That Really sucks... They should have put radio control into it. Then it would be a worthy upgrade...

Yep all line of sight. Put those in a large soft-box, or even right behind a subject, you need a way to fire them.

kyoshinikon said:
The su 800 fires these puppies wirelessly doesn't it? If yes, why would you need PW's?

As far as I am aware, the SU800 still needs line of sight, the PW works if the flash is behind the camera, hidden behind the subject, or even in a different room

The reason pros don't buy off-brand is because they are reliable. I've only had the overheating issue twice but I keep my lock turned off so I can continue to shoot. I love my Sb700 too (and the control layout is the best out of any Nikon flash I've used. I am still kinda annoyed that they didn't make this weather sealed and magnesium alloy. I shoot in dirt and water spray and wish I could trust my sb900 in those conditions unprotected like I do my lenses and bodies...

The su800 fires these puppies wirelessly doesn't it? If yes, why would you need PW's?

I like the new lighting options of it, but not any reason to race out and upgrade. I'm sure there is some more details of what it can do but that has yet to be seen.

If they added a pocked wizard add-on for $150 more I would buy it in a heartbeat. I keep holding off using/buying PWs due to the cost.

sevencrossing said:
Well the SB910 is out. No Led, so framing in total darkness will remain a pain. No built in pocket wizard, so time to buy another Flex. Looking at the pictures, cant see any menu or button changes

I know what you mean. I had an email from our admin/bean-counter at work this morning asking if cheaper off-brands for "accessories" were worth considering. She specifically asked about the Zeikos SB-700-alike unit instead of a new SB-910. Incredible to even think of this, but bean counters look at the price tag and don't think of the lost shots after a unit failure/lower power etc.

If we have to - I'd like to suggest buying more SB-900's from Amazon, but then the low price of the Zeikos stuff will always attract accountants :(

Well the SB910 is out. No Led, so framing in total darkness will remain a pain. No built in pocket wizard, so time to buy another Flex. Looking at the pictures, cant see any menu or button changes

I did see that and love the idea!

TaoTeJared said:
Who started the thought that Canon Flashes are somehow better?

"Keep your enemies closer"
canon's new flash also triggers the cameras shutter remotely from the flash unit.

Who started the thought that Canon Flashes are somehow better? Anyone used that system? :)

I love my sb900 and I find it hard to see where they could really updated it. The over-heating is a pain though. I think they should build a flash just for "High Speed" shooting to solve that issue. I would rather see some good Slave flashes (say $200) to match up with the system. That would be an upgrade to me.

It's strong "enough" to be used as video lighting and as a AF assist light. The point is, it's a start whether you want to believe it or not.

Correlli said:
But that does not mean that in three or five years from now we will not have LEDs with high color rendering capabilities, short output time etc that might be able to substitute xenon tubes. Who knows...

I agree 100%, but don't consider 5 or 6 years "soon" in tech-talk.

Canon has a ring illuminator which is LED, but I wouldn't consider that a flash. It neither flashes nor provides the illumination of even the smallest of strobes. It's a light. It works at macro ranges because of inverse-square. In terms of actual output it is rather meek.

Testing123 said:
unlikely to in serious photography any time soon.

+1 with Correlli. Canon already has a flash that uses a continuous LED light.

Testing123 said:
They are replacing strobes in many vehicle signaling applications (flashing marker lights on emergency vehicles) but are unlikely to in serious photography any time soon.

Wasn't there someone who predicted that there was no demand for more than five or six computers worldwide? So be careful with things like "any time soon"! :))

In industrial vision we use LED strobes and it is amazing how fast they develop in terms of brightness, cycle time etc.

You are absolutely right with what you said concerning the current LED technology. But that does not mean that in three or five years from now we will not have LEDs with high color rendering capabilities, short output time etc that might be able to substitute xenon tubes. Who knows...

NSXType-R said:
How come more flashes aren't using LEDs? Seems like a win-win situation- your batteries certainly aren't being drained as quickly. Practically no heat from the bulb either.

LEDs are more efficient than incandescent bulbs, but not more efficient than strobe tubes when comparing instantaneous output, and they are less size-efficient than strobe tubes (they can handle less wattage per unit volume). While LEDs are less power efficient when comparing instantaneous output, if one plays to a LED's strength and measures efficiency by total output, they skunk xenon tubes.

They are replacing strobes in many vehicle signaling applications (flashing marker lights on emergency vehicles) but are unlikely to in serious photography any time soon. They are unable to concentrate their output into a short time period as well as xenon tubes. In vehicles this doesn't matter as 400WS delivered over 100MS via a LED looks (to the human eye) very much like 400WS delivered over 10MS via a strobe. To a camera, though, that order of magnitude difference in illumination length is quite important. For casual photography a 100MS pulse would be fine, but it would very much change the nature of how we use flash, no more counting on the flash to freeze motion in marginal situations.

NikoDoby said:
LED lighting... doubt it'll be an SB900 replacement though.

Great idea as far as battery life, longjevity and not over heating go, but would LED's be able to put out the same light? Obviously they could make the surface area bigger, but is LED technology advanced enough to give comparable light output? If it is I would definately think that is the way to go for the reasons I mentioned.

SB400 replacement maybe? With LEDs, I'd imagine that it'd be smaller, maybe lighter.

How come more flashes aren't using LEDs? Seems like a win-win situation- your batteries certainly aren't being drained as quickly. Practically no heat from the bulb either.

LED lighting... doubt it'll be an SB900 replacement though.

Yes, warprints, I'd picked up on that (can't remember where).

But it makes sense, with the introduction of the SB700 I can see how Nikon would want to improve the 900 to "open up the gap" between them.

NB Please, please, this is just my view, NOT a rumour!

Could it be that the SB900 is going to be redesigned soon - maybe due to user complaints? NR Blog references Nikon NPS in the Czech Republic as listing the SB900 as no longer being eligible for registration after July 2012. Let the rumor mill begin ....