Nikon Flash+ Tripod for upcoming prom!

[cleanpig]

Hello!

I don't know if this is allowed, but I'm making another thread in hope that I can see more opinions from other photographers. (the topic different after all)
I'm a beginner photographer and I'm gonna have an upcoming prom for my girlfriend and I was asked to make photos of her. It's quite problematic, but in the other thread we discussed that I need a good flash and a monopod/tripod to improve the quality of my photos! (of course, I'm not buying the flashes only for the prom, I'm planning on doing cosplay photography in the near future!)

So!
Here's what I found in amazon.

1. The flash.

2. The tripod.

3. The batteries for the flash.

And that's it so far! What do you think guys? Do I need anything more? Quite pricey, but I hope that's all I need to buy for a loooong time...

Gotta hurry and order it and practice a LOT.

Thanks for all the help and answers in advance!

 

[JaronRH]

I don't know the cirumstance's/gear you're using but equipment wise, I can tell you that the SB-700 is a nice flash. I really like the Eneloop batteries but I would encourage you to check out the Eneloop XX batteries as they have more power behind them (so they'll last longer and should recycle the flash a little faster).

 

[fjrabon]

I prefer the Metz AF 58 to the Nikon SB700. Same price, with better features. The tripod you listed is probably okay for your purpose, but doesn't look particularly durable.

 

[cleanpig]

The Metz AF 58 costs a lot more compared to the SB700 in amazon.de so please tell me how it is different/better compared to the sb700?

 

[fjrabon]

The Metz AF 58 costs a lot more compared to the SB700 in amazon.de so please tell me how it is different/better compared to the sb700?

Dramatically better power (biggest plus, since that's why we buy flash to begin with), the catch light/fill flash is really useful when bouncing (the metz af 58 is the only flash that i know of that has this), goes down to 1/256 power, will warn you when the batteries are close to dying instead of after they're already dead (sb700 only warns you when dead), can connect to an external battery pack (SB700 can't)

 

[MOREGONE]

I use eneloops and think they are great batteries. My concern would lie in the tripod you selected. Slik and even Dolica have some fairly decent tripods for a bit more, but they are not outrageous. If those items add up to your total budget, I'd consider getting a 3rd party flash and investing more into a tripod to redistribute your budget. That tripod looks like something you will end up replacing. Yongnuo has some nice flashes. I have purchased 2, the 560II and the 468-II. They have one the 568 (I believe) that does everything, HSS, Wireless TTL, Slave etc. But the rest seem to have only select features, TTL, or Slave, or Wireless TTL etc. If you can decide what is important to you, you can save a good bit not going with Nikon. Although, Nikons are nice and thats why I have a SB600 still.