Putting some money into my D40

[D40]

I have decided what I would like to do to my D40:
Nikon 18-200mm AF-S VR lens
Nikon SB-800

Now the question is in what order do I get them? I have enough for the SB-800 right know but am not sure if I should keep saveing and get the lens first?

Any advise on this delema?

Thanks you,
John

 

[Garbz]

If you like taking photos of sports get the lens first, if you would rather have loads of fun at parties get the flash first

 

[mrdenn1s]

Can i ask for what purposes you are getting these?

I also have a D40 and want o upgrade my "bits", but I was looking at a 50mm f/1.8 as i manly take shots of my kid

How much difference does the better flash make?

 

[Kipper]

Can i ask for what purposes you are getting these?

I also have a D40 and want o upgrade my "bits", but I was looking at a 50mm f/1.8 as i manly take shots of my kid

How much difference does the better flash make?

Hi,

I have a Nikon also, I pondered over the SB600 vs the SB800. After reading lots of reviews I went for the 600 - seems its easier on batteries, does most of what the 800 does and is a chunk cheaper.

Now for the purchase of the stuff, I would look to ebay, you can get all this from HK, and it worked out a lot cheaper for me. From memory the flash was £110, I haven't looked into that particular lens, but I got a Sigma f2.8 24-70 for £100 cheaper than in the UK.

Hope this helps,

Allan

 

[Garbz]

Easier on batteries? Now this is foreign to me. Many reviewers say oh the SB-600 is faster at reloading gets more shots, well of course it does. It doesn't have the same power as the SB-800. I'm sure the SB-800 would rate exactly the same on recycle and battery life if you dropped it down to 1/2 +1/3 to get the same power output. The only thing I find stupid on the SB-800 is to get the extra recycle time you can add an optional 5th battery. How the heck does one charge 5batteries? All modern chargers I know charge them two at a time :er:

I took the SB-800 option because basically I needed the extra power and never look back, but it depends entirely on what you use it for. The SB-600 is every bit as good a flash.

Just a note, Nikon is anally retentive about warranties, err on the side of caution when buying expensive things from Ebay, and make certain that you get an official Nikon warrenty receipt.

mrdenn1s a better flash does wonders. Firstly it is much more powerful, and while that may seem useless in the normal sense that power is definitely needed to unleash a dedicated flash's proper potential. When using an oncamera flash the light source is next to the lens. At the very best case it destroys any sense of depth on your subject. In the worst case it will give it a nasty harsh black shadow outline, red eyes, and destroy any sense of depth on your subject.

Dedicated units like SB-800 or SB-600 can swivel and tilt allowing you to bounce light off the ceiling or walls. It wastes power, but that's what the extra juice is for, but significantly softens the light making it more natural and much more pleasing to look at. The Nikon flashes can also be fired when they don't sit on the camera so you can change the direction of the light to give various effects.

 

[D40]

Well I have a formal Ball comming up that I will be shooting (non paid) and that would be great for the SB-800. But I also like to attend outdoor events in the community and shoot them in which case the lens would be better for the zooming range it has As far as the 600 vs 800, the way I look at it is, yes the 800 is more expensive but I don't want to buy the 600 and latter on down the road feel like I need the extra power and wish I had gotten the 800.

 

[spyder]

if it were me i would get the lense because i would use it alot more than the flash and also i am dying to get that lense now. i have heard a lot of amazing things about it and it replaces almost all your other lenses. on the other hand the flash would be very helpful at an event like you mentioned. tough choice because the flash would proably postpone you buying the lense for a while.

 

[spyder]

oh and 800 vs 600. i have the 600 and am very pleased with it. i used it for a piano recital thing and it worked great. i am not sure what the whole power issue is, but if it is just that the extra battery lasts longer you can have two sets of rechargeable batters just in case. and my charger holds four batteries yay.

 

[sabbath999]

I would buy the lens (not lense) first.

 

[D40]

lens thanks. For the lens I will have to wait a bit. I have a gokart for sale that will help pay the rest of that The lens is just over $900 with the 2 year warrenty from Ritz. I think in this case I will get the warrenty because they said if anything happens (drops it, drives over it etc...) it will be fixed or I will get a new one