Hi Guys,

I am thinking of alternatives of nikon SB600 flash, that is within my tight budget.

Hope you can give some tips/insights as I am new to flash.

Also, any suggestions of brands and price.

TIA :)

Hi Guys,

I am thinking of alternatives of nikon SB600 flash, that is within my tight budget.

Hope you can give some tips/insights as I am new to flash.

Also, any suggestions of brands and price.

TIA :)

Don, IMO... The wisest thing to do if you are not in urgent need of a flash yet, is to wait it out until your budget agrees with you... An SB600 or an SB800 are excellent flashgun investments... If you hasten to buy a 3rd party flash as of this moment, technically you'll end up spending more if your real final target is to buy either of the 2 I previously mentioned... Think about it... :Grin:

Anyway, if you're really in a hurry... Try looking at the Flashguns offered by Sunpak... I had a 383 unit before... It was full manual but Bro. was it strong... Yun nga lang I eventually sold it really dirt cheap coz I got the SB800 one...:D

SB-600 is a good choice. It's actually one of the best flashes around. And if you don't plan on using Nikon's CLS, it's really a good choice. It's actually even better than the SB-800 in terms of recycling time. I've own one for two years before I decided to get the SB-800. And the only reason I decided to get the more expensive SB-800 is I want to finally give Nikon's CLS a try.

Save for it :) It's worth it.

What camera do you have?

I strongly suggest you save up for a SB600 / SB800. You won't regret the wait.

save up for the sb800... was thinking of buying an sb600 before... pero i changed my mind... ipon na lang ng unti para sb800 na... i have a d50 kaya walang remote commander... kaya mas ok ata ang sb800 sa akin... :)

There isn't really much choice in your question. As alternatives, one can go toward Sigma, Sunpak, etc. but if you go for brand specific, there are only 2 Nikon speedlights that are "quite easy" to get... the SB600 and SB800...

But if the new features will not be of much use for you, you can still settle toward finding used SB-28s and SB-80s around.

The Nikon SB600 is a good choice... I am using it right now. It is perfect for beginners like me, and is advanced enough for the Pros once you get used to it.

The beauty of the SB600 is if you decide to get the SB800 in the future, your SB600 can work with it for Nikon Creative Lighting Systems (CLS) where you can create great lighting effects.

The Nikon SB600 is a good choice... I am using it right now. It is perfect for beginners like me, and is advanced enough for the Pros once you get used to it.

The beauty of the SB600 is if you decide to get the SB800 in the future, your SB600 can work with it for Nikon Creative Lighting Systems (CLS) where you can create great lighting effects.

Same here, I'm a beginner using a D50 together with my SB600, very rewarding, money well spent. :)

Get the SB800. If you buy the SB600, you'll end up saying you wish you bought the SB800 instead.

So shell out the extra bucks for it; because there's no price for peace of mind.

Get the SB800. If you buy the SB600, you'll end up saying you wish you bought the SB800 instead.

So shell out the extra bucks for it; because there's no price for peace of mind.

My first flash is an SB600, but I never ended up wishing I had bought the SB800 instead :Grin: . What I did was, I also bought the SB800 when I had enough money na because I know that my SB600 won't end up being useless. Now I am having a blast working with my 3 flashes (actually, I have two SB600s, one is borrowed from a friend for an indefinite period of time :Grin: ). There are tons of configurations to play with these flashes, especially if you also have the gel filters :D .

Cheers!

Marco

What to look for when buying a Nikon flash?

In my desire to suggest a flash brand (and almost everyone here have done so), we overlooked the main title of the thread.

So here's my take on "What to look for when buying a Nikon flash?"

1. Look for a fast recycling time. This is basically the reason why I bought the SB600 first because it has faster recycling time than the SB800. The SB800 though has more power than the SB600 which gives it more reach.

2. Must be compatible with Nikon's iTTL.

3. Auto zoom head.

4. Wireless capabilities.

There you go. Others, please add on, or correct me if needed.

Cheers!

Marco

woha! thanks sa reply guys. i actually have a d50.

appreciate all your reply...

like i said, im still newbie to flash so an alternative that is half the price is a good flash for me to tweak and learn and outgrow later on.

but anyhow, seems a lot are pushing me on to SB600 or SB800. oh well, if its really worth the wait.

looking at the specs for both, I'm not sure what those specs are referring to in actual shooting.

If I may know the pros and cons of both in laymans term? does the SB800 have lots of major advantage over SB600 useful for a newbie?

TIA

My first flash is an SB600, but I never ended up wishing I had bought the SB800 instead :Grin: . What I did was, I also bought the SB800 when I had enough money na because I know that my SB600 won't end up being useless. Now I am having a blast working with my 3 flashes (actually, I have two SB600s, one is borrowed from a friend for an indefinite period of time :Grin: ). There are tons of configurations to play with these flashes, especially if you also have the gel filters :D ....


hmm...maybe I could also borrow one SB600 :Grin:

thanks for the insight Marco, quite helpful in shaping up the important functions of flash

Hi, newbie here ... I have a Nikon D40 ... What Nikon flash do you recommend? Is the SB-600 good enough? Does it have a feature that i can't use with the D40?? Coz if so, i might as well settle for SB-400.

Also, i saw somewhere a sunpak flash which claims to be the same specs and features of SB-600, then also another sunpak model with the same specs as the SB-800. Both are selling way below the SB-600 and SB-800 ... is it good??

Hi, newbie here ... I have a Nikon D40 ... What Nikon flash do you recommend? Is the SB-600 good enough? Does it have a feature that i can't use with the D40?? Coz if so, i might as well settle for SB-400.

Also, i saw somewhere a sunpak flash which claims to be the same specs and features of SB-600, then also another sunpak model with the same specs as the SB-800. Both are selling way below the SB-600 and SB-800 ... is it good??

@ Roy, having a swivel head (head moves left to right and vice versa) is important to be able to bounce flash from above if shooting in portrait orientation (vertical). The SB-400 only moves up or down which means side bounce flashes when taking portraits. Also, I think the SB-400 only works in auto mode, thus you cannot use it with radio triggers (or anything similar). The SB-400 also has less power than its bigger brothers.

@ Don, you may want to look at Ken Rockwell's comparison of the SB-600 and SB-800 here (http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/sb600vs800.htm). Although some argue that Ken's opinions are sometimes (or always) wrong, he has basis for his opinions, and it is up to you to judge whether his opinions are applicable to you and your usage of the equipment.

It is difficult to suggest a flash model to someone I barely know because I don't know his spending capacity, his usage/application, and his future plans. Goodluck on your flash hunt! :)

i have both the sb800 and sb600 =) both flash are oki =) ...

im still thinking if ill dispose all my speedlights.... hmmm

OT @ myke, bakit, lilipat ka na sa C? O studio strobes na iniisip mo? Wag moko kalimutan pag bebenta mo gear mo a!


i have both the sb800 and sb600 =) both flash are oki =) ...

im still thinking if ill dispose all my speedlights.... hmmm

OT @ myke, bakit, lilipat ka na sa C? O studio strobes na iniisip mo? Wag moko kalimutan pag bebenta mo gear mo a!

its not allowd here oi!

hehe

ill never leave nikon... but i got stung by the bee!!!!!!!!!!!!!