Flashgun with a Nikon D80

Texy

Texy

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I,m on a bit of a budget and want to get a flashgun. Can't afford much, maybe around £50 - obviously this will really be a used item;)
What I,d like to know is which of the older speedlites will give the best bang-for-buck? Whats the importance of TTL-metering - if it sounds too complicated, then I,ll probably not use or need it, but will the SB-24, 26, 28 etc vintage work with the D80, and if so, what will be the limitations?

Thanks in advance guys 'n' gals

Texy
 
ttl flash is just point and shoot flash ,,,brilliant,,,,not sure how the older sb's will work on a d80 ,,i think you might have to set it to work manually ,,,set aperture then shutter speed ,,bit of a pain really ,,,if you can get ttl , go for it ,
 
I think (correct me if I'm wrong) any of the 'DX' affixed flashes (SB50DX/80DX/28DX) will work in all modes on digi SLRS (model dependant*) as will the SB400/600/800/900. Flashes like the SB26 and 28 will work in all but TTL mode - I successfully use a SB28 on my D200 and it produces great results in AUTO.

*I know there are a few things on't internet that say the 28/50/80DX flashes will only work with early Nikon DSLRs like the D1, D100 and the Fuji S1 and S3 in all modes and it may be a bit of trial and error to see if they work flawlessly with your D80.. You may be best to stick with the Sb600 and SB800 for your D80 if you want iTTL. Uncle Ken's review of the SB28DX shed a bit of light on this subject.

Personally I'd not be too fussed about this, as the AUTO setting produces good results and you can always control the power manually. The SB28 is a very good flash - powerful and well built - and has a PC socket for off-camera wired/wireless (using triggers) flash photography.

This is a shot taken using the SB800 in TTL balanced on a D200 set to P



This is a shot taken using an SB28 set to AUTO on a D200 set to P



There's very little in it as you can see - if anything the SB28 shot is slightly hotter but that's about it. I like my SB28 a lot :)
 
As specialman says, the DX series flashguns will provide basic ttl operation, but only the newer guns, such as the SB-600 will give you access to the Nikon CLS.

Might be worth having a look for one of the Nikon-dedicated versions of the Jessops 360AFD, it's a pretty decent wee flash, with a lot of handy features, like an optical slave and a tilt and swivel head. You should be able to pick a secondhand one up for under £50 on Fleabay.
 
Thanks for the reply guys - much appreciated.
I ended up winning a sb-27 for under £50 incl 1st class recorded postage.
I realise it's a bit of an oddity, but it does have a few good features that I may
use, including the verticle head rotation :-)
Hopefully I'll post some results from a project I'm
working on using it.
Thanks
texy
 
Flash arrived this morning and is in mint condition with original box and paperwork. Works great in manual mode with my D80!
Will have a better play later, and will report on my little project as well.
Thanks for the help as usual guys!
Texy
 
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