JMCPHD Loc: Maine

I am new to digital photography. I have a D7100 and wonder about adding a flash. The manual discusses possible Nikon flash that I could use. I see ads for other brands that claim to do everything the Nikon flash would do for a much lower price. Is there some significant advantage to the Nikon product or am I only paying for the name if I go with the brand name vs aftermarket alternative?

Joe Blow

1) You do pay for the name.

2) That name guarantees compatibility.

3) Many off brands are just as good and compatible at a great saving.

alolewis

I personally like to stick to the same brand as the camera but many speak highly of other brands. I did purchase an in expensive non-brand flash to save money and found it was not as strong as the Nikon flashes. I ended up purchasing used Nikon flashes off of Ebay to save money.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

I hear about Yougouno (sp?) all the time.

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

Many flash manufactures (mostly Chinese manufactures) claim they will work great. And, they will. But when I shot professionally I only used Nikon SB-800, SB-900's and SB-910's. My clients actually paid for them. That said I also own a few Chinese flashes for my Nikon's, I use them as slaves and they work fine. But I would not bet the bank on them.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

I have a Nikon SB800. Several years back I wanted a second flash for off-camera use. Looked around, found some reviews of the Nissin Di866 that sounded good and it was cheaper than the new SB900, and there were reports of problems with the SB900. So I got a Di866. After doing some tests I found that it was almost compatible with the Nikon body, but there were a few things that it didn't do as well. However, for normal use as a single flash it worked fine. The things that didn't work well were not things that I do a lot but eventually I decided I needed to replace the Nissin with the Nikon SB910.

Comparing the SB800 and the Di866 I found:
(1) using high ISO and high frame rate I could get 10 shots from the SB800 before the illumination started to drop off. The Di866 would give me 3 or 4 under the same conditions.
(2) Using the Di866 as a commander and the SB800 as a slave worked OK. Using the SB800 as a commander and the Di866 as a slave would work only intermittently.
(3) Modelling flash didn't work on the Di866.
(4) HSS was not reliable on the Di866. Worked fine on the SB800.

I should note that the Di866 had an interesting feature: a separate flash, non-pointable, which could be used as a fill flash when the main flash was being used for bounce. It was potentially useful, but I could not get the power of the fill flash down far enough to do what I wanted.

Any time I need a flash in the future I will probably go with a Nikon version since I can be sure it will be maximally compatible (even though I don't use some of the fancy things I mentioned above very often).

magpix Loc: St. Michaels, MD

Take a look at the Godox brand. It offers a complete line of flash gear that is fully compatible with Nikon, Sony, Canon or Fuji. All very well built, good performance at a fraction of the price.

tomcat

They are cheaper for a good reason. They don't last as long before they burn out or start giving problems. "The joy of a great price is short-lived once the quality of the product becomes apparent"

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Just be sure your flash is compatible and is a TTL flash unless you prefer manual flash.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

Godox has the most extensive line of flashes of any mfg.
From Speedlights to monolights and in between like the AD-200 that I have.
Marketed as Godox or some of the Flashpoint branded units at Adorama, almost all will use the same transmitter.

There is one 3rd party flash maker that used to exceed Nikon’s units.... Metz.
I have used several models in the past.
They were made as well or better, offered as many features or more and cost about the same.
Haven’t used them since switching to digital.

Jim-Pops Loc: Granbury, Texas

I have 2 Godox and I have one Nikon SB700. I use the Godox when I want external flashes and I use them in manual mode with a Godox transmitter and never had a problem. I also need to use my camera and flash at club meetings taking pictures of new members. I keep the flash on the camera body usually bouncing light off the ceiling. I was using the Godox with TTL but never happy and had to dial it in using manual mode. At this years Christmas dinner I went back trying the Nikon SB700 in TTL mode and the pictures came out great even moving around and taking at several different distances. I am just offering this as one persons experiences.
--Jim

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

Godox/Flashpoint= excellent quality + Expandable System + great value

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

When you buy a flash for your camera from the manufacturer your flash will be fully compatible with your camera body. As it has been said, a flash of a different brand can do most of what the genuine flash can do at great savings.
If you go into off camera flash any flash will do the job if you know how to use it. Make sure the flash you buy is compatible otherwise it will burn the electronics in your camera.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

Over the years I've checked out some of the off-brand flashes in the camera store. I've always found their fit, finish and build to be flimsy compared to the Nikon units. I use SB-26 (F5 era), SB-800, SB-900 and SB-5000 flash units with great success. For many events, I use Nikon's CLS (Creative Lighting System) so I'd check if any of those knock-off units are compatible. Best of luck.

BebuLamar

I can't fault the fit and finish of the Metz flashes though.