Nikon D7000 - Flash advice

[nyc2023]

Greetings all - I need some help. My wife shoots with the Nikon D7000, mostly documents the story of our lives. A while back I had bought her the SB-400 speed light but recently while shooting a party outdoors in the evening the SB-400 was not performing correctly. The recycle time seems to be very long although we are very careful to have fully charged Ni-MH batteries each time she shoots. She has changed settings and tried different options but nothing has worked, she simply is NOT happy with the SB-400. Every other photo is comes out nice, others mostly are just too dark.

Question is - does anyone suggest any other external flashes?? Has anyone tried any other external flash outside of the Nikon family?

I unfortunately know very little of photography so whatever information you pass along, I will relay it to my wife.

I'm wondering is buying the best out there (SB-900) the way to go?

All comments and suggestions are welcomed!

Thank you!

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[2WheelPhoto]

SB-900 if second best is not an option. Of course you see the others available. There are 3rd party brands too, some don't have ttl which I don't know matters to you or not.

[edddial]

If you're asking from Nikon, go for SB-900. The best is to use alkaline battery but the only problem is if you're talking photos one after another the battery will become weak very fast.
Other option (brand) try Metz or Nissin.
For example:
Metz 76 MZ-5 Digital Handle Mount Flash; Flash recovery time using battery pack P50 max 3 sec
Metz 58 AF-2 TTL Mecablitz Shoe Mount Flash; recycle time with new alkaline battery is 5 sec

So I guess 5sec recycle time is quite reasonable unless you get Metz 76 MZ-5 + Battery Pack P50 (max recycle time ~3 sec., min ~1 sec)

Google for more info.

[cgipson1]

for really fast recycle times, there is also the option of getting the SB900.. and one of the external battery packs for it. Nikons SD-9 battery pack is not cheap, but works very well. I have two of these knockoffs and they work very well also.. Amazon.com: High Performace Flash Battery Pack for Nikon SB-900 SB900 replace SD-9: Camera & Photo at a much cheaper price. Makes the SB-900 recycle really fast, and doesn't lose power. Some of the knockoffs are crap... but these do pretty well.

[iazybandit]

If you're not a professional and only shooting as a hobby, do not get the SB900. Too pricey to justify the purchase. SB-700 or get a used SB-600.

There is no need to get the SB900 for the fast recycle time because you won't be doing speed burst shooting. You're not shooting fast action sports or weddings.

[cgipson1]

The SB-900 is pricey! You might want to look at some of the dedicated 3rd party flashes also... Metz, Yongnuo, etc. With strobes, the more you spend, usually the better it is.. but not always. Do some research.. almost all manufacturers list compatibility and recycle times on their websites.

You might even consider a used SB600.. good flash, and can be had relatively cheaply.

[tevo]

related - am also looking for a flash unit for my D7000

[pen]

I picked up an SB 600 just a couple weeks ago new as some shops still had it in stock. I also use the D7000 and it is working great. It had TTL which will help with your exposures.

Sent from my iPhone using PhotoForum

[andrewleephoto]

I have a D7000 with a SB-700 and it works great for me. I am a jounalism student in my high school so I'm definitely not using this for professional use. However, the SB-700 should be powerful enough for 90% of what you can shoot everyday. Plus, the recycle time is extremely fast and I think it has some new technology that prevents overheating (which the SB-900 doesn't have). At lower powers, I can shoot at 6 fps fine with the flash on.

Hope this helped! Good luck finding a new flash