SB flashes

[dearlybeloved]

with these series gradually getting more and more expensive, what is the real differences between these?

sb600-900 is what im looking at but not really sure what id benefit from as im not a professional but love doing it as a hobby.

 

[Big Mike]

I think the SB600 is out of date, and has been replaced by the SB700.

One big difference is power. The SB900 outputs more power than the SB700. You may not need that extra power all the time, but when you do, it's nice to have it available. When talking about a flash and how much power it outputs, it translates to distance. A more powerful flash will 'reach' further. This usually isn't a issue when shooting the flash straight forward, but when you're bouncing the flash off of walls and ceiling, it really helps.

Another case for more power, is shooting outdoors where you might want to 'compete with' the sunlight. In these situations, you would probably need every bit of power your flash can muster.

There are also other features that are only available on the higher end flash units. I'm not all that familiar with the Nikon line-up, but I'm sure others can chime in on that.

 

[12sndsgood]

Just have to go over the features list to see if the diffrences will be important for what you will use it for. One thing I can say is they hold up. I have managed to drop my SB-900 twice from 5' onto concrete and about 3 times with the lightstand falling and crashing to the ground, hard enough to destroy a reciever and mine is still working great.

 

[Mach0]

Power, zoom, commander, optical slave.

 

[tirediron]

SB-800 and 600 are discontinued. They're both excellent flashes, but have been replaced by the SB-910 and 700 respectively. IMO, the SB-700 is adequare for about 99% of what an average hobbyist will need, HOWEVER, if you can afford it, more is always better; go for the 910. The main difference is the amount of light that each can output, with that of the 910 being signficantly greater.

 

[Designer]

I'm a fan of technology, so I bought the SB-910 and I just love it! I wish they were not so expensive so I could buy some more of them.

The SB-910 will serve as either a master or a slave in the Nikon CLS system. Furthermore it has a wide range of swivel and tilt so you can bounce it off practically any handy surface.

Not trying to sell you one, but this was easy to find:

SB-910 Key Features:

• Fully compatible with Nikon Creative Lighting System
• Three illumination patterns (standard/even/center-weighted), with increased light distribution accuracy, are available to match every shooting environment
• Automatically detects Nikon FX and Nikon DX formats and selects suitable light distribution angles
• Power zoom function covers wide 17-200 mm (in FX format) or 12-200 mm (in DX format) zoom ranges
• AF-assist illumination, compatible with multi-point AF system, covers wide 17-135 mm focal length range
• New MENU button enables quick access to custom settings, while improved LCD panel GUI (graphical user interface) enhances operability
• Durable and heat-resistant, easy-to-use, hard-type color filters (fluorescent or incandescent) included
• Automatically detects color filter types and transmits filter information to camera for optimum white balance setting
• Guide number: 34/111.5 (m/ft.) at 35 mm and 53/173.9 (m/ft.) at 200 mm (FX-format, standard illumination pattern, ISO 100, 20°C/68°F)
• Minimum recycling time: approx. 2.3 seconds with Ni-MH batteries
• Automatically detects increases in flash head temperature and controls recycling time accordingly, thus preventing overheating
• Firmware updates via Nikon digital SLR cameras
• Compatible with High-Performance Battery Pack SD-9 and Power Bracket Unit SK-6/6A
• Optional Water Guards WG-AS1 (for D3 series), WG-AS2 (for D300 series) and WG-AS3 (for D700) protect camera accessory shoe contact when SB-910 is mounted on Nikon digital SLR cameras