nikon external flashes

[86JR]

at present all i have is a d70 which has a few modes such as commander, and an SB600.

When i do studio work at uni, i can control the flashes there. They have these ultra expensive ones, and they are awesome.

However, im looking to buy some that i can take out with me, and see what i can come up with. Im also planning on going ski'ing/snowboarding with uni next year, but as photographer. I cant ski, and i have never tried snowboarding, however i can skateboard, so how hard can it be ?

Quite inspired by this but as my cam does 3fps as opposed to 9 or 11 im somewhat limited:

#

Anyway, can i simply buy a few SB-R200's and some cheap tripods to mount them on, will they all work with my setup ?

thanks

 

[Tooks]

The D70 has a commander mode, and the SB-R200's are wireless, so yes, they should work perfectly together.

Depending on what you're planning, you might want to check the range you'll be using them at, although the range is pretty good anyway, and I've never had any trouble with my two SB-600's in slave mode.

If range is an issue, you can get some wireless flash trigger sets from eBay or somewhere. I haven't used those though, but others on here have, with good results. I'm sure they'll be along soon to advise!

 

[xaldub]

One thing to be aware of, using your D70 in commander mode only allows you to control 2 groups of speedlights remotely. So, don't buy 4 speedlights thinking you can set them up individually !

However, you can have several flashes within a "group". If you want to control more than 2 groups using Nikon's CLS then you have to have an SU-800 attached to the camera hotshoe.

Or, as the poster above has mentioned ... put everything into manual mode, and fire all the speedlights using Pocket Wizards, or some other wireless triggers. That does cost more than I'd imagine you'd want to though ....

Outdoors, so longs as the range is not too far, and line of sight isn't obstructed, your speedlights should fire using the CLS without too much difficulty.

 

[bigredshark]

To be honest you can't do it on a budget, especially as you'll likely be shooting people who're not the best in the world. That means you can't really get the units too close and the range, even on the higher end speedlights, will be very marginal for that type of photography.

My advice is forget about the fancy flash usage and just concentrate on taking some decent shots, you shouldn't have any difficulty taking some fairly decent look shots if you pick a decent spot (and get your settings right). The best thing beyond that would likely be a fast telephoto lens (Nikon 70-200 f2.8 VR or equivalent) but that's not needed at all.

 

[Stupot_]

Spend your money on ski lessons and join in the fun you'll have a much better time.

Bear in mind that during the day, you're not going to want to be lugging all your kit round with you, the camera + 1 lens will suffice for general shots.

More importantly, in the evenings, when you may be able to get some cool multi-flash shots like those in the film, everyone will be hammered! Without exception. They will be in no state to be on the receiving end of your camera (for snowboarding purposes). I know this, I've been on a uni ski trip Also, the runs will all shut down long before it gets dark.

So yeh, take your kit and get a decent backpack for your gear, but don't get too wound up on it.

Also, if you're impartial to the whole ski vs snowboarding (AKA gay on a tray) debate, then can I recommend learning to ski?! It's dead easy, you wont fall on your back squashing your camera, you'll go faster than all your mates and you wont make a prat of yourself spending the first couple of days falling off ski lifts.

 

[Snapshot]

One thing to be aware of, using your D70 in commander mode only allows you to control 2 groups of speedlights remotely. So, don't buy 4 speedlights thinking you can set them up individually !

I think the D70 can only control a single group. The D80 & D90 can control two.

Anyway, can i simply buy a few SB-R200's and some cheap tripods to mount them on, will they all work with my setup ?

thanks

Poor choice as the SB-R200 is really designed for close-up work and is very low powered. It's also seriously expensive for what you get. You'll probably be better off with secondhand SB-600s.