Nikon SB-400

Having nervous ticks about the weather forecast for this weekend, I ended up looking at flashes. Came across the SB-400 for a price I can pay (and pickup soon enough). But I know nothing about flashes, so just wanted to hear if any of you know it?

Read a few reviews and people sound pretty happy with it, at *forbidden place* he says: "No sideways tilt, so bounce goes horizontally for vertical shots. If it's a problem, tape a small mirror to the SB-400 or spend one cent and build a softbox."


Is it really that simple? And will I be able to figure out to do a softbox?
Since I have only used flash 1 time, I'm not really sure what you need and what you wont know you need, until you realize

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You should be fine. Nikon makes great flashes. Sell the D3 and buy 200 of them. haha. Their are a bunch of companies that make softboxes for lfashes. I got some from cowboy studios super cheap and they work awesome.

I think you will feel very limited with the SB400. Go ahead and save your money up and get the SB700. There is so much more you can do with it without have to try to do something else to make it work.

Originally Posted by Don Kuykendall

I think you will feel very limited with the SB400. Go ahead and save your money up and get the SB700. There is so much more you can do with it without have to try to do something else to make it work.

Yeah, I just saw the thread below mine. So this 700 can do it all, more or less?

Originally Posted by wud

Yeah, I just saw the thread below mine. So this 700 can do it all, more or less?

I don't use flash all that often but the couple of times I needed to I just stuck it on there and set it to program. Then bounced it off the ceiling and got great results. The last time I used it I put the diffuser that came with it on the flash and again bounced it and got even better results. Setting up an outdoor shoot soon and will be using it as fill flash and I think I will like it.

Mai, I also endorse the 700. The 400 has limited power, not all the bounce functions, no commander mode and I do not know how compatible in a remote mode. I have 2 700's!! If you buy a 400 (and use it) you will soon lust after a 700. You will find it so much better for portraits (human and Dog!) You will eventually want off camera capabilities and the 700 shines there also!

Pat

Originally Posted by wud

Yeah, I just saw the thread below mine. So this 700 can do it all, more or less?

Yes. Maybe it was me that scared you away from the SB-400. But you have the D3 and some great glass, and it would seem the cost of a good flash would not be a problem. This is one time to spend it.

At 50mm zoom, the SB-700 has double the power of the SB-400 (they are more equal at 24mm zoom- the SB-910 would be more powerful overall). We always need all the power we can get for bounce flash. Plus the SB-700 head swivels, for bounce when the camera is up on end in portrait orientation too. SB-400, won't.

Even if some situation does not need double power, it will be working at a lower power setting to do same thing, and will recycle much faster between shots (more power converter, more batteries, so it is loafing, and faster than the tiny flash working hard).

The SB-700 is an actual flash, that is, it will work off camera, like in umbrella (but the SB-400 does not even have a menu, and requires connection to the camera hot shoe to even work at all).

And with multiple SB-700s, one SB-700 in hot shoe of D3 can be Commander, and can control a couple of other SB-700 (like in umbrellas) as remote wireless units. It also has is SU-4 optical slave mode, for remote manual flash.

The SB-400 cannot do any part of that, cannot even work remotely - No room for growth.

YN-568EX. Under 200... does almost everything the 710 does, for 1/2 the price. I got one a few months ago, and it's amazing. Powerful, consistent, and has a sync port.

Although if you can afford the 700, go for it.