Flash for Nikon D300

cornishboy

cornishboy

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Need a flash for some upcoming events - not necessarily going to use it loads - will a Jessops one/ or another non Nikon name do (and if so which one?) or do I need a Nikon one? Likely to be photographing awards nights in a community hall
All help welcomed
 
Like absolutely everything, it comes down to cost.
It sounds like you'd perfectly fine with the Nikon SB600.. other brands such as Nissin etc are fine, but you may as well think about resale value etc for the inevitable upgrade time!
 
I have both the SB600 and the SB900 and althought the SB900 is pricey its so much easier to set up and use so worth the extra in my opinion. Hopefully I shall be getting a second SB900 soon. Be aware the SB600 doesn't work as a commander flash so you can't use it to trigger other Nikon SB's in the future.

Realspeed
 
cornishboy said:
Need a flash for some upcoming events - not necessarily going to use it loads - will a Jessops one/ or another non Nikon name do (and if so which one?) or do I need a Nikon one? Likely to be photographing awards nights in a community hall
All help welcomed
Click to expand...
A friend of mine had almost exactly the same question a while ago, but he was using a D70s. In the end he bought a Nissin Speedlite Di622.
He used it at a school concert and prizegiving and was very happy with both the price and performance.
Sb800 / 900 etc are brilliant, but do you need all those extra features?
Allan
 
If I was doing all this again, the first question I would try and answer is; "How many flash guns will I ever want use at one time"? If the answer to that question was, "One and only one", then I would just go straight out and spend the 60-80 quid required to get a reasonable third party, iTTL flash - job done :)!

As hinted at already, what you're getting with guns like the SB-900 is a window onto the wonderful world of Nikon's Creative Lighting System and if you ever plan to use off-camera flash with IR triggering, or even two or three flash guns at the same time, then this is a really convenient (if expensive) way to do it :). You can still have those functions with a non-Nikon flash, but usually you have to dial in the settings manually, as it won't meter everything for you.

There are other benefits with the SB-900, over the cheaper alternatives (flash zoomable to 200mm, balanced fill flash mode, diffuser, gels and carrying case included in the price, etc.), but a lot of owners probably never really experiment with those things anyway :|.

IMHO, spending 350GBP on an SB-900, only to leave it stuck on top of your DSLR with no brothers or sisters for company :'( ... is somewhat extravagant.

For a single flash set up, or a five or more flash gun set up (where you're talking about 2k to stick with Nikons :(); I'd be tempted to go and look at FlashInThePan's Equipment for sale thread and see what guns he has at the moment :thumbs:. Just my $0,02
 
One thing to be cautious of the third party flashes is the guide number is sometimes a bit optimistic! For example my Yongnuo is quoted at about GN30 but the reality is about 20 and I often find my self at the top end of the power spectrum in manual (obviously TTL is hard to tell but I suspect it's often the case also).

Have a look on speedlights.net, he's done some heavy testing for most flashes that people consider.
 
A big shout out for the Nissin Di622. it's a great bit of kit and you can pick them up at bargain prices now. have a snoop around. you'll not regret it. :thumbs:
 
I have a Jessops afn360 flash that i use with my d300s, i find that it doesnt always work ittl ( some shots it puts just the right amount of light out and the next it just puts full power out ) but i usually set it up in manual.
Ive used a friends sb600 with hid d700 and it was amazing, never had to adjust anything.
I suppose you get what you pay for in the end and a Nikon flash will talk to a Nikon camera better.
scott.
 
Naboo32 said:
If I was doing all this again, the first question I would try and answer is; "How many flash guns will I ever want use at one time"? If the answer to that question was, "One and only one", then I would just go straight out and spend the 60-80 quid required to get a reasonable third party, iTTL flash - job done :)!

As hinted at already, what you're getting with guns like the SB-900 is a window onto the wonderful world of Nikon's Creative Lighting System and if you ever plan to use off-camera flash with IR triggering, or even two or three flash guns at the same time, then this is a really convenient (if expensive) way to do it :). You can still have those functions with a non-Nikon flash, but usually you have to dial in the settings manually, as it won't meter everything for you.

There are other benefits with the SB-900, over the cheaper alternatives (flash zoomable to 200mm, balanced fill flash mode, diffuser, gels and carrying case included in the price, etc.), but a lot of owners probably never really experiment with those things anyway :|.

IMHO, spending 350GBP on an SB-900, only to leave it stuck on top of your DSLR with no brothers or sisters for company :'( ... is somewhat extravagant.

For a single flash set up, or a five or more flash gun set up (where you're talking about 2k to stick with Nikons :(); I'd be tempted to go and look at FlashInThePan's Equipment for sale thread and see what guns he has at the moment :thumbs:. Just my $0,02
Click to expand...


I partly agree with you Andy, I have a sb800 sb900 and an R1 macro set, the sb900 is the first one I reach for as it is the easiest to set up, if using remote no menu diving. And even on camera it just seems the better flash.

Personally, if I was shooting any event I would go with one of the Nikon flashes for peace of mind.
 
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