shivaswrath said:
Pocketwizards FTW!!!

I also hated flash until I picked up a sb900 for my weekend job... Now it is my lifeblood (most of the time)

Pocketwizards FTW!!!

When I started using radio poppers they made a huge difference in my shooting. CLS is great and line of sight can be worked around but if you do any location stuff radio is amazing. I say try some radio triggers that work for you and another flash. Work with that awhile and see where it leads you. You might end up sitting on the rest of your money and shooting what you have then. Good luck.

jonnyapple said:
I'd rather just use my $40 wireless triggers and set flash output manually . . .

While full-TTL control is truly an effortless pleasure, there's certainly nothing wrong with using a bunch of "dumb" flash units either. I still have a pile of old Vivitar 283s, each equipped with the optional VariPower modules. I trigger 'em with cheap $10 optical slaves. The old 283s were great because they were only like $40 each, and had a LOT of power. With modern D-SLRs, it's dumb-ass easy to fire a couple of test-fires, adjusting each unit's intensity by simply moving each strobe around a few feet, or dialing their power up or down with the VariPower's pot. Unfortunately, the new 283s aren't nearly as useful, and the VariPower modules have been discontinued.

Oooooohhh, dear! I think we all try to make the effort of at least attempting the pretense of being a SNAG, but we all know the truth, don't we? Shhhhhhhhhh! Don't tell 'em the secret!

studio460 said:
Thanks! Because, bigger is better? Size matters? Chicks dig big sensors?

Sensitive new age guy huh ! Well here are hints on being a SNAG ... http://www.articlesbase.com/mens-issues-articles/10-steps-to-becoming-a-sensitive-new-age-guy-150174.html

"So the next time you feel sniffly watching sad movie scenes like Death Maul killing Qui-Gon Jinn, don't restrain those tears."

jonnyapple said:
BTW, nice shot, studio. Could you tell me again why you need full frame? ;-)

Thanks! Because, bigger is better? Size matters? Chicks dig big sensors?

Thanks, Adam.

I agree with the gist of studio's post. I've got a flash sync cable, and the cable method does let you keep TTL metering which is a huge bonus. For me, the extra to get the wireless controller wouldn't be worth it, though. I'd rather just use my $40 wireless triggers and set flash output manually (this isn't a completely fair statement because I only have one CLS-compatible flash—my AB400 units have to be set manually anyway). The cheapo triggers will work with any brand of flash.

BTW, nice shot, studio. Could you tell me again why you need full frame? ;-)

one more thing - perfect captures JA, wish I could take one like that someday

Fedora:

For super-easy, TTL-controlled, bounce-flash photography with your existing SB-600, all you need is a $79 Nikon SC-29 remote TTL cable. Or, if you want to do easy-as-pie, multiple-flash, wireless-TTL photography, then just get a second Nikon speedlight, and a Nikon SU-800 wireless TTL controller.

This shot was taken with my beat-up, old Nikon D70, using only a single, Nikon SB-800 flash unit, and a Nikon SC-29 TTL cable.

The SB-800, I just held in my left hand, pointed at a white wall. I held the D70 in my right hand, with the SC-29 remote TTL sensor mounted in its hot shoe. It's dumb-ass easy to make great shots with the SC-29 and an off-camera, Nikon flash unit. Just point your flash unit at any large, reflective surface, and fire away for instant, super-soft lighting--the TTL cable does all the work! The SC-29 also has this neat IR illuminator, built-in, to assist your AF as well.

Note also that the older, SB-800 (but, not the SB-600), apparently does work as an on-camera, wireless (flash-based), i-TTL "commander" on your D50 (according to Ken Rockwell). But, unlike on-camera, flash-based "commander" modes (featured on certain, older Nikon D-SLR bodies), the SC-29 doesn't require you to also fire your on-camera flash to trigger the other strobes, which I find almost 100% of the time, completely undesirable.

For multiple-flash, wireless-TTL photography, you could buy a new Nikon SB-900 (or, even just a used SB-800), and a Nikon SU-800 remote commander, instead of the SC-29. Then, you would have two, independent flash units, both under full, individual TTL control (e.g., key, backlight, etc.). The SU-800 is fairly pricey at $249, but what it does is pretty neat. It's wireless, doesn't require the on-camera flash to fire, and can control up to three different "groups" of Nikon speedlights, using any of its three, independent wireless IR channels.

And, since I didn't spend all of your $2,000 yet, you could also pop for one of these Quantum high-voltage power packs (or the Lumidyne version) for wicked-fast recycling times (I happen to own a Quantum Turbo, but both are good):

Fedora - D50 supports CLS? Checking on the specs, it does support commander mode if the flash is on the camera, but the camera is not CLS compatible.

thanks, i am not really interested in d5000, the next body i will get will be either d90s or d700s

and d50 supports CLS.

Thanks jonnyapple, i have been checking out some remote triggers this afternoon and i think i will go with yongnuo rf-602, about to place the order on ebay now, :)

and right now strobe probably also not a good choice for me, i live in a townhouse apartment and don't have enough space for softbox and stuff like that.

fedorafans said:
very nice photo! did you use other technique other then bouncing the light?

Thanks. No other technique besides maybe a bit of positive flash exposure (+0.7EV or so). The flash is pointed straight up at the ceiling (I don't remember whether for this particular shot that meant turning the head backward—I have to do that a lot). There's a small bounce card stuck to the back of the flash to fill the raccoon eyes he would have gotten if there was just light from the ceiling—you can see the small bright spot from it in the catchlights. To make the bounce card I cut out a piece of white plastic from a DVD case and attached it with velcro to the flash. That bounce card was the only thing I missed from my SB-28DX, and I'm completely content with my SB-600 now—quirky interface and all. What about even a reflector? You can get a good-sized one (48 inches or so) for around $50-75. [edit: I see solid_liq already recommended this. Sorry.]

I think you should get a new body, not a new flash. But for $2000, you could get one sweet setup with a D90 and a few nice studio strobes if you're inclined that way. Check out alien bees; I've got their wicked huge octagonal softbox and I absolutely love it. Here's a shot with that light. Same boy, same shirt even (how embarrassing for him!):

I would said, get new body - if You have SB600 already, than You will not see too much improvement over this what You have. I don't remember, but I doubt d50 has CLS, so there will be no use for Your SB900.
If You have kid, than maybe d5000 will be a better choice for You? - but it will also mean, You have to replace some lenses.

very nice photo! did you use other technique other then bouncing the light?

I always bounce flash but i don't see huge difference...odd..

and that is why i was thinking to get a sb900 so with two flashes i can get better lighting.

Try this, too. I got some of the ishoot triggers that are mentioned on this other thread and they're great.
http://nikonrumors.com/forum/topic.php?id=1833

Do you understand bounce flash pretty well? That can make a huge difference and the SB-600 should work great. Here's one lit by an SB-600 bounced off the ceiling.

wow, thanks for the great input!

let me check out the strobist...

Warprints is right, SB600 does support off camera use. You need a CLS controller to use it off camera without a radio popper, though. The D50 doesn't have this capability. You can, however, get a radio release that's pretty good from an eBay store for only about $30. Strobist has info and a video about the Cactus trigger for that. If you get an SB-900 for off camera use, you'll have to keep it mounted on the camera (to use its commander mode) and use the SB600 as your off camera flash. CLS is nice, but radio is nicer.

It sounds like http://strobist.blogspot.com/ would be a great place for you to go to see what the possible options are for you.

Fedora - Whoa ! SB600 DOES support off camera use. It may be your D50 (which I am not familiar with), that does not. Which may mean even an SB900 won't work off camera with your camera. I have an SB600 that works fine off camera (D300), and works fine with my SB800 - both off camera.

Recommending a new camera vs a new flash is hard to do without knowing a lot more about what you want to acheive in the end.

heh, i actually tried to use some silver paper to make a reflector but i did not see much difference picture-wise.

Also the sb600 does not support off camera use.

Have you tried simple, cheap things already? Like, just getting your current flash off camera, getting an umbrella and/or softbox, and getting a reflector? If not, you may want to try that first before deciding what you want to put the rest of your budget into.

thanks for the reply.

my understanding is that using two flash is better then using one. especially when I can use the sb900 off camera.

my budget is somewhere around $2000 but it is flexible

you can't compare any of the things you have outlined.

What's your goal? Better resolution, less noise? You'll see noise regardless of any camer above the native ISO resolution of 200 for even a D700 (just barely noticeable).

The D700 will give you something like 3 stops benefit over your D50 (maybe more, I'm not sure how old the D50 sensor is). . .

If you already have a SB600, the SB900 won't do anything else.

You need to ask yourself how much you're willing to spend and what lenses you are giving up. going FX, you'll only be able to use (fully): 50 1.8/85 1.8/70-300. . .a good combo for sure!

Depends on how deep your pocket is. . .

my first post here, :)

i have had my d50 for quite a few years and within the years i have purchased the 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 35/1.8, tamron 90/2.4, i also have the kit 18-55, 70-300 but they have been sitting on the shelf for a long time.

Now I have a 6 month baby at home and i really wish I can make my indoor portrait (mainly for baby) go up a notch. So it seems reasonable for me to buy (:D) some new gear.

The question is, what should i buy? a flash? or the new d90 update? I have been thinking about getting a d700 for a while but just could not justify the purchase. I understand that d700 is way better then my d50, but using the same lens, like 85/1.8, how much gain will I get with it? Later when baby grow up and I start to take outdoor portrait, with good ambient light, the gain will probably be even slimmer.

On the other hand, i do wish the auto-focusing on the d50 could be better, also i wish d50 had higher ISO and pixels.

For the past couple of days, i started to looking into buying a sb900, my thought is giving the fact that i mostly take indoor photos right now, a sb900, which support off-camera flash, working together with my current sb600, could be a better idea.

How do you guys think?