Off brand flash and Nikon CLS?

[Vespa]

Will off brand flashes work wirelessly worth the Nikon CLS? I have one SB900 that I use with the CLS but I have seen some great shots using multtple flash units that I really think are great and would love to try this but I can't afford another Nikon speed light right now. I have seen some really cheap off brand flash units and was wondering if these work? Thanks for the help.

 

[KmH]

Many 3rd party flash units have an optical trigger that is not CLS compatible but only needs the flash from some other flash unit to trigger. The SB-900 or your camera's pop up flash can trigger those flash units without using CLS Commander mode.

The SB-900 has an optical trigger mode, called SU-4 mode, that can also be used to trigger the SB-900 off camera with the flash from any other flash unit, without using CLS Commander mode.

You might read, or re-read, the SB-900 user's manual. (Page D-50 for SU-4 mode)