Flash for Nikon

[tevo]

SB-600 (although if you can find a 700 get it, last time I checked they're relatively close in price)

Or, if you want a cheaper alternative, the Yongnuo 560 ii. I just got one and it is fantastic!

 

[LowdownJT]

Jaron,

Thanks for the lesson on TTL. That really sums up the feature well and does sound like something I should require for a first flash. Easy is the keyword right after cost effective I would love to spend a little extra on a good flash, but know I can't spend an extra $300 anytime in the very near future. In my research over the past few weeks I have seen pros and cons for a number of different flashes, the Bower was one of them. What specific issues have you personally seen with the Bower flashes?

Thanks

 

[mjhoward]

I will likely be selling 2 of my SB-28's soon. They are pretty well regarded as a 'strobists' speedlight because they are powerful and relatively cheap. If interested, PM me.

 

[LowdownJT]

SB-600 (although if you can find a 700 get it, last time I checked they're relatively close in price)

Or, if you want a cheaper alternative, the Yongnuo 560 ii. I just got one and it is fantastic!

Tevo,

The Yongnuo was one of the ones I was looking at, but I understand it is a manual flash so I got nervous. I do think I want to have a flash that talks with the camera because I think manually configuring a flash may be a bit beyond my current skill set. Any thoughts on that?

Thanks

 

[MK3Brent]

I vote 700 or 910 as well.

 

[jrizal]

SB-600 (although if you can find a 700 get it, last time I checked they're relatively close in price)

Or, if you want a cheaper alternative, the Yongnuo 560 ii. I just got one and it is fantastic!

Tevo,

The Yongnuo was one of the ones I was looking at, but I understand it is a manual flash so I got nervous. I do think I want to have a flash that talks with the camera because I think manually configuring a flash may be a bit beyond my current skill set. Any thoughts on that?

Thanks

I'm in the market for an inexpensive flash unit. Hence, the SB-700 and up are out of my budget since I don't use flash that much. And I might as well exclude the SB-400 due to its limitations and not price. That said I am looking at the Yongnuo YN-468 II in lieu of the YN-560 II. Not as popular as the latter, but the YN-468 has also TTL capabilities on top of manual functions and seems to be pretty decent.

Amazon.com: Yongnuo YN-468 II TTL Flash Speedlite for Nikon D7000 D5100 D5000 D3000: Camera & Photo

Quick Review: Yongnuo YN468-II Speedlight for Nikon

Yongnuo YN-468II E-TTL Speedlite Flash “Mark 2″ | Speedlights.net (Canon version reviewed here)

I'm also considering to swing the budget for this. But this is my max.

Amazon.com: Yongnuo YN-565EX ETTL Speedlite Flash for Nikon: Electronics

 

[greybeard]

I have a SB700, a Yongnuo 565EX and use of a SB910. The SB910 will give you every possible advanced flash feature your camera supports. The SB700 is about 1 stop less powerful and has MOST of the advanced features. It does not for example, offer a C group when acting as a COMMANDER for off camera wireless flash. You may never need this and there are many ways to work around this. The Yongnuo 565EX is about 1/2 the price of the SB700 and offers TTL and all the SLAVE functions of the SB910/SB700. It is also as powerful as the SB910. It will not however, act as a COMMANDER for off camera wireless TTL operations. Some Nikon cameras, the D7000 for example, have the COMMANDER function built into the flip flash. The D5100 does not and in order to do off camera flash with the D5100 and the YONGNUO yn-565ex, you would need a SU800 commander in addition to the yn-565ex. The build quality of the YONGNUO is not consistent. The 1st one I bought works perfectly while the 2nd one, which I just received, doesn't sync consistently with the camera and will be going back. My over whelming recommendation would be for the SB700. It will work perfectly with your camera, is powerful enough, and it balances nicely with the D5100, the SB910 and yn565ex seem over sized for the D5100 (imho)

 

[tevo]

Tevo,

The Yongnuo was one of the ones I was looking at, but I understand it is a manual flash so I got nervous. I do think I want to have a flash that talks with the camera because I think manually configuring a flash may be a bit beyond my current skill set. Any thoughts on that?

Thanks

Give this a read.

Manual flash is a piece of cake once you learn a few things, and the link above makes that easy. I never shoot my flash TTL, it's just gotten easy to expose my surroundings, set the flash to where it should be, and just shoot. The advantage to a SB speedlight is that you can plop the flash on your camera in auto and shoot away, but I think you'll find as your skills progress you will use auto less and less. Considering you can shoot manual, the learning curve for manual flash is really quite small.

 

[greybeard]

I would equate using a manual flash with shooting in manual with a light meter. It isn't rocket science but it does take some time to understand and can slow things down. The sb700 will allow you to shoot in full manual if need but can also take advantage of your cameras TTL flash metering.