Flash Photography - A lot more into it than I thought...

[Heather Koch]

Okay so I will make a thread...

Upon doing research I have found there are several different flashes out there, including full manual or auto. In which I have no clue on what is best for my needs.

I have a D7100 (love adding that 1 to the number)
Nikon 18-200mm
I will be doing indoor and outdoor portraits

I was recommended to get a Yongnuo flash for my first flash and found this. But after looking more I see its full manual.

What are your suggestions? As I just spent hundreds on the new camera, I probably have around $50 for a flash.

 

[tirediron]

It depends on what you're going to do. I recommend that a photographer's first flash be a manufacturer's one, simply because it will generally be an overall better quality unit, and you know that it's i-TTL/metering will work perfectly. While Yongnuo does a good job, they don't get everything perfect, since they have to reverse engineer all of the exposure protocols.

This would be a great unit for off-camera studio work, where you're shooting manual flash. A GN of 58 is pretty darn respectable, and a recycle time of 3 seconds is good as well. For on-camera, event, and anything where you're dealing with changing exposures and/or camera-to-subject distances, this will be a bit of a pain since you will have to change either your aperture or flash output with almost every exposure. It's not the end of the world; we all did it that way not too many years ago, but I do loves me some TTL flash metering for event work!

 

[Heather Koch]

Thank you!


Here is a list I've come up with (based on high ratings on Amazon):

Neewer VK750 II
Neewer NW-565
Bower SFD728N

Although I would love to get Nikon, they are simply too expensive right now...

 

[D-B-J]

Thank you!


Here is a list I've come up with (based on high ratings on Amazon):

Neewer VK750 II
Neewer NW-565
Bower SFD728N

Although I would love to get Nikon, they are simply too expensive right now...

I'd wait and save. Completely new to flash? You'll wat one that TTl's and all that properly. The SB700 is great... I'd wait a month or two and get that for the reasons above.

 

[Heather Koch]

Thank you!


Here is a list I've come up with (based on high ratings on Amazon):

Neewer VK750 II
Neewer NW-565
Bower SFD728N

Although I would love to get Nikon, they are simply too expensive right now...

I'd wait and save. Completely new to flash? You'll wat one that TTl's and all that properly. The SB700 is great... I'd wait a month or two and get that for the reasons above.

Yes, I have never owned an external flash. That one looks excellent! Fund, funds, funds! Going off of babysitting income and a few hundred dollar car payment, this could take months

 

[Heather Koch]

How about an older Nikon flash? Do those beat out any of the new, off brand, flashes? Im assuming yes?

 

[Designer]

I agree with tirediron. Your first real speedlight should be a Nikon SB-910. After you see what all they can do, then you might decide to get a couple of cheapies if you need multiple speedlights. Or if you have the money, get a couple more 910's.

 

[tirediron]

How about an older Nikon flash? Do those beat out any of the new, off brand, flashes? Im assuming yes?

An SB600 is an excellent unit and runs around $200 - 225 used in my area. That said, the SB700 has enough better features that I would really recommend saving up for it. I totally get the 'I want new gear' thing, but trust me, buying in haste almost always leads to, "I wish I'd waited!"

 

[Braineack]

I'd buy a new YN565EX before I'd buy an old SB600 for that much. The YN568ex is a little more and can do HSS, I dont believe the SB600 can (depends on body anyway).

If you really want a cheap manual flash, then the best bet will be the YN560ii.

 

[astroNikon]

As said above
I'd get a SB-600 or save more and get a sb700
When I first got into flash I bought a sb600 and I learned alot using that and it was great in ttl mode on top of the camera.

If you got really cheap at first you'll find out as your grow that your next flash won't be the same kind. Then you'll end up mixing brands with different features.

At the very least I'd look at a Yongnuo 565ex (I think that is the top version)

 

[D-B-J]

How about an older Nikon flash? Do those beat out any of the new, off brand, flashes? Im assuming yes?

An SB600 is an excellent unit and runs around $200 - 225 used in my area. That said, the SB700 has enough better features that I would really recommend saving up for it. I totally get the 'I want new gear' thing, but trust me, buying in haste almost always leads to, "I wish I'd waited!"

I definitely agree here. I have two SB600's that were my first real "strobes," and a few months ago I picked up an SB700. The 700 has a much larger display, MUCH simpler menu system, built in bounce card, comes with a tungsten and fluorescent (orange and green colored) gels that clip to the flash, has a commander mode, and is only slightly larger. It has a heck of a lot more features in a similar sized package. It's built a lot like a SB900 in a smaller package. And a lot cheaper. If the SB600's were around $125, I'd recommend those. But the $100 difference really doesn't make the SB600's worth the price, IMO. If I could have an SB600 today or an SB700 a month from now, I'd wait a month. Honestly and truly.

Jake

 

[Heather Koch]

Thanks everyone for the advice and suggestions. I appreciate it all

I will have to make a decision soon, as I have a few shoots this coming up week. (reason for wanting a cheaper flash just to get started...)

 

[vipgraphx]

I also had this same question before just recently. I have always used nikon parts. After selling my D700 lenses and flash last year I found myself wanting to get back into photography. I bought the D750 and then a few weeks later the Sb-700. I wanted start exploring lighting and what not. I used to have this same flash on with my D700 and was and is a good flash.

However they do cost $$ and if you want more than one it gets pretty expensive.

I decided to try the yongnuo 560 III. I started out with two of these with the 560 remote trigger. I have had a lot of fun shooting with these flashes and I must say I am impressed!!! they do not cost much and you can get two-three for the same price of one SB-700.

I still will probably keep my SB-700 for family gatherings so i can take advantage of iTTL and what not but for off camera portraits and off camera flash I will continue to use these 560 III,

Darrel had mentioned to me that if you plan on using more than 1 nikon flash with iTTL its pointless because the flash will not know which one to use. Hopefully he will chime in.

With the remote 560 you can control each of the flashes (560 III) right from your camera and its easy to use!

Its all your decision but my thought is if you only want one flash then yeah get the Nikon, if you want more than one get the yonguo's

 

[DustinB]

I have both the Nikon SB-910 and the Yongnuo 568EX. The Nikon is an awesome flash, but I would have no problems starting with the Yongnuo. I believe the Nikon is worth the cost at some point, though the Yongnuo would serve any purpose you will need. The way I look at it is you will want a second flash at some point anyway. Why not get the cheaper flash to start with since it does everything the Nikon will do that you will need. Hell, the Yongnuo will recycle after a full power discharge almost exactly as fast as the Nikon. Actually after a couple shots the Yongnuo starts to recycle a tiny bit faster. Flash output is nearly the same.

IMHO, get the Yongnuo when you can and wait on the Nikon if you want to start messing with flash soon. Another one to look at would be the Meike 910. Though I can't comment on that one, it seems to be highly recomended.

 

[Braineack]

My YN560ii feels much better built than my SB700. I have no problem going with the Yougnuos after trying one out myself. Since the YN560ii cant do TTL, I almost always use the SB700, but the Youngnuo makes a GREAT cheap manual flash. I have yet to try the YN565EX or YN568EX; I'd expect them to be a fine substitute if cost is really a factor.

If I was a pro that relied heavily on flash for my income, I'd go with a SB910 no question. But as a hobbyist--Youngnuo all the way.