One thing about the GF stuff, at least it is color corrected. I have tried a bunch of cheap stuff only to get weird hues in my images. You can always fix it, buy I always think "why if you don't have too."

Really when you look at the other "quality" stuff, his items really are not that expensive.

I have a GF collapsible spraynpray, it's excellent and is built to last. I wouldn't have any concerns about its longevity.

I do struggle with the price of GF's stuff though Skinty - it costs 50p to make and £50 to buy! Still you have to feel sorry for him, it isn't cheap to run a boat and buy houses all over the place.....

spraynpray said:
The GF I have is fairly rigid, but also quite grippy. It doesn't collapse at all though. I thought about the collapsible and had reservations about how log it would last. Maybe I should have tried it as the 'tupperware mushroom' version is so large it takes up the sme room as a 70-200!

I have a GF collapsible spraynpray, it's excellent and is built to last. I wouldn't have any concerns about its longevity.

OK, well thanks guys. I took all the Minolta stuff to the shop and a guy wearing a bandit mask took it off my hands.

Oh, I got the SB-700 in the end, although it was close between the Metz, Nissin and the Nikon. I got the Nikon to avoid any chance of warranty niggles.

Another Nissin owner here - I've got a Di866 Mk II. It's my only flashgun so I can't really exercise the CLS, but it seems fully functional in that regard. In particular, FP Sync over CLS works triggered by the pop-up flash - I use that a fair bit. Has options for the full four channels and three groups, master and slave. Recycle time's a little bit slow IMO, but I'm impatient :) Costs a little bit less than an SB-700. More power than an SB-900.

If you get one make sure it's a Mk II, the Mk I is missing some CLS features. And of course make sure you get a Nikon version :)

Happy to answer any questions I can about it.

The GF I have is fairly rigid, but also quite grippy. It doesn't collapse at all though. I thought about the collapsible and had reservations about how log it would last. Maybe I should have tried it as the 'tupperware mushroom' version is so large it takes up the same room as a 70-200!

+1 for the GF collapsible. Works like a charm on the SB-600 and SB-700.

I use a SB600 and a SB900. I tried a SB700 briefly and it's good well worth the price, and I'll probably get a couple one of these days as a secondary fill light. If it was out when I got my SB900, I probably would have went that way.

I believe some variants of the Metz does work with the CLS and iTTL (which is very different from TTL) and I don't know of any others - not to say others don't have it. A few others with Orangebox just use some strobes as basically Studio strobes and probably meter etc, manually. From what you say you shoot, That has never sounded quite like you so I would stick with Nikon.

Nikon's flash system is so good, I just don't chance it with 3rd party flashes. If all you want is a single flash the SB700 is a no brainer.

Gary Fong - I have the collapsible "pro" kit - I think it was $150? That doesn't have sizes and I like it much better than the "hard" versions. It came with the grid spot which is "hard" (and really fun to shoot with) but the thing constantly gets knocked off. The collapsible one is rubber and grabs the flash tight. I have shot all day at events bumping into everything and it never falls off.

i would look at the Yongnuo YN560 MKII they have a GN58 if my memory recalls only £50.00 quite powerful they are manual only although they do have a TTL version for about £100 but have not used as i dont need TTL, i have 4 YN560 MKII's to supplement my SB900's cant say a bad thing about them great value imho.

Recycle time on full power about 2.8sec using Sanyo Eneloops 1500mah rechargeables

oh and they can be triggered using pop up flash as well.

BUSTED! It is a Gary Fong that I am talking about but as they come in three sizes, I wonder if someone would be so kind as to measure the head of theirs (W x H viewed on the face) so I can know if I need to pick up something else too?

Tak.

I love my Sb700... A gary fong fits it nice as the head is only a tad smaller than my Sb900...

On the subject of minolta the reason that the x-700 lenses are so cheap is probably because it is a MD mount (my first Slr was an x-700 and I still have the whole kit) Like canon Minolta switched mounts in the autofocus era. Pentax and Nikon didn't as we all know. It is a really great camera tho. I started with a 28mm f/2.8, 35-70mm f/3.5, 60-200mm f/4 and a tele converter (1.4 I think). Acquired a 50mm macro in 2004. In 2010 I finally broke down and got a 50mm f/1.7... Great little camera.

I can't find this on the specs - can anybody tell me the dimensions of the SB-700 head please? I need to know if a modifier I have will fit or not.

Thanks.

Well, I have been watching lots on fleabay and I don't see any bids on bodies or lenses and buy it now stuff is staying up and so what the heck - life is too short - they can rob me!

Not in my books. Sounds like they are guaranteeing themselves a heathy profit. I know it's a lot more agro, but I would auction it. Surely the lenses have got to be worth £50 each?

I'm blowed if I know Skinty. They weren't even interested in an immaculate Olympus iS3000 I've got so I'll keep that to play with film in.

SkintBrit said:
Wow, you're trading in all that for a 'downpayment' towards your flash? I thought Minolta lenses were still useful for Sony shooters, why so little money?

I'm blowed if I know Skinty. The whole list is below - do you think they are ripping me off?:

MINOLTA:

X700 Body - black
Auto Electroflash 280PX (dedicated flash)
Off Camera Shoe
Magnifier VN
Eyepiece Hood VN
Remote Cord S
Cable FB
Cable MD
Multifunction Back
Auto Electroflash Macro 80PX Set (ringflash)
Motor drive 1
Power Grip 2 Set (takes extra batteries for, and supports the flash)
24-35mm f3.5 MD Zoom
35-105mm f3.5-4.5 MD Zoom
100mm f4 MD Macro
Teleconverter 300S
75-200mm f4.5 MD Zoom

TOKINA:

17mm f3.5 Wide Angle

All boxed and mint. Whaddy reckon - is that whole lot plus a few non-Minolta accessories only worth £125?

spraynpray said:
I checked the London Camera Exchange site and it says that the Metz works wirelessly with the Nikon, but it doesn't state clearly that it does do full CLS. If the Nikon flashes are the only ones that do CLS, then there is no choice.

BTW: I am swapping in a Minolta X700 SLR, many Minolta lenses and other lenses, flashes, grip, motordrive and other accessories for a small allowance against a flashgun so it has to come from there.

Wow, you're trading in all that for a 'downpayment' towards your flash? I thought Minolta lenses were still useful for Sony shooters, why so little money?

I'd recommend the SB-700 too. For the average user, it's the most bang for the buck.

SkintBrit said:
Am I right in thinking that only Nikon units work FULLY with the CLS?

I think some others will work with Nikon's iTTL in a wireless setup but you can't do the grouping and channel switching and Commander Mode, etc. that the CLS system offers.

I went from a Vivitar 280HV to an old SB-28 in manual mode to a SB-700 and then added a used SB-800. It was a real eye opener once I learned the ins and outs of the CLS. Controlling the flash compensation of each unit from the camera menu is a pretty badass.

SkintBrit said:
Am I right in thinking that only Nikon units work FULLY with the CLS?

I checked the London Camera Exchange site and it says that the Metz works wirelessly with the Nikon, but it doesn't state clearly that it does do full CLS. If the Nikon flashes are the only ones that do CLS, then there is no choice.

BTW: I am swapping in a Minolta X700 SLR, many Minolta lenses and other lenses, flashes, grip, motordrive and other accessories for a small allowance against a flashgun so it has to come from there.

Go for it. Any upgrade with a Nikon flash is going to give you high speed sync speeds that you couldn't do with your SB-400.

Am I right in thinking that only Nikon units work FULLY with the CLS?

Thanks for your replies so far chaps.

I am using a D7000 body.

@ Proudgeek - I suppose I should also add the Nissin into the mix to consider. Thanks.

You won't regret getting the SB700. Being able to shoot in commander mode is very nice. I'm probably using it that way at least 50% of the time. It performs great even when you're in complete darkness. For my use I haven't wished for anything more.

I purchased a flash about 6 weeks ago. I'd never owned one (I shoot mostly landscape) but just wanted to play around and experiment a bit. I picked up a Nissin Di866 and while I haven't used it a ton I've been pretty happy so far. The user interface is very intuitive (dare I say almost Mac-like) and the performance has been good. Recycle time seems reasonable. It also works with my D90 in commander mode so I can position it off camera. It appears to have an integrated sync port. Granted, I have very little experience on which to make a comparison, but I can tell you that it was less expensive than a equivalent Nikon product.

You didn't say what body you were using.

I have a 700 and an 800. They both work great with CLS with a D7000 in Commander Mode.

The 700 lacks a dedicated PC sync port (if you really need one) but that can be added with a hot shoe accessory. Other than that it rocks. Easy snap on filters and it recycles quick with Eneloop batteries. I think you'll be completely pleased with one coming from the 400.

Or look for a used 800. They are very solid units. I picked one up in Barcelona, with the box and all accessories for 250 euro.