Flashgun for D70

BrenOS · 14 Feb 2006 at 17:59

Hi all,

I need to buy a flashgun for my Nikon D70 with a wedding in mind. I don't want to be spending a boat load of money, but then again I don't want to buy a limiting flashgun.

With the D70's abilities in mind, what do you suggest?

Thanks

MichaelG · 14 Feb 2006 at 18:14

I had this dilema a while back.
I'd say spend the money and get the Nikon SB600.
Its got so much going for it, and you'd end up spending such a serious wodge on a decent cheap one that its worth paying the extra. You don't want to buy one now and then another. (IMO)

Joe T · 14 Feb 2006 at 18:19

I'd buy an SB600. like I did.

BrenOS · 14 Feb 2006 at 18:22

Actually a bit of digging and I've realised I can get the SB600 for £150.

Either of you two have a comprehensive review/guide?

Cheers

divine` · 14 Feb 2006 at 18:25

SB-600 here, loving it, inbuilt wireless with D70 is handy/fun aswell

Easy to just use aswell, works pretty well fully auto.

Carrot · 14 Feb 2006 at 18:33

Another vote for the SB-600, here.

BrenOS · 14 Feb 2006 at 18:34

Haha, anyone have anything else?

hoodmeister · 14 Feb 2006 at 18:35

Hmmm. SB-600's cost less than I thought.

I need to pick up a flash at some point, for the same reasons stated above - I was just gonna get a cheapy old skool SB-24, but I may as well go the whole hog.

Think I'll wait till about a month before the event though - they may be even cheaper then ¬_¬

Gareth · 14 Feb 2006 at 21:52

SB 600 here too.

Johnny|lucidcomposure · 14 Feb 2006 at 23:39

Any thoughts on Sigma's range of flash guns ?

hoodmeister · 14 Feb 2006 at 23:47

As far as I know they're pretty damn good - but for Nikon users at least, it isn't worth the money saved to lose commander mode.

divine` · 14 Feb 2006 at 23:51

Phoenix_Cosmos said:
Any thoughts on Sigma's range of flash guns ?

For the sake of a few quid, I would rather have the wireless that works with my D70.

Johnny|lucidcomposure · 15 Feb 2006 at 00:02

I was only bringing it to the board. I use Canon so I have the 580ex.

What is commander mode ? Sounds interesting ?

hoodmeister · 15 Feb 2006 at 00:05

Just wireless. You can use the flash off the camera - great for creative lighting with very little kit. As far as I know it uses RFID, it certainly doesn't need line of sight to work, but i'm unsure of the range.

divine` · 15 Feb 2006 at 01:22

Ive used mine upto and including 20ft so far, It only does this natively with the D70 (And D2H iirc) so its of no concern to people with a D50 etc.

The D70 has the commander unit built in, which not all of them do, others need the SB-800 on cam to do it normally.

4 Duracell AAs (plain ones, nothing fancy) have lasted me around 250 shots so far, including extensive wireless use which is meant to eat the batteries.

jhmaeng · 15 Feb 2006 at 02:22

As far as I know it uses RFID, it certainly doesn't need line of sight to work, but i'm unsure of the range.

I'm pretty sure it uses IR, not RF. It's just that IR can be detected even when bounced on another surface, so you often don't need a straight line of sight - similar to the way telly remotes often work when bounced on another surface, I guess.

RF (not RFID, mind

) is mostly used in studios IIRC, for setting off studio strobes.

4 Duracell AAs (plain ones, nothing fancy) have lasted me around 250 shots so far

I can't remember where exactly, but I heard from one of the photography forums that you should use Ni-MH for flash guns, not Alkaline. Has anyone else heard similar?

Reidy · 15 Feb 2006 at 11:39

Nikon SB-800 is quality...

metz 145 is good too but a bit heavy... id stick with the SB-800

AdWright · 15 Feb 2006 at 13:03

jhmaeng said:
I can't remember where exactly, but I heard from one of the photography forums that you should use Ni-MH for flash guns, not Alkaline. Has anyone else heard similar?

NiMH rechargeables have a lower resistance than alkaline batteries, hence the flash unit can recycle faster.

divine` · 15 Feb 2006 at 13:27

Reidy said:
Nikon SB-800 is quality...

metz 145 is good too but a bit heavy... id stick with the SB-800

Not a lot of point in getting the SB-800 over the SB-600 when used with a D70 though

As for alkaline vs NiMH, I might grab some NiMH batteries at some point, but the Alkalines aren't proving restrictive.

KillinTime · 15 Feb 2006 at 13:31

I own an SB-800, it rules, and best of all its TTL mode metering is top notch, one less thing to worry about, VERY valuable at weddings, I'd bet the SB-600 is just as good.

The wireless thing IS cool, and can be used for ultra-portable studio flash (but its a bit harsh direct) but when I use the wireless to trigger my studio flash, the studio strobes with the commander preflashes, and fires before the shutter opens. This may be fixable (would be AWESOME if it was) any ideas?