Need to upgrade my flash

[John Young]

At the moment I have the Nissin Di866 and its a good flash BUT I have started to notice more and more the slow recycle time.

Which Flash should I go for instead I was thinking of the Nikon SB-700 or SB-800 ?

Am I right in thinking the Nikon range is SB-400, 600, 700, 800, 900, 910 is that the right order ?

 

[Phil V]

If the recycle times are your biggest worry, anything with an external power pack.

I don't know the Nikon flash lineup, but my gut reaction is at least an SB 800, though I might just add the TTL Yongnuo and some wireless stuff as a more versatile answer to the problem.

 

[John Young]

Thanks - yeah I see the SB 800 for sale at reasonable prices

I actually found a site which had the specs on and it looks like my flash is between 5-8 sec recycle time depending on batteries were the Nikon flashes are around the 2-3 sec so that looks better aready

 

[Phil V]

Thanks - yeah I see the SB 800 for sale at reasonable prices

I actually found a site which had the specs on and it looks like my flash is between 5-8 sec recycle time depending on batteries were the Nikon flashes are around the 2-3 sec so that looks better aready

You'll get better still with an external power supply, worth every penny, my only regret is that I didn't get one sooner.

 

[gramps]

IIRC the Nikon order is SB-400, 600, 800, 700, 900, 910
The SB800 is an excellent unit, as is the 910 - there were a lot of reports of over-heating on the SB900.

 

[John Young]

IIRC the Nikon order is SB-400, 600, 800, 700, 900, 910
The SB800 is an excellent unit, as is the 910 - there were a lot of reports of over-heating on the SB900.

Why go from 600 to 800 and back to 700

At the moment I am looking at the SB 700 and 800 but the 700 seems tempting as it has 40 cashback so new for around £180

 

[G.K.Jnr.]

Hi John, I use several SB800 flash units and have never had a problem with any of them. The recycle times are very good and they have an attachment that comes with the flash enabling you to add an extra battery (total 5) which improves the recycle time even more. They are very versatile and are slightly more powerful than the later SB900 units.

Hope this helps.,

George.

 

[John Young]

Thank you George, yes I was looking at the SB 800 I suppose the fact that with the cashback on the SB 700 and loads of reviews praising it is swaying me in that direction at the moment

 

[G.K.Jnr.]

Thank you George, yes I was looking at the SB 800 I suppose the fact that with the cashback on the SB 700 and loads of reviews praising it is swaying me in that direction at the moment

Hi John, One thing worth considering with a SB700 is it has "No auto aperture modes" meaning it cannot measure the light reflected back from the subject using it's own sensor as it doesn't have one. So if you do happen to use it on a non dedicated camera it will only fire in a manual mode ie Full Power, Half Power, etc etc. The SB800, SB900, & SB910 do have auto aperture modes and can be used automatically with non dedicated cameras.

Hope this helps.,

George.

 

[John Young]

Hi John, One thing worth considering with a SB700 is it has "No auto aperture modes" meaning it cannot measure the light reflected back from the subject using it's own sensor as it doesn't have one. So if you do happen to use it on a non dedicated camera it will only fire in a manual mode ie Full Power, Half Power, etc etc. The SB800, SB900, & SB910 do have auto aperture modes and can be used automatically with non dedicated cameras.

Hope this helps.,

George.

Thank you I did not realize that - but I assume it will be OK on the D600 camera ?

 

[BennyBoo]

What a coincidence.. I'm looking for a flash unit too.. I'll take your old one

 

[John Young]

What a coincidence.. I'm looking for a flash unit too.. I'll take your old one

Well I was going to sell the old one (Nissin Di866 Mk 2) and then get the new one (Nikon) but my wife thought it would be a good idea to make sure the new one was right before selling the old one which is a good idea I think.

Once I sort out what I am doing I will sell it on here

 

[Phil V]

Can I assume you already have more than 1 flash? As with everything else you need redundancy at weddings. Not to mention the opportunity for multiple flash set ups. Take 4 and sometimes feel I ought to take more.

 

[John Young]

I usually have two flashes one off camera the other for on camera. to be honest i try to use flash as little as possible