Flash
I got my other flash that I ordered back in August just today. KMD was nice enough to ship it to me, but by the grace of the post office, it took quite a while to get here.
I've been playing with it a bit and I certainly like it, but I haven't had a chance to directly compare it against my Vivitar 285HV. The SB-600 can be triggered using CLS, which my D80 handily can be used as a commander for, or by my handy-dandy wireless trigger. CLS allows me to use i-TTL, Nikon's auto-exposure stuff, but I imagine I'll probably use the rather more simplistic wireless trigger. I will definitely be using this as my on-camera flash, though, as it's considerably smaller than the rather massive 285HV and is autofocus. The idea that a flash can be autofocus still kind of boggles my mind.
The coolest feature is the auto-FP sync. I was just poking at it, and it looks like I can get a decent amount of light even at 1/2000th of a second, while my 285HV is limited to 1/200th of a second normally, or 1/400th maybe if you use some silly tricks.
Also, the automatic focus (zoom) of the Sb-600 seems to be much more effective than the manual one on the 285HV, even at similar settings.
For downsides, I don't think the SB-600 has the pure light outputting power of the 285HV. I mean, putting the same batteries in each one, the SB-600 recycles about twice to three times as fast, and you can only pull so much power from those batteries in a three-second period. Combined with the fact that you could buy two 285HVs, triggering gear, and some gels for the cost of a single SB-600, and I certainly don't think the 285HV is a waste of money. Mine probably won't be seeing nearly as much use as it did before, since I can't use both flashes at the sime time without buying about $40 more gear, plus shipping. That's not in my budget at this point.
Since I have this handy extra SB-400 as well, I'll probably buy two more receivers (if/) when I have enough money, and then I'll have three flashes to play with. That seems like it can only be a good thing. Oh, except the minor fact that the SB-400 can't be triggered without i-TTL.
Grr.
For future reference, I would recommend generally against the SB-400 for anyone looking to do anything beyond bounce flash with it. If all you want it for is so you can bounce your flash, it's a good deal, as it has decent power in a small size and without a bunch of expensive features you don't want. But given its lack of an optical slave unit, its reliance on i-TTL and incompatibility with the Nikon CLS, and the funny looks you get from people using real flashes, I would recommend a different flash for someone shopping for anything beyond bounce.
Again, the SB-400 is great if you just want the ability to bounce your flash.
I've been playing with it a bit and I certainly like it, but I haven't had a chance to directly compare it against my Vivitar 285HV. The SB-600 can be triggered using CLS, which my D80 handily can be used as a commander for, or by my handy-dandy wireless trigger. CLS allows me to use i-TTL, Nikon's auto-exposure stuff, but I imagine I'll probably use the rather more simplistic wireless trigger. I will definitely be using this as my on-camera flash, though, as it's considerably smaller than the rather massive 285HV and is autofocus. The idea that a flash can be autofocus still kind of boggles my mind.
The coolest feature is the auto-FP sync. I was just poking at it, and it looks like I can get a decent amount of light even at 1/2000th of a second, while my 285HV is limited to 1/200th of a second normally, or 1/400th maybe if you use some silly tricks.
Also, the automatic focus (zoom) of the Sb-600 seems to be much more effective than the manual one on the 285HV, even at similar settings.
For downsides, I don't think the SB-600 has the pure light outputting power of the 285HV. I mean, putting the same batteries in each one, the SB-600 recycles about twice to three times as fast, and you can only pull so much power from those batteries in a three-second period. Combined with the fact that you could buy two 285HVs, triggering gear, and some gels for the cost of a single SB-600, and I certainly don't think the 285HV is a waste of money. Mine probably won't be seeing nearly as much use as it did before, since I can't use both flashes at the sime time without buying about $40 more gear, plus shipping. That's not in my budget at this point.
Since I have this handy extra SB-400 as well, I'll probably buy two more receivers (if/) when I have enough money, and then I'll have three flashes to play with. That seems like it can only be a good thing. Oh, except the minor fact that the SB-400 can't be triggered without i-TTL.
Grr.
For future reference, I would recommend generally against the SB-400 for anyone looking to do anything beyond bounce flash with it. If all you want it for is so you can bounce your flash, it's a good deal, as it has decent power in a small size and without a bunch of expensive features you don't want. But given its lack of an optical slave unit, its reliance on i-TTL and incompatibility with the Nikon CLS, and the funny looks you get from people using real flashes, I would recommend a different flash for someone shopping for anything beyond bounce.
Again, the SB-400 is great if you just want the ability to bounce your flash.
Labels: flash, photography gear
posted by William at
10/31/2008 06:26:00 PM
3 Comments:
Though I don't understand all the technical details of it, from what I do understand,and from your enthusiasm for it, it sounds like an awesome new toy! Have fun with that!
But, if you bounce your flash, it will break. Be careful. That's one expensive oddly shaped super-ball.
Actually, something I like about the 285HV is that it's so stupidly simple that there's no really anything to break. I think it's basically a capacitor, a flash tube, and an on/off switch. I have banged it against quite a few things, and it seems no worse for the wear. I suspect that if I ever hit it hard enough to cause any serious structural damage to the flash, it'll just break off and it won't affect the performance in any way.
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