Flash

[howard09]

Hi

I'm after a flash for my nikon D7000 and I was hoping to spend no more than £100 but will stretch to £150. What can I get?

Also what's the difference between the SB600 and SB800 apart from the cost?

Cheers

Shaun

[greenwing]

The SB-600 can't act as a master/commander, and only has Manual & TTL modes. The SB-800 can be a commander, and has AA, A, GN, RPT and SU-4 modes as well as Manual & TTL. The SB-800's head can tilt down as well as up. The SB-800 is more powerful - GN38 vs. 30. It has a built-in bounce card, PC and TTL connector sockets, an external power connector, and a 5th battery option. And it comes with gels and a diffuser.

Chris

[jet_kit]

Hi,
You get more bang for your buck by moving away from Nikon.
Consider the Metz 44 @ £145, Metz 50 @ £180 or the Nissin Di622 @ £129
All superb flashguns, more powerful than Nikon and a whole lot cheaper.

[greenwing]

Chirs, I tend to agree with the sentiment, but sometimes have doubts about recommending off-brand flashguns. It's difficult enough to find help if having problems with a Nikon camera and Nikon speedlight. Getting help with some obscure off-brand flash may be near to impossible. You & I may not need help; but we may not be able to help those that do.

I've looked into off-brand flashguns before and found it difficult to understand just what they offer in terms of CLS support. I've just taken a look at the Metz website and I'm happier now, if I wanted a 3rd speedlight I might look at theirs. The Nissin site I'm not so impressed with.

Edit: We need to be careful with Guide Numbers, too. The Metz 44 is quoted at GN 44, but that's at ISO 100 and 105mm zoom. The SB-800 is GN 56 at ISO 100, 105mm. I think (but don't have an SB-600 book handy) that makes the Metz 44 about equal to the SB-600 in power.

Oh, I forgot from the list earlier - the SB-800 zooms more than the SB-600.

Chris

[greenwing]

Does Howard09 ever come back & say thanks, or I don't understand, or anything? Or does he just go off & ask another question? Started 39 threads; posted 58 times. That's less than 50% return to threads started.

[jet_kit]

Originally Posted by greenwing

Chirs, I tend to agree with the sentiment, but sometimes have doubts about recommending off-brand flashguns. It's difficult enough to find help if having problems with a Nikon camera and Nikon speedlight. Getting help with some obscure off-brand flash may be near to impossible. You & I may not need help; but we may not be able to help those that do.

I've looked into off-brand flashguns before and found it difficult to understand just what they offer in terms of CLS support. I've just taken a look at the Metz website and I'm happier now, if I wanted a 3rd speedlight I might look at theirs. The Nissin site I'm not so impressed with.

Edit: We need to be careful with Guide Numbers, too. The Metz 44 is quoted at GN 44, but that's at ISO 100 and 105mm zoom. The SB-800 is GN 56 at ISO 100, 105mm. I think (but don't have an SB-600 book handy) that makes the Metz 44 about equal to the SB-600 in power.

Oh, I forgot from the list earlier - the SB-800 zooms more than the SB-600.

Chris

Hi Chris,

Point taken.
However, it's over 20 years since I had anything like proper customer service from Nikon. In the 60's I would visit their offices in Tokyo and be treated like a long-lost brother. Now, if you're not waving large wads of cash in their faces they couldn't care less about you.
If it wasn't for the huge investment I have in their equipment, I would drop them tomorrow.
Sorry to have to say this but my dealings with Nikon's so-called 'Customer Services' over the last couple of years have been abysmal and complaints to higher management have been routinely ignored.
They're not the company they used to be.

[thefonz78]

I can recommend the yongnuo yn465. Cost me £48 delivered new on ebay from a UK seller. It works with Nikons TTL or you can set it to manual. Its great! Google it everyone raves about them.

[MattUK]

Originally Posted by greenwing

Does Howard09 ever come back & say thanks, or I don't understand, or anything? Or does he just go off & ask another question? Started 39 threads; posted 58 times. That's less than 50% return to threads started.

Hah. I was wondering the same thing. There's a couple of people here that ask the most basic questions that could be found by doing a google search faster than actually typing the question! Perhaps it's laziness...?