SB600 or SB700

[pumpercaptain]

Considering buying another Flash to utilize the Nikon Wireless system... already have 2 SB800's... looking at the SB600 or the SB700... any input would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks

PC

 

[Patrice]

I don't have an SB700 but do have a couple of SB600's (and a couple of SB800's). The SB600 is a solid and versatile little flash that plays well with Nikon CLS and is not very expensive these days.

 

[Braineack]

reasons I swung for a 700 over 600:
sb-600 cant master.
sb-600 cant trigger optically.
sb-600 cant swivel as far.
the two filters I barely use and the stand.
reflector card.
the recycle time.
avaiable output.
nominal cost difference.

 

[astroNikon]

I have the 600 and 700.
Truthfully even though I think the 600 is a bit more powerful (have to check stats)
I like the 700 more. Menu is more refined
battery compartment is a bit better design - a friends 600 doesn't shut tightly anymore, so it doesn't power on and they barely used it from new.

plus everything Braineack said
but I bought it, because I didn't need it to master (plus I got it for an awesome price). I had the 700 which can, then I went to a SU-800 speedlight commander

I really want to get a SB-800 or 910 now.
as I ran across a limitation outside of when my shutter is faster than 1/250 ... which is something else to research at some time.

 

[pumpercaptain]

Thanks everyone for the info... guess I don't understand why would you need a SU-800 if you can use the SB800/700 as commanders on the camera? Is it the fact you can remove the flash and use it somewhere else I guess(???) But you still can utilize the pop-up flash to trigger the remotes... so what are the advantages of getting a SU-800?

Not sure which way to go... looking at another SB-800 on ebay since I already have two of those and know my way around them somewhat, or invest in a SB-700 which is newer, or just get a SB-600 and an SU-800 controller.

What brought all this up is, I was reading a piece about modeling photography using speedlights only, and he was using a "commander" flash on the camera and two remotes. The current equipment I have would not allow me to use the Nikon Wireless system since I only have 2 SB800's that are wireless capable... So, was considering a third Nikon flash to work with before we take trip later this year...

 

[kundalini]

... guess I don't understand why would you need a SU-800 if you can use the SB800/700 as commanders on the camera?

..... The current equipment I have would not allow me to use the Nikon Wireless system since I only have 2 SB800's that are wireless capable... So, was considering a third Nikon flash to work with before we take trip later this year...

You really don't need the SU800 to remotely trigger the speedlights. You really don't need another speedlight to remotely trigger the speedlights IF you have a built-in flash on your camera. You can set the built-in flash to pre-flash only to trigger the remote speedlights. The only caveat is the remote units with have to "see" the pre-flash. They don't have to be in line-of-sight, just recognize the pre-flash.

 

[pumpercaptain]

That's what I was thinking kundalini, but wasn't sure... probably for what I am doing I can get along with w/o the SU-800. Now, to decide on another SB800 or just go with the SB700...

 

[Big Mike]

I'm a Canon user, but I teach a flash class. The SB600 doesn't have a great display/menu system compared to anything newer. For that reason, I'd look toward the SB700....but if the price difference is really that significant, then it might be worth it.

 

[pixmedic]

I have a sb600 and sb700 and the menu controls on the 700 are MUCH better.
Plus, the 700 can act as a "master".

 

[KmH]

sb-600 cant trigger optically.

Nikon CLS is an optical triggering system (infrared light - IR). When an SB-600 is being used as a remote, it is indeed triggered optically which is why it has a light sensor window on it's left side (when looked at from the back).
Indeed, you need to make sure that light sensor window can 'see' the master unit, be it another CLS capable flash unit or an SU-800.
However unlike the SB-910, 900, 800, 700, the SB-600 does not have SU-4 mode that would allow triggering the SB-600 using any flash of visible light.
Strobist: Unlock The Superslave in Your Nikon SB-800

While an SB-600 head cannot rotate 360°, it can rotate 270° - 180° one way and 90° the other way.