Now that I've decided I'm getting a flash...

supraman215

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I can get a Nikon SB-600 with the special cord that allows the auto focus to work when the flash is way far away from the camera, (219 and 79 respectively) or I could go with one of the strobist kits which look really cool and might be great since I plan on doing more portrait stuff with my daughter and family. The basic single flash kit is $249. So my question is are all the bells and whistles of the SB-600 worth it? Is the Nikon they more geared for a novice? The strobist flash is a manual flash. So I guess that means it's not going to get any info from the camera on how bright to make it flash. I do not operate my camera in full auto mode however I typically operate it with auto exposure. I'm not a complete noob but I'm no pro. Suggestions?

Jeff
 
I think you need to compare flash to flash. What are the guide numbers? Are they similar? Depending on which Nikon camera you have it might have the auto fire mode with the Nikon flash off camera (I don't believe the TTL will work though in that mode). Does the other flash bounce or do anything special?

Using a flash in manual is not that difficult, I used to have a Vivitar 283 and all it had was a light sensor that you dialed in to match with the aperture of the camera - I guess semi light control. I think the Nikon flash is geared to work seamlessly with the Nikon cameras as a system ... not necessarily for novices, probably much easier as a total control system than an off brand. But with that said to me the Vivitar 383 looks interesting if it can do all they claim it can do.
 
The other flash i'm looking at is the LumoPro LP120 manual flash.
 
You neglect to mention what camera you have.

Nikon has a built-in off camera control and triggering system called CLS (Creative Lighting System) and except the D40/D40x/D60/D3000/D5000 have the Commandeer Mode that can do that.

It is an infrared optical system that is limited by line of sight.

The SB-600 is a fairly basic speedlight. It doesn't have a lot of power output but is sufficient for most amateur photographers.

For off camera use I use Vivitar 285HV's which are equivelent in power output to the LumoPro LP120. Extra cost features like the 270° swivel on the LumoPro aren't need if the speedlight is radio triggered off the camera.

Speedlight power output is expressed as a GN number (Guide Number) Guide number - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 

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