended up ordering the SB-600 last night. now i'm looking at wireless triggers. are the cheap ebay ones any good? or should i bite the bullet and get the SU-800 wireless transmitter?

i want one that properly transmitts TTL metering info to the flash, so i think the $250 SU-800 is the way to go

 

[haynchinook334]

.

 

[Modest_Man]

I have a d60 and use a SB600 wirelessly with the cheap Cactus V2 radio transmitter, I bought off eBay.

http://martybugs.net/reviews/cactus.cgi

It works great. Especially for the price. Not had an issue at all yet. The ONLY thing, is that when the flash goes on standby it will not flash the first time after when the shutter is pressed. You just need to keep an eye on the flash and press the button on top of the transmitter to keep the flash ready.

Though it does not transmit any sort of metering info. What are your applications? I pretty much just use the wireless for fish photos, most of my other photography is outdoors using natural light.

 

[jcardona1]

*sigh* thats what im thinking. i bought a 10ft hotshoe cable, but im sure that will get annoying very fast. plus the SU-800 can control multiple speedlights wirelessly which can let you get some very neat shots, especially portraits.

 

[jcardona1]

I have a d60 and use a SB600 wirelessly with the cheap Cactus V2 radio transmitter, I bought off eBay.

http://martybugs.net/reviews/cactus.cgi

It works great. Especially for the price. Not had an issue at all yet. The ONLY thing, is that when the flash goes on standby it will not flash the first time after when the shutter is pressed. You just need to keep an eye on the flash and press the button on top of the transmitter to keep the flash ready.

Though it does not transmit any sort of metering info. What are your applications? I pretty much just use the wireless for fish photos, most of my other photography is outdoors using natural light.

thanks, i was reading on that cactus one yesterday, since i remembering you linking that one a while back. i see they also have a v4 out, which costs a few bucks more.

i plan on using this SB-600 and trigger for pretty much anything/everything. fish/aquarium, portraits, and just to get creative with lighting and photography. i really like the effects ive seen of placing the speedlight behind the subject.

so what happens to a portrait if the trigger doesnt transmit TTL information?

 

[Modest_Man]

You adjust manually. What I do, is put the SB600 in the hot shoe and take a camera metering of the tank I'm shooting. This gives a very good "guess" as to what the lighting should be. I then hook it all up wirelessly and shoot on full manual, putting in the settings the camera told me for shutterspeed and aperture previously. It's a good starting point. I then increase or decrease the flash intensity on the flash (usually upping it to +1ish).

I'm by no means a pro photographer, and got "cheap" camera stuff because I didn't want to take out loans to photograph my fish. Shooting in RAW also helps a ton, as you can adjust your white balance and exposure so it gives me a bit more room for error when taking the photos. I've had my DSLR and SB600 for just a couple months and am pretty pleased with how stuff is turning out.