Powerful speedlight for wildlife use

maninsuitcase

maninsuitcase

Suspended / Banned
Messages
1,675
Name
Chris
Edit My Images
No
I am starting to experiment with speedlights for wildlife use to add a touch of fill and give me a bit more time out in the field. I also hope it will help to bring out the colour in the subject and add a nice catch light. I've quickly discovered my YN467 is only good for maybe 15m as a light fill, not really enough.

Being a Nikon user the obvious choice is the SB-900 or SB-910. However these are quite pricey even for a used 900. Is the SB-700 an option or are any after market units in the same ball park power wise. I will be getting a better beamer to help with the range too.

TTL is a must, external power is a nice to have for recycle time. HSS and CLS are also nice to haves rather than must haves.

I am not afraid to up the ISO as I will have to anyway but more power is always nice as you can always just dial it down.

If the 900 is the only real choice I am okay with that as I suspect the hold their value pretty well even for 3rd or 4th owners.
 
Sir SR said:
Sb900 in the classifieds for 185 - great price
Click to expand...
Will go have a look, I was just having a skim.

Tizer said:
SB700 wont accept a power pack.
Click to expand...
It's more of a nice to have than a must. Seems realy only a SB900/910 would have that option anyway as most 3rd party don't seem to have them either.

My primary concern is to get a reasonable amount of light when used with 420mm @ f4 on DX with out the high ISOs I'm using now. The rough plan is to drop the background about 1-2 stops and then fill the subject back up with flash. I'll also start looking at backlit shots with a touch of fill to life that shadow.
 
Hi, You should be able to pick up a SB800 for a reasonable price. I use several of these controlled by a SU800 and have never considered getting the later flash units. They'll do everything you want. Hope this helps.
 
G.K.Jnr. said:
Hi, You should be able to pick up a SB800 for a reasonable price. I use several of these controlled by a SU800 and have never considered getting the later flash units. They'll do everything you want. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

I hadn't considered the SB800 as I expected it to be less powerful but it actually seems pretty close. I will look into costs. I'm in no rush so would rather wait for a good one at the right price.
 
maninsuitcase said:
I am starting to experiment with speedlights for wildlife use to add a touch of fill and give me a bit more time out in the field. I also hope it will help to bring out the colour in the subject and add a nice catch light. I've quickly discovered my YN467 is only good for maybe 15m as a light fill, not really enough.

Being a Nikon user the obvious choice is the SB-900 or SB-910. However these are quite pricey even for a used 900. Is the SB-700 an option or are any after market units in the same ball park power wise. I will be getting a better beamer to help with the range too.
TTL is a must, external power is a nice to have for recycle time. HSS and CLS are also nice to haves rather than must haves.

I am not afraid to up the ISO as I will have to anyway but more power is always nice as you can always just dial it down.

If the 900 is the only real choice I am okay with that as I suspect the hold their value pretty well even for 3rd or 4th owners.
Click to expand...

Better Beamer will make most difference by far. Effectively quadruples flash power (2 stops).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top