LumoPro LP120 looks cool but you are probably right, nothing can replace good old trustworthy studio lights.

Agree MB. SB600 is an excellent flash if you don't have money for a 900 (or don't have patience for the SB700... seriously Nikon, why do you torture us?). Mine

I'll throw out there that if you have the patience to figure out the SB600 then you are probably the sort of person that isn't afraid of manual flash, in which case you might want to consider something like this: http://www.mpex.com/browse.cfm/4,12311.html For just $120 you can get a really nice flash for remote work. I've considered getting several just to round out my strobe collection (you can never have to many after all). I'm probably going to start saving for some real studio lights instead.

Fong so called diffusers are just an overpriced, useless bottomless plastic cups. You will get much better results with a white card attached to the flash by velcro tape and used as a bounce surface for example.
As for SB600 SB900 dilemma it is like comparing racing car to an SUV, no matter how many SUV you have racing car will always be faster. I you need professional, fast and powerful flash SB900 is a thing for you.
On the other hand if you are artistic amateur 2 or 3 SB600 used with on camera commander flash is a nice setup to play with.

yeah, I prefer using the SB900 to trigger as well. . .but I need to have more $$ to get an additional flash!

Waiting on the SB700 to pair it up. . .

I much prefer using my SB800 or 900 to trigger the flash. When I use the pop-up, I don't generally get very reliable results.

I have the D90 with an SB-600. I have been looking at buying another SB-600 or get the SB900. For the size and weight I could buy two SB-600's and still have the power I need and also be able to separate them for better coverage. I do agree with everyone that the 900 menu's are better but, for most of what a beginner is shooting, the 600 should be able to handle most issues. I would suggest the 600 and a few accessories like a set of color correcting gels, a diffuser (Fong or equiv), and possibly a Honl snoot and hood.

yup, the on board flash is used, which found annoying, so you can buy a little cover that goes over it so that the IR can still be sent to the other CLS flashed and not under/over expose your subjects. . .

Yeah, the commander mode uses the flash to trigger it, right?

darko26-the commander mode-enables the user to use multiple speedlite units and controls all those units with the commander mode on the camera(like the D90) or the SB800/900 or SU800.

Yes, the D90 does have commander mode.

what's the use of commander mode??? i think my d90 has a commander mode..

Yes Sb600 does have CLS but there is no commander mode. It has to be controlled by the camera or by a SB800/900.

is SB600 has a CLS? it's work also in wireless??

Gotcha. Thanks for the input guys.

The in Camera wireless settings are there on any D80\D90+ body (can't remember if the D5000 does it). I actually prefer to control the settings from my SB-800 for a couple of reasons.

1. I like having a dedicated screen so I always know how my flashes are set. When shooting on the D90 with flash, I almost always use the rear LCD to view the camera settings. I don't want to have to switch back and fourth all the time.

2. Setting wireless on camera is kind of funky. Confirming your setting selections is counter-intuitive. I always wind up making them, hitting OK, and then shooting. This causes it to revert back to the old settings. You have to hit the right hand arrow button or something like that. It drives me nuts!

3. After you shoot, if you want to change something, you have to go back into the camera's menu and pull up the flash command again. This will just slow you down. No big deal for me, but if you are a big-shot with paid models, then time literally does equate to money.

NSXType-R - some settings u can (like power of the flash etc and they are the ones that easily can be accessed ON a flash) wireless on the other hand, which is more and more used even by amateurs is hidden god knows where

Can't you control the flash through the camera's menu, instead of controlling the flash through the flash's menu?

Or is that with higher end cameras?

Here's another nice touch in the SB-900. It has a customizable My Menu... just like my D90. About 90% of the custom settings in my camera bodies don't get changed very often after my first day with the camera. The SB 900 has around 30 different custom settings. Nikon was nice enough to provide a wheel to scroll through all of them quickly (way better than hitting a button 30 times). Even with a wheel 30 is a pretty long list.

I've not tried it yet, but according to the manual, I can designate which settings I want to appear when I go to the menu and then only they appear. Nice touch Nikon.

Although they get a small penalty for putting the light shaping modes (center weight, normal, and wide) in a custom setting. I'd rather be able to set it to one of the buttons.

My SB800 is pretty annoying when I need to change a simple setting, and can't just flip a switch to do it. Just have a problem with the almost $500 cost.

to put SB600 in to wireless mode

hold this and this for 10 sec (pretty hard to do with 1 hand since they pretty close together ... buttons that is)
flip menu ... from the small little picture try to figure out which option is wireless

its not rocket science, but its way far from comfort
looks like they forgot to hire UI-guy when designed that thing :)

I personally would have gone straight for the SB600 if the 35mm 1.8 had not come out. What do you guys think? Is the SB600 really that horribly complex? I mean, RTFM. :D

WHERE IS MY SB700 !!!!????
Been waiting too long. My SB800 needs a CLS companion !!

Having had some time to use the SB900, and by use I mean power it up and tool around in the menu, No shots yet, I've got to say that its a substantial step forward for Nikon flashes. Who knows, now that I have a flash I can actually set, maybe I'll finally figure out all of the capabilities of my SB800 :) But as nau said, The thing is a beast. Hopefully Nikon will release the SB700 soon. The SB900 is a fine on-camera flash, but if I carried three of them around, I wouldn't have any space in my bag left for lenses!

If Nikon makes a smaller version without the light shaping features, and commander mode, then they will really be on to something.

SB900 is infinitely more intelligent and easier to use than the SB800. . .can't comment on the 600, but never EVER having picked a SB900 up before, I was using it in no time, set it for commander control with my D200, and managed to effectively use the A and iTTL mode. . .

It has better coverage, more power, and faster recycle time than a 600. . .

But I use it for professional work. . .shooting casually, I have my cute little SB400 . . .buy from abesofmaine and use the loyalty10 discount, I got my SB900 cheaper than most places. . .

used both (as well as 800)
600 - will be enf for pretty much everything however navigation\control is far from user friendly
900 - mothertracker waaaaaaaaay to big ... especially on your D90 it will be almost the same size as your camera
or if you can get your hands on 800 (thats what I did, and very happy with it)

my advice wait till 700 pops up (if you can that is) especially since we already have some rumors about it