rjrbigdog Loc: New York

Have the Nikon D800 and Nikon SB-900 flash. What would be a good second flash to work with my SB-900?

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Consider a SB-800. Depends upon why you want a second flash. How are you going to use it?

rjrbigdog Loc: New York

to get more light. directional light when doing group shots. among other things

Dr.Nikon Loc: Honolulu Hawaii

Wow .. the 900 is a powerful flash .. I have gotten away with the 700 most of the time ... however that being said .. do you want to bridge 1 or two additional on a 18-24" spread bar bridge mounted to a tripod or use the 900 on the camera and set 1 -2 up on separate stands with sync to the camera .. that how I did nite weddings .. one 700 on the camera and two smaller on separate stands ..

Or you might consider the benefits of 0ne 900 and two separate smaller on separate stands with color lenses on them.. or bounce the 900 and or a blue and a red .. the effects can be awesome ..

Certainly depends on what you want to do and the effect .. look you are after .. .., I love day time flash for groups ...

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Consider also an Umbrella to spread the light out by shooting into the umbrella. I used that for group images.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

With an SB800 the matching remote flash was the SB600. Is the mate to the SB900 the SB700? The remote unit doesn' t need the master functions, only the remote functions.

Another potential thought is a battery powered studio strobe with a remote radio trigger. There are things it won't do (TTL metering), but you can find one with several times the power of the SB900. Two light weight battery powered strobes can do almost anything in terms of massive amounts of light, even if you need umbrellas or softboxes to diffuse the light.

rjrbigdog Loc: New York

when you say battery powered strobes are you refering to speed lights like the sb-900? if not what kind of light weight battery powered strobes are good? just to give me ideas of what I should look for.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

I'm posting from a smartphone right now, so I can't provide links. But go to Google and search without the quotes for "battery powered strobe photography". That will get things rolling.

I use Paul C Buff strobes and separate battery packs. The smallest of each isn't too bad, but they are much larger and heavier than an SB900. Other brands have single units that are smaller and also cost much less. For occasional use the inexpensive units are probably fine. There are units that run over $2000 each and are very rugged.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Nikon SB-800 is a very reliable flash with power almost equal to the SB-900. Will get along very nicely with your flash. Ebay sells these mint for very good prices.

OnDSnap Loc: NE New Jersey

If you know and like the SB900, just get another one.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

That way there is no new menu system to learn.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

The SB-800 output is about 1/3 fstop greater than the SB-900. The SB-600 is about 1/3 less than the S-900.

All of them are about 60-80 w/s.

Compare that to the very low power strobes which are maybe 120 W/s at the least, while more typical strobes are 360 W/s minimum and go up to over 1000 W/s. The disadvantage for all of those is that higher output means more weight. Lithium batteries have significantly lowered the difference, as what once required a more than 15 lb lead acid battery can be done with less than 5 lbs. That weight means carrying it, even detached from the camera, is rarely a valid option. But once the flash is removed and used as a statically located remote unit, the weight means nothing. In virtually every way a single unit battery operated strobe is better than a speedlight if it can work with the camera for through the lens metering and also do high speed flash at shutter speeds above 1/320.

Those features are still hard to find in a strobe, so the decision to use a strobe rather than a speedlight may be one that balances higher flash power against more automation for exposure.

NoSocks Loc: quonochontaug, rhode island

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

I too would consider the SB-800, but it is not made anymore so you would have to find it used. Also, the menu on the SB-800 is a lot more convoluted than that on the SB-900 and SB-910. I have both the SB-800 and SB-910 that I use constantly as my "off camera" flashes. You might also look at the Nikon SB-700 and the SB-5000. The SB-300 isn't as powerful or as adaptable as the others that I mentioned.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

I use two SB-800s with my SB-900, not because I bought them for that purpose, just because I had them prior to purchasing the 900. I find them to work well as slaves and I find the 900 much easier to use and switch into/out of the modes. I have been itching to try out the SB-5000 but three of them cost more than I want to spend. Best of luck.