What Nikon Flash? I am getting ready to buy a Nikon flash but am unsure of which one to get. I have a Nikon D7000, am jso in portrait photography. Some people swear on the Nikon SB900...

dehne01 Loc: Indiana

I am getting ready to buy a Nikon flash but am unsure of which one to get. I have a Nikon D7000, am jso in portrait photography. Some people swear on the Nikon SB900 and others say I dont need one that big, that the 400 or 600 would be sufficient. Does anyone have any input on this? Ive read about several of them and Im leaning towards the 600 but dont want to spend the money if it doesnt do what I need it to. Although the 900 is a lot more and some people say its mostly for news and serious wedding photographers. Hlelp!!! Any input? Thanks in advance. :)

bigdave21956 Loc: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

we used to have two sb900 and we sold them because they would go into thermal mode right in the middle of a photo shoot. We were using them with external battery packs and the flash would go into thermal mode after shooting 10 shots quickly, we have replaced the sb900 with sb800 model and haven't had any of the problems with had with the sb900s, we haven't tried the sb700s at this time.

Art4940 Loc: Central New Jersey

I have been using SB800 for over 5 years and never had a problem.
I would not buy a used flash unless you know how often it was used. I use my flash almost always indoors and on fill flash outdoors. The new flashes are very user friendly not like the old ones.
Best advice is not buy one that is under powered like the SB400 Better off over buying on a flash because you can controll the output

DaveD3

I think one of the first things you need to decide is how much flash photography are you going to do. Mike Hagen is an author and the head of the Nikonians teaching staff. I have been to one of his classes and he is top notch. In his book on the Nikon flashes he notes that if you are only going to buy one unit, make it the SB600. I agree. I don't do a lot of flash photography but the SB600 has done a great job with everything I have done. It will also work as a slave unit with the camera flash as the master. A great unit for a little over $200 on eBay.

Bobbee

I have a 600, it works fine and has been doing a good job. It will not take a battery pack and if you are doing events the battery will run out when you need it the most unless you hav good timing. I just brought an SB900 and the pros/conns on this were thremal massive features and thermal shut down. I have limited experience with the 900 as of yest but the reviews say either the 800 or 900 and the 800 is cheaper but if you need all those features get the 900.

Patw28 Loc: PORT JERVIS, NY

I believe the D7000 has wireless flash.
all three, SB600, SB800 and SB900 have wireless capability.
I almost always shoot with both the sB600 and SB8-- off camera.

I don't feel any need for the SB900. I'd buy strictly by price for any of the three.

Good luck!
. . . . patrick

51

I have an SB 600 and I just bought a SB 900.
i use the 900 for a main light and the 600 as a fill or hair light or a background light. The 900 is a lot more powerfull. You can adjust the aperture and it will tell you the distance you need to be. You can then adjust the power to adjust the power if the distance isn't what you want. I hope this isn't too confusing, but I like mine alot.

dehne01 Loc: Indiana

Art4940 wrote:

I have been using SB800 for over 5 years and never had a problem.
I would not buy a used flash unless you know how often it was used. I use my flash almost always indoors and on fill flash outdoors. The new flashes are very user friendly not like the old ones.
Best advice is not buy one that is under powered like the SB400 Better off over buying on a flash because you can controll the output

I think I will most likely go w/ the SB600, Im jso and I dont do a lot of flash photography as of yet....Ive read a lot about the 600 and the 900 and some have said that the 900 is really confusing if you are fairly new....idk, its just a lot to think about I guess...lol. Thank you though.

dehne01 Loc: Indiana

51 wrote:

I have an SB 600 and I just bought a SB 900.
i use the 900 for a main light and the 600 as a fill or hair light or a background light. The 900 is a lot more powerfull. You can adjust the aperture and it will tell you the distance you need to be. You can then adjust the power to adjust the power if the distance isn't what you want. I hope this isn't too confusing, but I like mine alot.

I think I am going to start out w/ the 600 and see how it goes....I can always upgrade once I know what direction Im headed in. Thanks for the input.

dehne01 Loc: Indiana

Bobbee wrote:

I have a 600, it works fine and has been doing a good job. It will not take a battery pack and if you are doing events the battery will run out when you need it the most unless you hav good timing. I just brought an SB900 and the pros/conns on this were thremal massive features and thermal shut down. I have limited experience with the 900 as of yest but the reviews say either the 800 or 900 and the 800 is cheaper but if you need all those features get the 900.

I think Im going to stick w/ the 600 till I figure out how much flash I really need....its just hard to make decisions when you are new...lol. Thank you

dehne01 Loc: Indiana

DaveD3 wrote:

I think one of the first things you need to decide... (show quote)

I dont think that I will be doing a lot of flash photography, atleast not in the beginning. I like to use natural light when possible. Not sure how I will handle that in the winter months when its nasty out....possibly rent a room in a bldg to do my indoor shoots....and then see how it goes...thanks for the input.