Cheapest Flash guns

Russ MCR

Russ MCR

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For a D700. I've already got a SB-900 but don't want to be paying those kind of sheets again. However I want something that can be commanded from the camera itself as part of TTL.

Any suggestions?
 
If you want to use the full capabilities of the Nikons CLS then you need the SB600, SB800 or SB900. I assume this is what you want to do with mentioning commanding from the camera?

Second hand SB600 is about £150.

If you don't want to use CLS as part of a group with your SB900 then FITP sells some TTL guns for around £60 I think.

Andy
 
You will not be able to use TTL with these off camera.

The way to do it would be use them on manual and use RF602 radio triggers. You put a transmitter on the hotshoe and when it fires it will activate any recievers you have connected on the flashguns.

I guess it really depends on what you are shooting and how much use the lighting kit will get.

Studio lighting is superb but at a cost. Additionally you are pretty limited to mains supply unless you get really posh kit with battery packs.

Using flashguns can be just as effective and a lot cheaper. In addition you can use in the field rather than just the studio.

Google strobist 101 and have a read through before you make any choices.

Very effective results can be had from 2 or 3 manual guns, radio triggers and some light modifiers (reflectors, snoots, softboxes, etc)

Nikons CLS is very trick and I don't profess to understand it at the moment. I only have one SB600 and until yesterday I had no way of even using the CLS on it. Now I have a D90 I may have a play with it soon.

Have a look for a book called "hot shoe Diaries" this apparently has a lot of info about using Nikons guns and CLS.

Andy
 
daddy day care said:
You will not be able to use TTL with these off camera.

The way to do it would be use them on manual and use RF602 radio triggers. You put a transmitter on the hotshoe and when it fires it will activate any recievers you have connected on the flashguns.

I guess it really depends on what you are shooting and how much use the lighting kit will get.

Studio lighting is superb but at a cost. Additionally you are pretty limited to mains supply unless you get really posh kit with battery packs.

Using flashguns can be just as effective and a lot cheaper. In addition you can use in the field rather than just the studio.

Google strobist 101 and have a read through before you make any choices.

Very effective results can be had from 2 or 3 manual guns, radio triggers and some light modifiers (reflectors, snoots, softboxes, etc)

Nikons CLS is very trick and I don't profess to understand it at the moment. I only have one SB600 and until yesterday I had no way of even using the CLS on it. Now I have a D90 I may have a play with it soon.

Have a look for a book called "hot shoe Diaries" this apparently has a lot of info about using Nikons guns and CLS.

Andy
Click to expand...

You don't need Nikon guns to do full auto-TTL remote flash. Just about every new flash currently available will work automatically in slave mode - Nissin, Sigma, Metz, even the new Yongnuo TTL - off your D700's commander flash.

Studio flash is not expensive. You can get decent quality two-head kits for £300 (Lencarta, Interfit) - basically the price of one top end branded hot-shoe gun. You need mains power of course, and you lose the auto-TTL stuff, but they are much more powerful, have modelling lights so you can see what you're doing, and also recycle in a fraction of the time compared to hot-shoe guns working at max - vital when shooting portraits.

Radio triggers are great when the auto-TTL won't work, basically outdoors in bright light when the optical signals get swamped. But indoors, the built-in triggering system works well.
 
You are right Hoppy

My answer is based on the OPs question which did not have a lot of detail. A lot will depend on budget and what the kit is to be used for.

When I say that TTL cannot be used I meant off-camera and with the guns that FITP sells. From reading on the internet I believed that the 465 Nikon dedicated one did not have a built in reciever so could not be used off camera without a lead. If this is incorrect then I apologise.

Russ - I assume you now have plenty to think about and have more idea of the various options open to you. Do some more research and let us know your budget and needs. I am confident that somebody will be able to help you narrow down your choices.

Andy
 
daddy day care said:
You are right Hoppy

My answer is based on the OPs question which did not have a lot of detail. A lot will depend on budget and what the kit is to be used for.

When I say that TTL cannot be used I meant off-camera and with the guns that FITP sells. From reading on the internet I believed that the 465 Nikon dedicated one did not have a built in reciever so could not be used off camera without a lead. If this is incorrect then I apologise.

Russ - I assume you now have plenty to think about and have more idea of the various options open to you. Do some more research and let us know your budget and needs. I am confident that somebody will be able to help you narrow down your choices.

Andy
Click to expand...

No, that's what I mean. Auto-TTL works fine off camera, including with the new Yongnuo TTL guns that FITP is selling :)

Many third party manufacturers' top end guns will also act as a master/controller unit, just like the OP's pop-up flash. The advantage of getting a separate master is that you can take it off-camera with a long dedicated cord (about £40 for 10m from FITP) which should solve most triggering problems even in bright light, and even if you leave it on-camera it will recycle much faster than the pop-up flash.
 
Cheers team.

I think at this stage I'm very much inclined to avoid studio lighting, as I think outdoor photography is something I'm much more keen on - so whatever could be powered by 4 x AAs (assumably).

Ideally I'd like some flash guns that I had control of their output from the menu on my D700, in the way which I'm practising to do so with my SB-900 at the moment (using the + - EV compensation), whilst using the built-in flash as commander.

However ones which I could use as slaves, yet still be able to control how much light they release even if manually, is also what I'd be happy to use.

I'm looking to spend less than £100 per flash gun, and I was thinking of buying two.
 
Russ MCR said:
Cheers team.

I think at this stage I'm very much inclined to avoid studio lighting, as I think outdoor photography is something I'm much more keen on - so whatever could be powered by 4 x AAs (assumably).

Ideally I'd like some flash guns that I had control of their output from the menu on my D700, in the way which I'm practising to do so with my SB-900 at the moment (using the + - EV compensation), whilst using the built-in flash as commander.

However ones which I could use as slaves, yet still be able to control how much light they release even if manually, is also what I'd be happy to use.

I'm looking to spend less than £100 per flash gun, and I was thinking of buying two.
Click to expand...

My choice would be:

Yongnuo 465-TTL £52 from FITP here http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=1809826&postcount=9

Or more power and features from the Nissin Di622 http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-nissin-di622-flash-gun-for-nikon/p1026074. Obviously more expensive at £99 from WEX. Maybe cheaper elsewhere.

To ensure reliable triggering outside where the optical signals might be washed out, get a 10m dedicated extension cord from FITP for £40. The usual problem is not being able to get the commander unit close enough to the remote gun/s when the camera needs to be a little way off, and the cord usually sorts that.

If all else fails, get the Yonguo RF-602 radio triggers. They work very well, but manual only.

The reason I'm suggesting radio triggers as a last option is because obviously using the built-in system allows you to use auto-TTL, and also with radio triggers (all except the expensive Pocket Wizards I think) there is a slight triggering delay which means you can't use the max x-sync speed. That's not usually a problem but in bright conditions you will want to use the highest shutter speed you can get to control the ambient light.

To check the max shutter speed, aim the camera at a plain wall and keep increasing the shutter speed until you see a dark band appear at the bottom of the pic. This is a shadow of the shutter curtain closing. Back off the shutter speed one click and you're fine. On my Canon 40D, the normal max x-sync speed is 1/250sec and I could get away with 1/200sec with the RF-602. Fresh batteries helps I think.
 
HoppyUK said:
No, that's what I mean. Auto-TTL works fine off camera, including with the new Yongnuo TTL guns that FITP is selling :)

.
Click to expand...

Is this correct? I was under the impression that these would fire optically in manual mode. There is the normal "cell" mode and a pre-flash ignore mode. So with the Yongnuo it 'reads' the pre-flash TTL metering info from the Commander/built in flash?
 
evo456 said:
Is this correct? I was under the impression that these would fire optically in manual mode. There is the normal "cell" mode and a pre-flash ignore mode. So with the Yongnuo it 'reads' the pre-flash TTL metering info from the Commander/built in flash?
Click to expand...

Yes - the new 465-TTL version does :)

As I understand it, the old YN-460 was manual only, with a simple optical slave sensor built in to the head.

The 460-II is also manual only, and has the slave sensor moved to the body where it is more versatile, and it also has two slave settings including S2 mode that will ignore the pre-flash of auto-TTL commander units. Basically this means that you can use the camera's pop-up auto-TTL commander flash to trigger it in sync without needing to get a separate trigger.

Then there is the new 465-TTL, which is a full auto-TTL sensing slave gun. I'm not sure if this also has a regular optical slave also. The specs I have read are unclear on that, I'm sure FITP will confirm.
 
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