PBase

hi,
i have the New Nikon D300. The built in flash is useless. i do not photograph much flash, but i feel i do need an external flash. forgetting the price, the question is do i really need the SB800 or can i go for the sb400 which is lightweight, compact and easy to use?
thanks
ronnie

I have the SB600 and it's great. I'm not sure what it has over the SB400 but I like the control it gives me for fill in flash for macro and the movable head for ceiling bounce etc. I don't think the SB400 has a movable head, so that would be a put off for me, but the review below suggests otherwise.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/sb400.htm

I bet the biggest diference moving from the SB-400 through the 800 is the slave mode. 400's probably will not slave, 600's will slave to the on camera flash and 800's will drive the entire system if you need a master. The same Ken Rockwell pages have directions to use the 600 and 800 as slaves. The instructions are also in the Nikon manuals, but for some reason Ken's description was easier to follow. So to answer your question directly, you can use the SB-400 very sucessfully. I shoot with an SB-600 becuase I wanted the slave capabilities.

I wouldn't say the inbuilt flash is completely useless. There have been many times when I have used it for a quick bit of fill flash and it also makes for a handy master flash too. The SB-400 is a nice little compact flash that will give you a little extra kick. The SB-600 puts out more power, can act as a slave and will give you a decent AF assist beam. The SB-800 puts out even more power, can act as a slave and a master, allows you to plug in additional batteries for faster refresh times and gives you an AF assist beam. The SB-800 has a few other features however, I doubt they are of much use. Personally, I always carry a pair of SB-600's with me, I just couldn't justify the extra cost of the SB-800.

ronnie27 wrote:hi,
i have the New Nikon D300. The built in flash is useless. i do not photograph much flash, but i feel i do need an external flash. forgetting the price, the question is do i really need the SB800 or can i go for the sb400 which is lightweight, compact and easy to use?
thanks
ronnie

The use of flash is not limited to night use. You may also use it during daytime. I find it quite handy to carry it with me to light these dark places.
I have the SB800 which I used it with my D70 and now D300.

It is fully programmable, packed with features. Read the specs of both SB600 and SB800 you just cant go wrong with either....

Thats my 2 cents...

NikGr.

nikgr wrote:The use of flash is not limited to night use. You may also use it during daytime. I find it quite handy to carry it with me to light ... dark places.
NikGr.

and this is what many folks have yet to see with flash. It's not just for nighttime and dark indoor situations. All good protrait work uses some suplemental lighting be it flash or something else. That little on board strobe does a very good job as a fill flash, working withthe sync modes makes it better, hint.. rear sync. Effective strobe use can make a good image better just as easily as making an impossible image possible.. (although it may not result in a good image...). Caveat: I'm am far from an accomplished flash user but like everything else practice makes progress.

adz929 wrote:I wouldn't say the inbuilt flash is completely useless. There have been many times when I have used it for a quick bit of fill flash and it also makes for a handy master flash too. The SB-400 is a nice little compact flash that will give you a little extra kick. The SB-600 puts out more power, can act as a slave and will give you a decent AF assist beam. The SB-800 puts out even more power, can act as a slave and a master, allows you to plug in additional batteries for faster refresh times and gives you an AF assist beam. The SB-800 has a few other features however, I doubt they are of much use. Personally, I always carry a pair of SB-600's with me, I just couldn't justify the extra cost of the SB-800.

The sb800 allows me to attach a Pocket Wizard to the flash and place virtually anywhere I want when shooting models. You don't have that latitude with the sb600.

In the photo below, I was able to place a sb800 (connected to a Pocket Wizard), in the middle of the street between the model and I. In several shots of this series, I was actually shooting the model from the opposite side of the street, and using the sb800 (in the middle of the road) for fill. I highly recommend the SB800.

http://www.pbase.com/teiladay/image/88826567

Teila K. Day

ronnie27 wrote:hi,
i have the New Nikon D300. The built in flash is useless. i do not photograph much flash, but i feel i do need an external flash. forgetting the price, the question is do i really need the SB800 or can i go for the sb400 which is lightweight, compact and easy to use?
thanks
ronnie

The onboard pop up flash (basically on any camera) works well for "fill" lighting. If you're shooting friends on the beach in the middle of the afternoon, the onboard flash will add that extra crispness to the photographs while removing unwanted shadows around the eyes, etc.. Nothing beats a dedicated flash, but the onboard flash is far from being "useless"

Cordially

Teila K. Day

teiladay wrote: The sb800 allows me to attach a Pocket Wizard to the flash and place virtually anywhere I want when shooting models. You don't have that latitude with the sb600.
Teila K. Day

So how is this an improvement over the built in wireless capability of the SB-600? Also what prevents one from using the pocket wizard on an SB600? Just curious since I use mine off camera a lot. The 800 will do this as well, you do need a body that drives the Nikon wireless protocol. I know some of the film bodies will not do this.