need a flash gun need advice

kent66

kent66

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kent
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hello everyone,

I have got a nikon d60 and was wondering whats the best flash gun and rough prices ? can anybody help.
 
kent66 said:
hello everyone,

I have got a nikon d60 and was wondering whats the best flash gun and rough prices ? can anybody help.
Click to expand...

Nikon SB-900 - prices all over the web.
 
i have both, the sb900 has overheat protection which means when it overheats it wont flash until it cools down, the sb800 does not have this feature.
this ifeasture is both a blessing and a curse , ie when doing action shots it can stop at the most inconvenient times . although it protects your investment .

it is best to get a nikon flashgun as it will be compatible fully with your camera features.

Cheers Steve
 
steve_lyt said:
i have both, the sb900 has overheat protection which means when it overheats it wont flash until it cools down, the sb800 does not have this feature.
this ifeasture is both a blessing and a curse , ie when doing action shots it can stop at the most inconvenient times . although it protects your investment .

it is best to get a nikon flashgun as it will be compatible fully with your camera features.

Cheers Steve
Click to expand...


You can go into the menu and turn this feature off, it still warns you of overheating but the flash will keep working.
 
I've got 2 x SB-900s and have never had any over heating problem - what is it you do to them to get them to close down? Are you firing very rapidly for a long time?
 
awp said:
I've got 2 x SB-900s and have never had any over heating problem - what is it you do to them to get them to close down? Are you firing very rapidly for a long time?
Click to expand...


If you are dumping full power on an SB900 it will over heat if you are rapid firing, using non rechargeable batteries will make it overheat even quicker as the batteries heat up very fast. Like I said turn of the thermal shutdown in the menu before you start because you can't disable it once it kicks in.

I have made the plastic fresnel lens start to bubble and it still runs fine ;)


Keep your ISO high, at least 800 and you won't need so much power in most cases.
 
I suppose the way I use them they must be rarely dumping full power - I just up the ISO - and I always use rechareable batteries.
 
Hi Kent

It really depends on what you wish to acheive with the flashgun - your D60 and an SB900 are not a million miles away in individual cost - it is a hell of an investment. Oh and it is MASSIVE on a smaller body - hell its massive on a D700 !!
I had a sb400 before hand which is dinky in comparison - but also very capable for bounce and general flash duties. If however you need more power perhaps consider the SB700 - quite alot smaller than the 900 a bit cheaper and from the reviews I have read an admirable performer. For me I have never experienced the 900's heat guard - I think you would struggle to get it to overheat with the shooting speed of the D60. Finally both the 700 and 900 have the built in bounce card which i have found incredibly handy :)
 
it hasn`t overheated lately, i would rather it close down than damge the flashgun anyway , has it is an expensive piece of kit. the times i manage to overheat it was i a large room with low lighting. i still prefare the 900 to my 800 it has easier accessable controls for quicker setting changes than my 800.

the 800 is also a supurb flashgun , i have had ot 4 years and it has never let me down.

Cheers Steve
 
I tend to view speedlights as consumables that only.need.replacing every couple of years. But these days I can shoot higher ISOs and they don't get worked quite as.hard.

Also I have switched to a quantum TD5-R for off camera flash and that has taken a load off the speedlights too. I was shooting through an umbrella or softbox and overpowering bright daylight and that takes a toll.
 
kent66 said:
hello everyone,

I have got a nikon d60 and was wondering whats the best flash gun and rough prices ? can anybody help.
Click to expand...

you need to think about two things first

what are you using it for and how much you want to pay

ie £40 ish for a dumb gun (great off camera with rf602 triggers)

£320 ish for sb900 (with every thing you could want in a flah gun)
 
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