Nikon off camera/external flash

[Coldow91]

I am thinking of getting an off camera flash for my D40. I was thinking of a sb-24. Will this work on my D40? I was also thinking of getting a remote (hot shoe) trigger so I can have it off camera. I just heard a friend mention an sb-24 that is why I have it in mind. I don't really know what to look for and don't want to go over $100 so if you could day whether the sb-24 is a good bet or recommend some others that would be appreciated. and I was thinking of getting the remote trigger off ebay

thanks in advance

 

[D40]

I would recommend saving for the SB600 at least!! I have the 600 and love it, I do sorta wish I had the 800 for the extra power, but Even at that it is a great flash I am glad I have it. I got mine from Circuit city for $260. You are only talking $150 more and it is deffinently worth the extra price.

 

[Coldow91]

I was thinking more along the lines of an older one so that I can mess around with it and see if it interests me. if there are none I might have to spring for the sb600. but are there any cheap, fully manual (or almost) flashes?

 

[D40]

I am not sure, I just heard that the 600 and 800 were the best Nikon had so I looked at them + there are lots of things made for the 600 like the lightsphere and other add ons.

 

[Coldow91]

I found this chart but it does not have d40 on it

 

[plastii]

Well, if I were you I would spend more money and buy a good quality speedflash - SB-600 or SB-800. They are top of the line speedlights form Nikon and you will be happy with it.
You can get SB-600 for around $160-190 from:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
http://www.beachcamera.com

 

[Coldow91]

Ok might have to go that way. but can someone confirm that the Sb-24 will not or will work with my d40?

 

[plastii]

Ok might have to go that way. but can someone confirm that the Sb-24 will not or will work with my d40?

To my knowledge, you can mount it on your D40 but the flash will work only in manual mode at full power, so the only way you can control the exposure is to "play" with aperture and ISO. Also no red eye reduction. Go with SB-600 or SB-800 it will save you some headaches.

Marek.

 

[JerryPH]

Does the D40 support CLS or iTTL? if it does, it is more than worth the small price increase.

In terms of strength, I had a guy with a SB-600 talk and compare flash strength against my father's Metz off camera unit. It did not have the strength to outpower the Metz... something that my SB-800 easily does.

What does that mean in real life?

The SB-600 (or Metz, for the sake of comparison) will have difficulty lighting a range effectively that is greater than 25 feet. I recently did a party and *cleanly* lit up a room that was over 50 feet in length and 35 feet wide... at 1/2 power.

Depending on what your needs are, it may or may not be something important for you to consider. Initially I was not sure how I would use my SB-800, but I am now very happy to have put in the extra bucks for it.

I am going to invest in a second SB-800 (maybe a Christmas gift to myself?), becuase I am now learning about off camera lighting and the effectiveness of a nice studio setup. I am REALLY enjoying it.

If your camera supports the CLS or iTTL... I do suggest you look at nothing but the SB-600 or SB-800, you will thank yourself for it later.

 

[Coldow91]

Ok thank you so much for the help. I will see if I can get a really good deal on a cheap flash and if not spring for the sb600 or sb800.

 

[gpimages]

If you go for the SB600 don't buy it from Circuit City for $260! Yikes. I just bought mine from B&H shipped to my door for $190.

 

[the_beginner]

I can't comment on the compatibility with the D40, but I can say that I've used the sb-24 as an off camera flash using a PC cable connection. My setup is based on the strobist.com website's advice.

I got mine on e-bay for $50 and paid an extra $10 for cabling to get it connected. Since it's PC fired, it's on full manual mode - change power, f-stop, and zoom all on the flash, then set the camera settings too.

I'm sure the newer ones offer more power and features, but I've had a lot of fun learning with this one, and it was fairly inexpensive.

 

[Coldow91]

That is what I look to do with this flash! I am pretty sure that it will work with my D40 and manual is fine.


Can anybody recommend some hot shoe radio triggers(i hope that is what they are called) that will allow me to take this off camera.