Hi guys....Im planning to set up a Nikon CLS for a mini-studio at home. I like to build a mini studio at home for the family's and kids photo needs for school and office. I want to be mobile and I dont want setting up huge and heavy lights and softbox. At present I have a D 40 and a SB 600 speedlight, Im planning to buy an SB 800 to compliment my present set-up. My questions are:

1. I heard that the SB 800 has a master remote flash control. Wiil it work w/ my D 40 and the SB 600?
2. What other speed lights or lighting system can U suggest to compliment my mini-mobile studio?
3. Is the SB 800 (w/ master control) together w/ the SB 600 enough for my needs?
Thanks in advance:)

Hi Jigs:

You would need the SB-800 (on-camera or off-shoe camera cord) as a commander and set the SB-600 as slave

The question is will it work with the d40? I want to know this as well

Hi Jigs:

You would need the SB-800 (on-camera or off-shoe camera cord) as a commander and set the SB-600 as slave

Hi Carlo...long time no hear from U! Whats up? Is the SB 800 and the SB 600 enough for my mobile mini-studio needs? Do I need another off-camera speedlite....something like 3 to 4 lighthing system to fit my needs?:)

The question is will it work with the d40? I want to know this as well

of course it will... the SB800 will do all the work.

The question is will it work with the d40? I want to know this as well

Yes it will Red. :)

Oi red :)

Of course it would work on the D40 with the SB-800 mounted as the Commander (either on-cam or off-cam w/cord). since i have no experience on playing with several speedlights, i think 3 units would be fine (need experts here) :)

You can refer to this:
http://nikonimaging.com/global/technology/speedlight/wireless/try.htm

1. yes.
2. get plenty of sb800's if you can. or one sb800 and plenty of sb600's
3. i think so.

for number 2, you can also opt for just an sb800 (for TTL lighting) and complement with Radio Triggers and Receivers and maybe 2 flashes (old nikon speedlights, or thyristor flashes)

or just RF triggers and receivers and flashes


see:
http://www.daveblackphotography.com/workshop/0408.htm
http://www.dg28.com/technique/using_small_flash_3.htm
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101-cereal-box-snoots-and.html

for number 2, you can also opt for just an sb800 (for TTL lighting) and complement with Radio Triggers and Receivers and maybe 2 flashes (old nikon speedlights, or thyristor flashes)

or just RF triggers and receivers and flashes

The sb800 must be set to A mode or M to utilize other non CLS flashes. Or else it will fire a preflash, and will not sync with the others.:)

1. yes.
2. get plenty of sb800's if you can. or one sb800 and plenty of sb600's

mahal naman yata if maraming SB 800..he...he...he:). What if my set-up will be like this: SB 800 as commander and at the D 40 , 2 speedlites one at the left and one at the right. Leftside is SB 600 and the right side is a SB-R 200 wireless speedlight. Will this do the job???

@ Red..YES the D40 will work w/ the CLS. ( Im reading the manual right now) page 99, paragraph 2 :)

@ Red..YES the D40 will work w/ the CLS. ( Im reading the manual right now) page 99, paragraph 2 :)

Thanks Diego, parang napanood ko na to ha, basa:Grin:

Thanks Everyone! I think its better to get the sb800 than the sb600 or should I upgrade to d80? Parang nalito ako bigla. When we were at Mcdo last saturday Carlo showed me how it works and its cool. The d80 uses only the pop-up flash together with the sb600, they both flashed at the same time after pressing the shutter, really cool:)

mahal naman yata if maraming SB 800..he...he...he:). What if my set-up will be like this: SB 800 as commander and at the D 40 , 2 speedlites one at the left and one at the right. Leftside is SB 600 and the right side is a SB-R 200 wireless speedlight. Will this do the job???

@ Red..YES the D40 will work w/ the CLS. ( Im reading the manual right now) page 99, paragraph 2 :)

Really depends on what you're trying to light, but if you just have a small studio at home, might work.

CLS is addictive haha. especially if the flash on your camera body has a Commander mode :)

For the meantime, I advice getting the SB-600 while you wont have a remote flash, even if you have an SB-800 :D

Thanks Diego, parang napanood ko na to ha, basa:Grin:

Thanks Everyone! I think its better to get the sb800 than the sb600 or should I upgrade to d80? Parang nalito ako bigla. When we were at Mcdo last saturday Carlo showed me how it works and its cool. The d80 uses only the pop-up flash together with the sb600, they both flashed at the same time after pressing the shutter, really cool:)

And that pop-up speedlight can also trigger studio lights. :)

Thanks Diego, parang napanood ko na to ha, basa:Grin:

Thanks Everyone! I think its better to get the sb800 than the sb600 or should I upgrade to d80? Parang nalito ako bigla. When we were at Mcdo last saturday Carlo showed me how it works and its cool. The d80 uses only the pop-up flash together with the sb600, they both flashed at the same time after pressing the shutter, really cool:)

No problem Red. I did not know that U can use both the built-in flash of the D 80 2geder w/ the SB 600!!!!. Does it ADD more fire power to the flash? Mas malayo ba ang abot at mas malakas ba ilaw pag sabay sila?:)

Oi red :)

Of course it would work on the D40 with the SB-800 mounted as the Commander (either on-cam or off-cam w/cord). since i have no experience on playing with several speedlights, i think 3 units would be fine (need experts here) :)

You can refer to this:
http://nikonimaging.com/global/technology/speedlight/wireless/try.htm

Hey hey hey Carlo! Dahil sayo napaisip akong bumili ng flash, its actually last in my list but because of you nalito ako what to get first:D If you can borrow an SB800 turuan mo naman kami nila Gid. I hope Gid gets an SB800 in HK, I dont have a budget right now. ayayyay....:Gtin:

No problem Red. I did not know that U can use both the built-in flash of the D 80 2geder w/ the SB 600!!!!. Does it ADD more fire power to the flash? Mas malayo ba ang abot at mas malakas ba ilaw pag sabay sila?:)

Im not sure about the range kasi magkatapat lang kami ng table nila Carlo and Gid when Carlo showed a demo. Its really cool, I dont know if the d40's pop up flash will work with the sb600 or sb800, dapat ata ung sb800 nakakabit sa d40 then 2 sb600 on each side.

Im not sure about the range kasi magkatapat lang kami ng table nila Carlo and Gid when Carlo showed a demo. Its really cool, I dont know if the d40's pop up flash will work with the sb600 or sb800, dapat ata ung sb800 nakakabit sa d40 then 2 sb600 on each side.

or, use an off-shoe camera cord with the SB-800 connected to the D40 :) The other remote commanders might confuse lang, and i know little about those :)

A speedlight is one of the best investments i've made since i started photography :)

I just checked the net and the 40 does not have commander mode same with the d50, well its an entry level DSLR:Grin:

No problem Red. I did not know that U can use both the built-in flash of the D 80 2geder w/ the SB 600!!!!. Does it ADD more fire power to the flash? Mas malayo ba ang abot at mas malakas ba ilaw pag sabay sila?:)

The built-in speedlight does not add to the flash generated by the external speedlight. The one set as master would fire pre-flashes that the slaves would pick-up.

Thanks Diego, parang napanood ko na to ha, basa:Grin:

Thanks Everyone! I think its better to get the sb800 than the sb600 or should I upgrade to d80? Parang nalito ako bigla. When we were at Mcdo last saturday Carlo showed me how it works and its cool. The d80 uses only the pop-up flash together with the sb600, they both flashed at the same time after pressing the shutter, really cool:)

yup! thats why its called Cool Lighting System

hehehe.. :)

CLS is addictive haha. especially if the flash on your camera body has a Commander mode :)

For the meantime, I advice getting the SB-600 while you wont have a remote flash, even if you have an SB-800 :D

@ Carlo... Since the d 40 does not have a command remote for flashes...so then it is ok to get the SB 800 on the D 40 and the SB 800 will trigger my SB 600 as a slave flash? Did I get U right?:)

If you guys want to have "more" speedlites, but couldn't buy too much SB800 or SB600, i suggest you look into the Nikon R1 or R1C1 sets (just google for it).

The Nikon R1 consist of two SB-r200. These function as Slaves only for CLS with a GN=5meters @ iso100. You can fire them at a distance of 8meters I think (but better check the websites ). Also, they are quite versatile as you can attach them to your lens and they can function as macro speedlites. I simply love them considering you get 2 speedlite slaves + the macro functionality (it even comes with an extreme close-up adaptor).

If you already have the SB800, then you can use that as a commander to fire the SB-r200's.

Unfortunately, its not available here in Manila (i checked Hidalgo and Columbia and they came out blanked. Mr. Tieng has the individual SB-r200's but not the R1 set). I bought them via bhphoto for 320usd (around 16K here). Its like getting 2 speedlites (including macro functions) for the price of SB800. If you are using the D40, better buy the very versatile SB800 as the commander, then try to check if you can buy more SB600's or the R1 set.

@ Carlo... Since the d 40 does not have a command remote for flashes...so then it is ok to get the SB 800 on the D 40 and the SB 800 will trigger my SB 600 as a slave flash? Did I get U right?:)

Yes, its very much ok Diego. SB800 commander(on or off shoe w/ cable), SB600 slave. Or you can add another SB-R200 like what Melvin said. :)

If you are using the D40, better buy the very versatile SB800 as the commander, then try to check if you can buy more SB600's or the R1 set.

Hi Melvin....my set up on the D 40 will be like this: SB 800 as the master command and main flash and then an SB 600 and an SB-R- 200 wireless speed light..Is this ok? Thanks:)

Yes, its very much ok Diego. SB800 commander(on or off shoe w/ cable), SB600 slave. Or you can add another SB-R200 like what Melvin said. :)

Thanks Peter:)

Depends on what you are shooting... This is what i did recently for a photoshoot with my friends:
- Use the SB800 set at ttl=0 or M=1/4, pointed upwards or towards an adjacent wall...
- Use an Sb600 on the white wall to bounce, ttl=0 as well
- Use an SB-r200 on the left set at TTL=+.3 to +.6
- Use another SB-r200 on the right set at TTL= -.3 to 0
- Ambient light is a flourescent.
- I sometimes use an extra SB600 with a DIY softbox pointed 45 degrees from the subject. Then I adjust the higher TTL SB-r200 (like the left) to compensate.

I set different TTL compensation values for the left and right to have a different ratio to avoid the flat lighting.

Try to experiment as well. I have around 50 Mickey Mouse photos (Mickey Mouse piggybank set on my DIY studio at home). Probably took several hours experimenting.

Btw, the SB-r200 doesn't use AA batteries. They are using the CR123A batteries, which you can buy for 180each. One battery could be around 800-1000shots (as I was told on the manual).

The sb800 must be set to A mode or M to utilize other non CLS flashes. Or else it will fire a preflash, and will not sync with the others.:)

it won't, the sync signal that will fire the RF trigger is the last one, direct on exposure, after those pre-flashes.

The easiest and recommended way of using CLS is to use the following speedlites:
- SB800, SB600, and SB-R200. Others might not work with the Advance Wireless System
- Set the speedlites at TTL mode, then use the compensation values based on ur liking
- You can use the AA or Manual modes, but guesswork for the values increases
- I estimate that you can set-up the speedlights around the subject at approx 5 meter radius.
- On the Nikon world of speedlites site, there are suggested lighting set-ups. Try to start from there and eventually build it up based on your "creativity".

CLS is the envy of other brands. Its one of key advantages of using Nikon!!! Nikon EH! :)

@diego, sent you a pm.

melvin, that's right. but do consider only the sb800s and sb600s as the sb r200's range is kinda bit limited - it's really designed for macro photography CLS.

@Aris,

According to the manual the max distance between camera and sb-r200 is 5meters and has a GN=10meters, while the SB600 should have a distance of 10meters at GN=32meters (???), both at iso100.

All speedlites should be at 30degree angle from the commander for it to work (imagine, draw a line straight from your camera upto 10meters, then make a 30degree angle to the right and the the left) that's the angle it covers.

Now thinking about it, the 5meter radius around the subject is quite incorrect. If your SB-r200 is directly straight to your camera, max distance should be less than 5meters between speedlite and commander. For the SB600 its around 10meters from commander to speedlite. If the SB-R200 is at a 30degree from your camera, then it becomes less than 3meters from the commander, while for the SB600 its around 5-7meters from the commander. That is according to your manual.

Hence, I stand corrected. If you're using all SB-r200, its 3meter DIAMETER. For SB600, its a 5-7meter DIAMETER... Sorry, not radius (kaya pala sobrang laki ng naisip ko e...)

Thanks for pointing that out! :)

Just one more option which is cheaper and I found it more reliable.

I bought two(2) 2nd hand SB-24s, plug-in some cheap china made wireless trigger and receivers on my D200 and Strobes respectively. It works fine.

Although, I can use my D200 to trigger my SB800 remotely but somehow the light from the pop flash affects the image even on commander mode, hence I use the wireless trigger and receiver.

cesar, one way to avoid your main light (onboard) to affect exposure is to set it to '--' instead of 'TTL' or the other modes.

and yes, the strobist (http://www.strobist.com) way is one of the most cost-effective. Highly Recommended.

for events, you can give this a try: have the RF trigger connect to the sb800 onboard the hotshoe - you wont lose TTL and have the multiple non-TTL strobist flashes complement your TTL sb800 flash. :)

Just a suggestion, if your main pupose is a home studio, why not invest in real studio lights, from the last I check you can get a set of 2 110watts lights with all the accessories needed to start with for less than the price of SB800. I have tried, tested ans studied CLS, but sadly I am not a fan, I find the results not as consistent, unless I set to manual mode. Ironicaly in manual mode, you must meter manually, but since in CLS-manual mode, the pre-flash will give incorrect readings from a light meter (you end up reading the pre-flash and not the actual flash). Since CLS uses i-TTL metering which is linked to the active focus point (to what I understand and experienced), when the subject moves slightly away from the active focus point, flash output changes. So my usual use the center focus point, focus lock then recompose will not work. I have a few SB-800 and 600 but I prefer hooking them up with RF receivers or in the case of the SB-800 set to SU-4 mode then set and measure them manually.