Nikon Speedlights vs Off Brand??

[eevoh]

Here's what I'm doing. I bought one big brand flash (Canon for me, Nikon for you) and will buy the off-brand $85 ones to be used as fill, slaves, etc.

Why? The Canon 430ex (the Canon version of the sb600) can be used with Canon's TTL system so when I just need general snapshots, I can pop it on the camera hotshoe, set it to ETTL mode and shoot while the camera and lens do all the work for me. I wouldn't be able to do this with the cheap flash. But I don't need every flash to have ETTL since they'll be off-camera anyway, so the rest can be offbrands.

So basically, get one good one for when you want TTL but if you want more, get offbrands that will work fine in manual.

EDIT: To answer your future question (it will pop up once you receive the flash), get the cheap yet effective Cactus V4 wireless trigger system to sync the flash wirelessly. Trust me when I say that after a week of having the flash on the camera, you'll want to explore the opportunities that come from using the flash off camera.

hahaha thanks felix, i actually had that question in the back of my head

 

[eevoh]

btw guys, is there a thread that teaches us how to use speedlights? i have no idea what ttl, awl, etc... modes are

and yes i did a search - "how to use speedlights" and i didnt find any thread dedicated to speedlights

oh and to all those who voted for sb-600, would you guys recommend the Nissin Di866 over the sb-600and to those who voted for other, which one would you recommend?

 

[Felix0890]

TTL (through the lens) means that the flash, when synced with your camera, talks to it so that it can do all the work for you. It reads your camera settings and adjusts the flash power to what it needs to be. www.strobist.com has great tutorials on how to use the speedlights.

 

[Formatted]

btw is "off brand" the correct term?...

Third Party provider would be better.

 

[eevoh]

TTL (through the lens) means that the flash, when synced with your camera, talks to it so that it can do all the work for you. It reads your camera settings and adjusts the flash power to what it needs to be. www.strobist.com has great tutorials on how to use the speedlights.

btw is "off brand" the correct term?...

Third Party provider would be better.

Thanks guys :mrgreen:

 

[IgsEMT]

alright, here's my take on it, and that comes from using/owning them...

sb400 - if u're REALLY on tight budget and can't afford better BUT want/need something better then pop-up
sb600 - mediocre power output and recycling time, especially when at 1/1 Manual mode. With stofen - puts out over saturated color cast of sort. So have to take that into consideration.
sb800 - LOVE it. decent recycling time, power outages. Plus ability to use both as commander and slave are very helpful. WORKHORSE.
sb900 - used it briefly - it's like sb800 with more power & greater/easier control options. Although Nikon claims that firmware update has fixed the issue of it shutting down, user experience haven't really confirmed it. So personally, I'd wait till problem will be solved.
SB80Dx - replaced by Sb800 sometime ago but not sb800 is discontinued . If looking for a unit to be on your camera and/or through ttl cord and really want something similar to sb800, it would be a way to go - HOWEVER, it'll work in M and A modes, will not work in ttl. I made a mistake of selling mine and now after looking for it, some ppl sell it around for $100-150.
Quantum Units - I think they are all very good - in terms of light quality, power out put, recycling time, etc etc BUT they are a bit more pricier.
Various other off-brand ones - few friends have used vivitars, were pretty happy about light quality but were cursing the recycling times and power outage.

Since you're looking into flash. unfortunately even used sb800 is around $300 but if you can get it, I'd get it. IF want to spend less, I'd recommend sb80dx; maybe shooting manual isn't where you want to be but you'll be forced to learn it well and will enjoy it.
SB900 would then be an obvious choice if going up to $500 isn't a problem.
BUT if you got the $ and willing to take time to play with light, see why many love quantum units, go for it. Now, Quantums aren't "G-Ds in lighting" but I just happened to like it as an off-brand unit.
good luck