New Nikon SB-800 flash. Good News!

[jstuedle]

Just a little heads up on Nikon flashes. I shoot the 3 Nikon D1 series cameras, the D1X being my workhorse. When I purchased the D1 in 1999, I also bought a SB-28. A decent and powerful flash, but as with all DSLR's of the time, Nikon had a learning curve with digital and TTL flash. Results were 90% good and 10% "iffy". Still, good for the time. With the D1X, came the SB-80DX. I have been very pleased with this flash/body combo. It has performed admirably for almost 4 years, and I very seldom missed a shot, always with very pleasing results. At a Dec. 03rd Christmas party, I dropped this flash while returning my equipment to its bag. The flash hit the floor directly on the flash shoe from a height of about 3 feet. It needless to say is trash. I replaced it with a new SB-800. I expected it to be exactly the same as the SB-80, except for compatibility with the newer D50/70 and D2 series bodies. I have been pleasantly surprised with the startlingly bright and perfectly exposed images produced by this flash. The first thing I noticed is both foregrounds and backgrounds are bright and exposed perfectly. All images just have a little extra "pop" and life. I have only praise for the flash in the admittedly short time I have used it. I am looking forward to using it with a newer body soon and testing it in multiple/wireless TTL mode with a couple of SB-600's. When I do, I'll let you in on the results. If you are a Nikon shooter, only praise for the new Nikon flash system!