What flash for a beginner with a Nikon D60?

Cocohoney

Cocohoney

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Hi, I have a Nikon D60, I am gradually learning my way around it but still very much a beginner.

I enjoy particularly taking candid shots, and have been doing ok outside. Inside I am having more trouble. The integral flash slows things down considerably so I have missed the picture by the time it takes it, but if I up my ISO enough not to need the flash I get lots of noise in my picture.

I am hoping a flashgun would help with this issue? I have no idea what I need from one, and as with everything in photography it seems a minefield of technology I may get my head around once I've read it 97 times:D

So- can anyone help me? What flashgun would you recommend for a Nikon D60 for someone starting out?

Thanks in advance
 
The delay between the button being pressed and the flash going off can depend on the settings within the camera so it might be worth looking at that too. The ideal first flash is also just an ideal flash. If you can stretch to £165 then an SB600 is fantastic and you can use it off the camera too. If you can find an SB800 second hand then you might well get that for £220. There are cheaper alternatives but it depends on what you want. You could buy a manual flash for very little (a film flash for under £20 making sure the voltage is within range - see my flash thread). If you can find a Jessops 300AFD specifically for the Nikon then they are under £50, it's big brother the 360AFD is £100 (less 5% with the JESSOPS5 voucher code HERE)
 
Thanks for that. I have been looking out for the SB600 or SB800 second hand, I will keep on doing so. Can't stretch to one new at the moment unfortunately.

Would it be worth getting the Jessops one in the meanwhile? What are the advantages of the more expensive ones?

What do I look at regarding delay with the flash and camera settings?

I'll have a look at your flash thread- although I am struggling with all the technology as it is! Can you tell?!
 
Another idea if you want to stay with the Nikon brand is the SB400. I just sold one after I upgraded to the SB600, but the SB400 was a great little flash and can be used off camera with the appropriate cord. Can be had used for £70-80 on here.

Just as an aside, while the SB600 supports wireless command from Nikon cameras, your D60 doesn't have that function, so you'd need a off-camera cord.

A friend bought a Metz flash for his D60 and it was pretty good allround, cost him about £65 IIRC. If I can remember the model I'll let you know.

NB: Found it, here's a link http://www.bristolcameras.co.uk/p-metz-36-af4-flashgun.htm
 
You'd be better sticking with a Nikon brand if you want to make full use of CLS - there's not much point in buying either of those if you don't use it. If you don't want to get fully into CLS then try the SB400. Ken Rockwell makes some good points here - take him with a pinch of salt normally, but flash is a whole new level of complexities I personally see no problem in learning the basics with the cheap and simple SB400. It's what I did.
 
The SB400 is a cracking piece of kit for the price.
 
:agree:
 
Ok, I'll look out for an SB400 too.

What are the advantages with more expensive models- what are the differences? Is it quality? Functions? What are those extra functions?

Sorry for the ignorance, but what do you mean by CLS? Not in the least up with the lingo I'm ashamed to say!
 
Cocohoney said:
Ok, I'll look out for an SB400 too.

What are the advantages with more expensive models- what are the differences? Is it quality? Functions? What are those extra functions?

Sorry for the ignorance, but what do you mean by CLS? Not in the least up with the lingo I'm ashamed to say!
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The SB400 is only really for use on the camera, whereas I believe the higher models can be used off camera. If you're just getting to grips with the camera an SB-400 will suit you fine, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to get the better model if money allows as you'll probably end up upgrading at some point anyway.
 
justinitus said:
Another idea if you want to stay with the Nikon brand is the SB400. I just sold one after I upgraded to the SB600, but the SB400 was a great little flash and can be used off camera with the appropriate cord. Can be had used for £70-80 on here.

Just as an aside, while the SB600 supports wireless command from Nikon cameras, your D60 doesn't have that function, so you'd need a off-camera cord.

A friend bought a Metz flash for his D60 and it was pretty good allround, cost him about £65 IIRC. If I can remember the model I'll let you know.

NB: Found it, here's a link http://www.bristolcameras.co.uk/p-metz-36-af4-flashgun.htm
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link, that looks interesting. I can see there's no simple answer to this question, I'm actually going to have to choose and I have no idea!

I think part of the problem is I don't actually know what flashes are capable of, and therefore am not sure what it is I need from one.

More reading required I think.....
 
Thanks Dman, I'm going to try to find the for sale section on here I think.

I do want to keep it simple at the moment, there is so much to learn and I think I'm going to need to do a course really- my husband doesn't even trust me with the dvd player my tech abilities are so very poor!

My main wish is to avoid the harsh effect of the integral flash, and to speed up the time it takes to take the picture, the SB400 or another under £100 flash would provide this for me would it?
 
The SB600, 800 and 900 can all be used off camera, the 600 can be used off camera as a "slave" and the 800 and 900 can be used as master and slave. So if you owned 2 600's and a 800 you could use the 800 to trigger the other two. They all will adjust the flash to compensate for the focal length of the lens and can be set up to work automatically or manually. All will also adjust to bounce flash sideways as well as up and down. All sophisticated stuff. By comparision the SB400 can only be tilted to bounce flash up. I upgraded from a 400 to a 600 and great as the new one is, I'm not totally convinced that I personally need or use the flash to its full capabilities, which is why I think that for many people the SB400 with its ability to tilt to bounce flash off a ceiling is sufficient.
 
Cocohoney said:
Thanks Dman, I'm going to try to find the for sale section on here I think.

I do want to keep it simple at the moment, there is so much to learn and I think I'm going to need to do a course really- my husband doesn't even trust me with the dvd player my tech abilities are so very poor!

My main wish is to avoid the harsh effect of the integral flash, and to speed up the time it takes to take the picture, the SB400 or another under £100 flash would provide this for me would it?
Click to expand...

You posted this whilst I was typing! :) The answer is yes the SB400 will give you what you are looking for.
 
cowasaki said:
The delay between the button being pressed and the flash going off can depend on the settings within the camera so it might be worth looking at that too.

Can you tell me how I might be able to speed up the picture by adjusting my settings?
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Many thanks Aberal, have read the Ken Rockwell link now too, very helpful (and simply explained for dunderheads like me!), I think it looks ideal for what I need.

Thanks all!
 
Oh, my only concern is that he didn't mention the D60 when listing compatible cameras?
 
Cocohoney said:
Oh, my only concern is that he didn't mention the D60 when listing compatible cameras?
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It'll work fine with the D60 - the camera wouldn't have existed when he wrote the article.
 
One of the advantages of a hotshoe flash is that the light is moved further away from the focal plane thus reducing the red eye effect that you can get with an in built flash. The SB400 is half the height of the other models and has no way of directing the light away. My personal view is that I would rather get the Jessops AFD360 rather than the SB400
 
Mastertrinity, it says on their website that it can't be used as a slave, is that wrong? Nice to hear it's good though, still considering that one.

Cowasaki, I though the SB400 will point upwards, doesn't this make much difference then?

So you both think it's better to not worry about sticking to Nikon, and go for the extra features the Jessops offers for the same price?

Also, what is CLS?
 
cowasaki said:
One of the advantages of a hotshoe flash is that the light is moved further away from the focal plane thus reducing the red eye effect that you can get with an in built flash. The SB400 is half the height of the other models and has no way of directing the light away. My personal view is that I would rather get the Jessops AFD360 rather than the SB400
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That's not the case - it can be angled at 60, 75 and 90 degrees up, so bounce flash solves the red eye problem. It's only drawback is that portrait shots bounce off a wall, which in itself can often produce good results. I don't havepersonal experience of the Jessops model so can't comment on its functionality, but another pro for the Nikon brand is that it will retain resale value, the same couldn't be said for Jessops branded models however worth they might be.
 
Cocohoney said:
Cowasaki, I though the SB400 will point upwards, doesn't this make much difference then?
Click to expand...

It can't be pointed to the side, I thought the head couldn't be pointed upwards either. Obviously if can then :)
 
Regarding the D60, have you got red eye reduction switched on?
If you have it will cause a delay between pressing the shutter button and the picture being taken.

The SB400 is a great first flash.
 
i had the sb400 on a d40 and was a cracking little thing for what i wanted

however thinking back, one main issue is that you can't rotate to portrait view for bouncing
 
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