knockoff or real speedlight? Nikon 700 options?

Hi, totally new here so apologies about the randomness of this question. I just have a Nikon 3200 camera and I'm looking for a good flash that I can bounce so I'm not always confined to finding my own light if that makes sense. I'm currently just learning and loving photography.
It seems there is a huge difference in knockoff prices and also, I called smartphotohut since their 700 speedlight was much cheaper. He told me that these were "imports" and that's why they were so low but, he would send the "US version" for more money. Am I being sold a line? Cause their prices even with the "us version" is amazing but, how would I even know if it was real? Where do you buy your equipment? Is there an online you can trust or do you go to a local store?

broken down into two sections I guess......is there an equivalent knockoff that will save a ton of money and.......where do you buy trusted equipment?
Thanks all!
 

Wolfeye

Senior Member
Others will likely weigh in with more detailed and wordy answers, but I offer these two tips that you may use as a basic guide:

1. Don't buy from anyone except Adorama, Amazon, or B&H. These are the gold standards. Yes, sometimes you pay more. Yes, it's worth it.

2. Buy genuine Nikon to start out with. Once you know what you're doing in photography you will have more control, but right now, why fight between "Did I do something wrong?" and "Did the flash not work right with my camera?". Instead, with a genuine Nikon flash, errors can be traced by answering just the first question.
 
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Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Hi, totally new here so apologies about the randomness of this question. I just have a Nikon 3200 camera and I'm looking for a good flash that I can bounce so I'm not always confined to finding my own light if that makes sense. I'm currently just learning and loving photography.
It seems there is a huge difference in knockoff prices and also, I called smartphotohut since their 700 speedlight was much cheaper. He told me that these were "imports" and that's why they were so low but, he would send the "US version" for more money. Am I being sold a line? Cause their prices even with the "us version" is amazing but, how would I even know if it was real? Where do you buy your equipment? Is there an online you can trust or do you go to a local store?

broken down into two sections I guess......is there an equivalent knockoff that will save a ton of money and.......where do you buy trusted equipment?
Thanks all!
Get yourself a Yongnuo 568EX for about $100 and you're good to go. Amazon has no-hassle refunds, you can get a US warranty on the flash and the flash itself is outstanding. I have one myself as well as a Nikon SB-700 and I flat out prefer the Yongnuo.
.....
 
Thanks! It looks like on Amazon, that has some up and down reviews. Is there a seller you would recommend for that? Wolfeye, I can see that your #2 reason could be a biggie, especially for someone just learning. I would majorly overthink things if it was going wrong.
 

SteveH

Senior Member
Amazon always has a few people who complain about stuff, just have a read of the reviews and make your won mind up if they are genuine complaints about the gear, or if the buyer just didn't know what they needed. I got my flashes from this Amazon seller - Amazon.co.uk At a Glance: Andoer But then I'm in the UK so it may be different for you.

Which ever way you go, Yongnuo or Nikon, both are popular brands where you will find lots of support and advice on using them.
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Thanks! It looks like on Amazon, that has some up and down reviews. Is there a seller you would recommend for that? Wolfeye, I can see that your #2 reason could be a biggie, especially for someone just learning. I would majorly overthink things if it was going wrong.
If you want to spend the money on a Nikon branded flash, by all means, be my guest. The Yongnuo is great, works just like any Nikon branded flash and will do it for 1/3 the cost. I agree to sticking with B&H, Adorama or Amazon for making your purchase, though, and was just trying to save you a couple (hundred) bucks by steering you toward the Yongnuo. Like I said, I have both and I prefer the Yongnuo.

Good luck with whatever you decide!
....
 

carguy

Senior Member
First off, 3rd party is not 'knockoff'.

I bought the SB-700 early on and love it (except the fact there is NO PC port, but I digress).
If I had it to do over again, I'd spend my $ on a Yongnuo TTL flash had I known they existed at the time.

It comes down to your budget and needs.

Can't go wrong with either Nikon or Yongnuo IMO.

Checkout Tim Payne's site - Yongnuo USA
US retailer - excellent customer service and has facebook groups as well. Tim is good people.
 

Blade Canyon

Senior Member
Another recommendation for Yongnuo, even though I do not own one! I have a Nikon and German Metz "Mecablitz" speedlights, both of which are great. A few weeks ago I was in an "off camera flash" PPA class, and the instructor was a very accomplished wedding photographer. We used his Yongnuo stuff all day with flash triggers. No problems! He swore by them and they are much cheaper.
 
Apparently knockoffs is the wrong word. I'm not sure what the right terminology is. Something that is either Nikon but of lesser quality and from another country but looks the same with the Nikon name as the person at the first store told me.....and/or something that works like the Nikon speedlight but is from a different brand.
Can anyone confirm that there are actually real Nikon product that comes from a different country and is less quality or was that a scam?
 
A question regarding this yongnuo that people are suggesting, is there one in particular I should be looking at to match the 700? I'm sorry, I don't know specifics of what would make that but, I have heard that the 500 speedlights just aren't cutting it for a lot of people.
 

RocketCowboy

Senior Member
For your D3200, I would actually recommend the Yongnuo YN565EX.

I have three of the YN568EXs, but the primary feature difference, HSS, isn't available on the D3200 so you can save a little bit of money if needed. I got the Yongnuos after starting off with the Nikon SB-700. They are a great comparison.

If you are located in the US, I would also highly recommend buying from Yongnuo USA as Tim Payne is a great local resource and contributor to the photography scene. Tim has even purchased a Nikon DSLR (he typically shoots Canon) so that his videos would be accurate for Nikon shooters as well.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Spottydumplings

Senior Member
Can anyone confirm that there are actually real Nikon product that comes from a different country and is less quality or was that a scam?

I think that what the supplier was describing was what is known as a "Grey Import"; this is an item that has been imported into the country via a route other than the official distributor. It will be a genuine Nikon flashgun, of exactly the same quality, but unofficially imported from another country, say Hong Kong, where it is cheaper to buy (either because of differences in tax or due to exchange rates). The difference from an officially imported device is that it will not be covered by Nikon warranty and they will not fix it if it goes wrong; however, the supplier may provide their own warranty that is as good or better than Nikon's.
 

Wolfeye

Senior Member
Things that are labeled "gray market" are genuine Nikon products, but they do not come with a Nikon USA warranty. Typically, the store you buy them from becomes the warrantor, and you have to deal directly with them if something goes wrong because Nikon USA won't touch it, at least not as a warranty claim -they'll gladly fix it for a fee.

I have a YongNuo flash, a non-TTL manual one, and it's ok. Seems fairly well built. One of the real issues with most of the Chinese copies is that their instructions are oft written in Chinglish. If you speaka dat, you have no problem. :) The people here who have recommended the non-Nikon option are all experienced shooters.
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Apparently knockoffs is the wrong word. I'm not sure what the right terminology is. Something that is either Nikon but of lesser quality and from another country but looks the same with the Nikon name as the person at the first store told me.....and/or something that works like the Nikon speedlight but is from a different brand.
Can anyone confirm that there are actually real Nikon product that comes from a different country and is less quality or was that a scam?
I don't know what the salesperson was trying to communicate to you, but a "knock off", typically, refers to a counterfeit part or accessory. Something branded and sold as a genuine Nikon (or other well known brand) part or accessory that was not, in fact, manufactured by Nikon or whatever other well known brand.

"Third Party" refers to manufactures that offer compatible parts or accessories that are often less expensive than the name brand part. It does not mean the part or accessory is in any way inferior to the brand name part or accessory. Technology has brought us to the point where it's entirely possible to spend far less than what a major manufacturer wants for a particular accessory while getting the same, or better, quality.

Yongnuo is a third-party flash.
 

RocketCowboy

Senior Member
I have a YongNuo flash, a non-TTL manual one, and it's ok. Seems fairly well built. One of the real issues with most of the Chinese copies is that their instructions are oft written in Chinglish. If you speaka dat, you have no problem. :) The people here who have recommended the non-Nikon option are all experienced shooters.

Which is why I recommend Tim's site for purchasing Yongnuo gear. He's a local (within the US) importer and provide support and instructional advise in english (or at least in Arkansas's version of english). :D Great guy and super helpful ... but he doesn't sell Nikon (gray or otherwise) on his site.
 
I barely speak American English when it comes to camera technology so that might be reason by itself to bite the bullet and buy the expensive speedlight from a regular camera store that I know will have good customer service. Meanwhile I'll definitely check out Tim's site. I'm very new and I like to think that I have a good eye for great photos but, my tech and composition knowledge is just nil to none. Haha, I was trying to add some photos to my gallery and couldn't figure out how to resize them and my full ones wouldn't upload. Another day, another topic. Point and shoot gal with a big budget heart and not wallet. lol.
 

RocketCowboy

Senior Member
I also started off with the Nikon 700 flash and I do love it but when I went to buy a second speed light I bought the Youngnuo. I love it

Same here, except now @Bill16 owns my old SB-700. I bought the Nikon initially because, well it was Nikon. When it came time to pick up a 2nd (and 3rd/4th) light, I went the Yonynuo route and wished I had started there.

At the end of the day, whatever fits your budget and meets your requirements is a good deal. If you go the Nikon route, just price check to make sure you're getting a good deal so that the price delta doesn't bite you down the road.
 
Smartphotohut is the only one that has cheaper prices, otherwise it's only a few bucks different anywhere else. That's why I wonder what they're really selling, even if they're imports that don't have the same warranty, it sounds like they take your order and then offer to sell you the US thing for more money, I wonder if it's a scam.
 
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