baer

Whats the most powerful flash for a D500?
I was looking at the Godox brand
Thanks?
Baer

ChristianHJensen

The most powerful speedlite type is a Metz 64 - which btw is one of the absolute best speedlites available period - fully Nikon compatible in all aspects - I use one on my D500
You can get bigger units - eg the Godox AD360 and profoto units but they are big and bulky and not really considered speedlites

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

In my experience, the Nissin Di866 is the most powerful speedlight on the market.
When viewing Guide Numbers (GN), make sure that you are not comparing apples to oranges.
Industry standard measurement is speedlight set at 35-mm coverage, ISO 100, in meters.
Several manufacturers use a more narrow field of coverage (i.e. higher mm setting), or higher ISO, or measure in feet, all of which give a false higher GN.
The Metz 64 AF-1 is rated at GN 64, with speedlight set to 200-mm coverage (condensed light pattern): https://www.ephotozine.com/article/metz-64-af-1-digital-flash-review-26036

Here is an independently tested comparison chart of various speedlights:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-208134-1.html

baer

Thank you very very much!

CO

I recently purchased the Nikon SB-5000 flash for my D500 and D750. It's Nikon's most powerful flash with a guide number of 113' at 35mm and ISO100. It has built-in radio triggering. It also has a cooling system that allows it to fire 100 consecutive full power shots without overheating. When swiveling the head for bounce flash, it can be set to automatically zoom the head to its 16mm setting. The recycle time is 1.8 to 2.6 seconds. For best performance all around, I would stick with a Nikon flash.

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

Around 10 years ago I was looking for a second speedlight to complement my SB800. The Di866 looked good in the specs and the price was pretty good so I got one.

Did some testing and found it was almost compatible with the Nikon CLS but not quite fully so. Many of the things that didn't work like my SB800 were things that I didn't use much (e.g. modeling light) but the primary problem was using it as a master or slave. The Di866 would work as master and the SB800 as slave, but it did not work the other way around. When I used the speedlight at a high frame rate, (useful when trying to take photos of a group and mitigate blinkers) I could get 10 shots from the SB800 but only 3-4 shots with the Di866. (Number of shots depends on shooting conditions and ISO but the tests were made under the same conditions).

The Di866 had a second flash that was always facing forward. Supposedly useful for fill light. Sounds like a great feature, but although it could be set down to something like 1/128 power, it always seemed too strong and would generate annoying shadows in the background. That could have been a problem with my technique, but I never was able to use it successfully.

Eventually I got a SB910 and it was fully compatible. After about 4 years the Di866 quit working completely. My SB800 is working fine after 15 years.

My take is that off-brands are not always fully compatible with the manufacturer's system.

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

PS: The SB900 got a reputation for overheating and shutting down. A friend of mine was shooting a wedding with a new SB900. During the reception his speedlight started to shut down. He was using alkaline batteries so I loaned him a couple sets of Eneloops and he was able to shoot the rest of the day with them. Supposedly the internal resistance of the batteries used was an important factor in the overheating. I got an SB910 after that and never had a shutdown problem, although I generally use Eneloop batteries.

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

My first choice would be the late great, and still great Nikon SB-800. (you can get great deals on ebay)
Second choice would be a flash whose head can be turned up and pointed behind me. And make sure it has TTL abilities. My choice is the Neewer 750II flash. Cheap and good. I have used this flash and it works fine.
https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-750II-Speedlite-Display-Cameras/dp/B00GE4MNQA/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=TTL+flash+for+Nikon+D500&qid=1564745159&s=gateway&sr=8-3

Bill_de Loc: US

I can't compare it to other brands, but I purchased an SB5000 when I got my D500. I couldn't ask for more from a flash, unless it could also make coffee.

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baer

Thanks very much!
Baer

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

I have used the SB900 for years and it NEVER shut down. The ONLY problem with that flash was overheating using repeating flash. Using it for a regular flash it works like any other Nikon SB unit.
I am not sure why his flash SHUT DOWN, but I always used Eneloop batteries.
My guess is that his batteries gave out, and NOT that there was any problem with the SB900.

sandiegosteve Loc: San Diego, CA

Guide Number is the general measure. The "big" speedlights are around 200' I think.

That said, what do you mean by powerful? Light a lot of space? Far away? Or something that has the power to do a very short burst to freeze motion and be ready to fire again fast?

If you are just starting with flash, go look at the Strobist Blog and the tutorial articles. He has good recommendations there.

Rick from NY Loc: Sarasota FL

Overheating during repeated flashes results in shutdown. That is exactly what OP is talking about. When I first bought my SB900 years ago when it first came out, it overheated and shutdown while doing sports portraits - continual shooting of a line of players - and I had to reach into my bag for my backup SB800. Called NPS and was advised to go into the menu and disable the "thermal protection" which was set too low in early production. I did, never had an overheating problem again. Issue resolved in the SB910.

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

He was doing a wedding, not a sports event. By repeating flash I mean 10 or more flashes per second. You would not need this during a wedding. I photographed weddings for over 30 years and never used repeating flash on any bride. You just do not need it on a wedding. The OP stated that he gave him fresh batteries and the flash worked fine. IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH OVERHEATING BUT HE WROTE IT ANYWAY. FAKE NEWS.

rfmaude41 Loc: Lancaster, Texas (DFW area)

"The most powerful speedlite type is a Metz 64 - which btw is one of the absolute best speedlites available period - fully Nikon compatible in all aspects - I use one on my D500"

Metz also makes a 72, which is more powerful than the 64.