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Which Flash

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jonnyapple

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My vote's for the SB-600 even if it's out of your budget right now. Or, the SB-700 is much more user-friendly than the SB-600.

Mike, I love my alien bees. I've got a B400 with their big octobox, and then I've got 3 other B400s on loan indefinitely from my sister (I've offered to buy them a few times, but she's one of those unselfish types). I got some cheap ishoot wireless triggers and it's an awesome setup that's pretty portable. The soft box folds up to about the size of one of those collapsible camp chairs. I'm considering getting a couple of B800s next year now that I've got true ISO 100 with the D7000. But the only time I need that much power is lighting big family groups indoors, so other priorities might get in the way.

Posted 2 years ago #
Vall

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Hey. :-)

I'm on a tight budget, so no SB600 now..

The thing is I'm getting my Tamron lens first (17-50), and I'll have some cash left (up to around 100 usd). And I suppose I'd really use a flash for the upcoming Christmas family parties. But at the moment I really can't spend as much as SB-600 costs. :-)

Unless I just construct a tiny difuse/bounce plate for the in-camera flash and go with that for now. ;-) The SB-24 (used ofc) is actually around the price I'd be willing to pay.

Thanks for clues!
The SB-600 is currently too expensive, but I may opt to buy it at a later time. Should work with the SB-24 as a master? At least I hope. ;-)

Posted 2 years ago #
Rx4Photo

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post deleted by me,
Rx

Posted 2 years ago #
JorPet

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I just bought a Gary Fong Puffer for the on camera flash (D700)and have been very happy with it so far. It isn't like moving to an off camera flash and it won't bounce, but for the $20 it cost it does an amazing job softening the light.

I have been playing with it a bit using the puffer and on camera flash in commander mode along with my SB-800 with a new Gary Fong light sphere held off camera (using my mono pod as a handle boom). It really makes for some excellent lighting for portraits and I love the double catch lights in the eyes.

So, for the holidays and to keep this extremely inexpensive, go for the Puffer. The light improvement will be very noticeable. Then save your dollars and go with the SB-600 or SB-700 as soon as you can afford one of them.

Posted 2 years ago #
Mike Gunter

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jonnyapple said:

Mike, I love my alien bees.

Hi Johnny,

You'll note I wasn't dissing them. I've been looking at them, but for now my light kit is in two bags with stands, wires, tape, the strobes, and the rest. While I am guilty of taking just about everything to all jobs - a bad habit - it's not terribly taxing.

I've got an outdoor wedding on New Year's Day next to a frozen lake, and we're hoping for good weather - at least just freezing. The venue is gorgeous. I use multiple SB800s and SB900s for fill. I'm expecting it to be really nice, unless the weather turns on us, then we'll make some lemon aide.

My best,

Mike

Posted 2 years ago #
Mike Gunter

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JorPet said:
I just bought a Gary Fong Puffer for the on camera flash (D700)and have been very happy with it so far. It isn't like moving to an off camera flash and it won't bounce, but for the $20 it cost it does an amazing job softening the light.

I have been playing with it a bit using the puffer and on camera flash in commander mode along with my SB-800 with a new Gary Fong light sphere held off camera (using my mono pod as a handle boom). It really makes for some excellent lighting for portraits and I love the double catch lights in the eyes.

So, for the holidays and to keep this extremely inexpensive, go for the Puffer. The light improvement will be very noticeable. Then save your dollars and go with the SB-600 or SB-700 as soon as you can afford one of them.

Hi JorPet,

One thing that kicked up my game a notch was to use either the SB800 or SB900 on camera or on the SC27 or similar cable as a Commander in the "--" or "iTTL" mode.

You can't use the on camera flash as a commander and as a flash, but the flashguns can be. It provides another light source that is adjustable, and will also increase the distance for the remote units. My use of the unit as a commander really increased not only efficiency, but creative placement. I have a Nikon SC27 cable and 2 of the Zeikos similar models that are shorter - they are shorter. You can align "Commader" as Main 15 feet from subject and 2 - 4 other flashes tuned in to what ever light up to 20 feet away, all iTTL.

Nikon, if I recall, says that the 'practical' limit is 15 strobes.

My best,

Mike

Posted 2 years ago #
Rx4Photo

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Mike,

I get the feeling that if you were in my position having ordered both the SB-700 and SB-900 with plans of sending one back to Amazon...you'd just keep both of them, right :^ )

Posted 2 years ago #
Mike Gunter

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Rx4Photo said:
Mike,

I get the feeling that if you were in my position having ordered both the SB-700 and SB-900 with plans of sending one back to Amazon...you'd just keep both of them, right :^ )

Hi Rx4Photo,

If I could afford it, yes. Both are capable of Commander (on the camera) and Remote, can be triggered from the camera or can be place on the camera as camera as Commander(the redundancy was intentional). A SC27 is around $70 or so, but a 3d party cable is about $15. It still uses either unit as a commander with the other unit on a stand and a light modifier as a remote. A two light kit opens up one's shooting ability a lot. In my view, as much or more than a third or fourth lens.

However, key to anything is your budget.

Kits' fullness come over the fullness of time. One light can do a lot, add a $15 Zeikos ZE-OCSCN Off Camera Shoe Cord for Nikon Flash for around $15 (or 2 for more reach) and you've changed direction of the light and you still have through-the-meter detection, something I would't give up. You can switch to manual if you want with the light.

My best,

Mike

Posted 2 years ago #
jonnyapple

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Joined: May '09
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Mike Gunter said:
You'll note I wasn't dissing them.

Yes, I saw that you were interested in them and I was just giving you my personal experience with them. Sorry if I came across as confrontational—contrary nature, I guess. ;-)

Mike Gunter said:
You can't use the on camera flash as a commander and as a flash, but the flashguns can be. It provides another light source that is adjustable, and will also increase the distance for the remote units. My use of the unit as a commander really increased not only efficiency, but creative placement. I have a Nikon SC27 cable and 2 of the Zeikos similar models that are shorter - they are shorter. You can align "Commader" as Main 15 feet from subject and 2 - 4 other flashes tuned in to what ever light up to 20 feet away, all iTTL.

Nikon, if I recall, says that the 'practical' limit is 15 strobes.

My best,

Mike

I dream of reaching that 'practical limit' someday!

I'm not sure which body you're using, but at least the ones I've owned (D90, D300, D7000) with on-camera commander mode all have the option of firing the on-camera flash along with commander flashes. I just checked it to make sure I'm not up in the night and it works fine; the default is to not fire the on-camera flash in commander mode, but it can be changed while setting output for the other flash. You're absolutely right about losing range on it, though. It would be nice to have an SB-800/SB-900 for that reason. Nikon's CLS is reason enough for me to never switch brands.

Posted 2 years ago #

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Which Flash

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