Flash options for D7000?

Camera Fun

Senior Member
So I've been thinking about getting a flash for my D7000 and need advice. Considering either Yongnuo or Neewer. There are times when I need something better than the pop-up flash plus I want the flexibility of being able to play with off-camera flash. What models, triggers, etc. would you advise as a good match for my D7000 but yet could still work if I updated to something like a D7200 or D750 in the future. Thanks.
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
So I've been thinking about getting a flash for my D7000 and need advice. Considering either Yongnuo or Neewer. There are times when I need something better than the pop-up flash plus I want the flexibility of being able to play with off-camera flash. What models, triggers, etc. would you advise as a good match for my D7000 but yet could still work if I updated to something like a D7200 or D750 in the future. Thanks.
I would suggest a Yongnuo 568EX as your primary flash and, for wireless triggers, the Yongnuo YN-622's.
 

cwgrizz

Senior Member
Challenge Team
I concur with Paul ^^^ or the YN685 which has the receiver built in. It's a little more money, but you don't have to buy a separate receiver to us it with a transmitter.
 

carguy

Senior Member
So I've been thinking about getting a flash for my D7000 and need advice. Considering either Yongnuo or Neewer. There are times when I need something better than the pop-up flash plus I want the flexibility of being able to play with off-camera flash. What models, triggers, etc. would you advise as a good match for my D7000 but yet could still work if I updated to something like a D7200 or D750 in the future. Thanks.

Yongnuo all day long.

Checkout this US retailer - Tim Payne at Yongnuo USA
 

Camera Fun

Senior Member
So from the responses I'm getting a strong indication that you really like Yongnuo. :) So here is how I read things:
Option 1: 568EX that would require buying a receiver and a transmitter.
Option 2: 685 that would require buying just a transmitter.

Price-wise, the 685 set-up looks better. However, I'm concerned the larger size of the 685 would feel mulch bulkier when used on the camera. Any thoughts on this concern?
 

cwgrizz

Senior Member
Challenge Team
I have both flashes and the 622 set (controller and the flash trigger transceiver). The size difference in the two flashes is not that much. I started with the 568EX and the radio triggers for off camera flash. Then when the 685 came out it fit into my setup very nicely for two off camera flashes. Either way you go can be added onto in the future. Have fun.
 

nickt

Senior Member
I don't have the 568. Dimensions are close as Walt said. I do have the Nikon SB700 and the YN685 is a good bit bulkier than the sb-700. Here's a pic of both next to the d7200. For simple things, I'll grab the sb-700 because it is smaller and lighter and I don't look all 'news reporter' with the big flash. The 685 rocks though when I need the extra power.

20170713_191117.jpg
 

Camera Fun

Senior Member
I don't have the 568. Dimensions are close as Walt said. I do have the Nikon SB700 and the YN685 is a good bit bulkier than the sb-700. Here's a pic of both next to the d7200. For simple things, I'll grab the sb-700 because it is smaller and lighter and I don't look all 'news reporter' with the big flash. The 685 rocks though when I need the extra power.

View attachment 261649

So I will admit that it appears as thought it would be rather large on my D7000.
 

spb_stan

Senior Member
The extra power of the SB900 class flash like the Yongnuo 568ex really comes in handy when shooting in daylight(one of the most useful capabilities of a real flash) or using modifiers like softboxes or shoot-through diffusers like diffusing umbrellas. There is an advantage to having 622 and 622 Tx transceivers/transmitter over the receiver built in the flash; the pair can be used as a report shutter release also.
I have 3 SB900 Nikon units and those 3 cost about the same as a new D500 so looking back, if I had instead gotten the 3 Yongnuo first, I would have a D500 plus my 3 added 568ex. I used them pretty much interchangeably, mostly in full manual mode but the 568ex is a little heavier than SB900 and the plastic shell is thicker. Both work with iTTL in TTL and TTL BL mode, and adding the YN622 transceivers and/or a YN622 Tx transmitter(about $49 each) and a few low cost modifiers one have a lot of flexibility for studio like shooting with everything but the light stands fitting into your backpack weighing less than 1 studio strobe. There is one advantage of the SB900 series, it can focus the beam width to a field of view of 200mm whereas most flash with beam focusing goes to only 105mm. If you use beam focusing just for spotlighting nearer objects, a folding home made snoot is more effective in controlling the light spill anyway. If you really need telephoto beam width due to distance, getting a remote flash closer to the subject using the wireless controllers is the much better solution than using flash beam focusing. I did a shoot recently for a bride and groom, a week after the wedding, for shots to include in their album that were a bit more artsy with the couple separated in depth by about 100 feet on a dark night with city lights and ocean in the background. It was a snap to get both well illuminate and main exposure for the distant city lights and very dark park in between the couple. A complex 4 flash shot that took 5 minutes to set up, and shoot.
Once you start using augmented light, you will find unending uses for it, indoors or out, daylight or night. Walking around the city during the day, I usually have a flash mounted on my main camera, a D800 and it is particularly useful in mid day bright sun where normally hard shadows and extreme contrast makes non-flash shooting a waste of time. Being able to exposure for the highlights and fill the dark shadows added 6-7 hours of reasonable daylight shooting time when without the flash you would be limited to golden hour in the morning and late afternoon unless in full shade.
Another advantage of the remote RF controllers is high speed sync allowing you to use up to 1/8000 sec shutter speeds instead of normal maximum sync speed of 1/250 sec.
Once you get the hang of using augmented light your creative options increase dramatically. A lot of people, particularly beginners refuse to use flash because they don't like the "flash look". No one does but only beginners take flash illuminated images that look like "flash". Every magazine cover, every beach scene, every commercial photo, indoors or out, however did use augmented light and it looks more natural than shooting with natural light alone.
Getting flash and learning to use it creatively, trumps any other photographic tool for improving images. A cheap low res camera and poor lens with excellent lighting will capture a better image than the best camera and lens with poor or mediocre light. But you read on forums how everyone is chasing high ISO performance for available light. A D3300 with good controlled lighting will out class a D5 or D810 in ambient light any day of the week for image quality, yet little mention of that on the forums in the upgrade mania. Your D7000 with good light is capable of world class images. Mine is, and makes little difference whether I use my D800 or D7000 when I can control the lighting, even when 80% of the light use is natural light. That remaining 20% makes the difference between a snap shot and prized print on a gallery wall.
 

spb_stan

Senior Member
There is a Typo, should be Remote shutter release instead of "report". The Tx model is a lot easier to use, mounted on the camera shoe, the top of the 622Tx has a LCD display and every easy controls to set power of each group, mode etc from the camera. That makes shooting manual flash exposure a snap. In more complex lighting schemes,with kick lights, hair lights,background light, key light etc can all be controlled from the camera. When using more than 2 lights you usually want more control than TTL offers so manual is usually easier. But even if someone wanted to use TTL, dialing in exposure compensation on each group is easy from the 622Tx. The most speed lights I have used in a session with this set up was 6 and only because I only have 6 speed lights. More are in my future. One of my folding softboxes can handle 2 speedlights on a bracket and I am eyeing a folding Striplight that is always useful but only recently became available for folding and with diffusers designed for speed lights. Unless large scenes or overpowering midday sun, speedlights are taking the place of powerful strobes with expensive power packs for a lot of outdoor or remote sessions. If one only works in a studio, getting strobes makes a lot of sense but speed lights are fast becoming the norm.
If you have any specific questions on using speedlights, just ask, between us, there is a lot of experience with them on this forum.
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Would there be any reason to consider a Godox flash over a Yongnuo?
Well I would suggest it depends on where you see yourself going with your lighting. If you need a basic, hot-shoe mounted flash that you can also use off camera in conjunction with additional flashes then I'd say the Yongnuo route is as good as any. Their flashes are very, very good; especially considering their price-point.

The Godox brand offers cool stuff like the Witstro AD360 and the Witstro AD600BM and other accessories which would be of interest to those wanting to set up a more professional level studio; it's a bigger ecosystem, if you will, and I don't think Yongnuo offers that sort of upgrade path right now. Godox flashes are excellent units, and I wouldn't hesitate to use them.
 

spb_stan

Senior Member
From my own experience with both I would say they target different audiences. The standout products of Godox are their higher end battery strobes which are in the $350-600 price range and their folding softboxes and Brollies reflectors that are low prices for small portable light modifiers that work with flash or strobes.
I get the impression from feel that the Yongnuo flashes and flash controllers are a bit sturdier, thicker dense plastic, in their flashes and YN-622 series transceivers and transmitters. Either one is a real bargain for anyone who wants more capable lighting but does not want to spend $6000 for Profoto basic setup for portable lighting. Both have a lot of great features, such as very high speed sync, 100 meter range, easy remote adjustment of flash power from the camera. If I was going to use them regularly for commercial weddings I would probably buy the Godox lighting and just accept their proprietary RF controllers because the portable strobes are compatible with their lower cost flash units so there is more range to add into their system.
If on the other hand I wanted the best flash controllers to use with any flash I had or wanted to add to my collection, I would stick with Yongnuo Yn-622 transceivers plus a 622 Tx transmitter, very simple to use and solid little units that for me, have never once misfired or failed to fire. At $39/each or 2 for $70 on Amazon, I figure they were the best use of $430(3 568ex flashes, 3 Yn-622 transceivers and a Yn-622-tx transmitter). My 3 Nikon SB-900 flashes cost me $1800! I later got 3 more 622 transceivers for the SB-900s.

With that set up I can do some pretty complex lighting setups that would have cost many thousands to duplicate a few years ago. I have used them up to about 300 feet away, in a scene that lit up various key points along a long garden path on a dark night balances with full moon and a wedding couple dancing about 150 feet away. That would have taken a crew and lots of expensive gear just a few years ago. I exposed to the moon and added flash power to highling flowers along the path and two flashes on the couple, one of them a backlighting to have the bride's hair glowing in the snooted flash on the ground right behind them. Took only 15 minutes to set up and dial in the right ratios to balance the moonlight directly behind and above them.
 

Camera Fun

Senior Member
Just to confirm, can both the 685 and 568ex be controlled off camera with the pop-up flash in commander mode? Need to make out my Christmas list.
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Just to confirm, can both the 685 and 568ex be controlled off camera with the pop-up flash in commander mode? Need to make out my Christmas list.
In all honesty, that I don't know because I don't use Nikon's CLS for off-camera flash, I use the Yongnuo wireless system instead.

To go wireless with the 568ex flashes, you'll need a wireless trigger attached to each flash unit; the 685 flash units don't need those because the trigger is built-in to the flash. Tres chic, non? With either of those flashes, though, you will need one Yongnuo 622n TX, this is the transmitter that controls the flash, or multiple flashes, from the camera body.

So... If I were you, I'd add ask Santa for two Yongnuo 685 flashes and one 622n TX wireless transmitter. This would give you a two-flash, wireless set-up with no need to use Nikon's (in my opinion) fussy and awkward CLS system, you'll be using Yongnuo's wireless system instead. Oh, and you might want to add several Eneloop AA batteries and charger to that list... You''re going to want those, believe me. Then you'll need a pair of good light stands, a couple umbrellas, maybe a backdrop, a gel kit, a bag for all this gear...

Amazon sells various Yongnuo Wireless Kits that include the transmitter and/or trigger(s) you'll need should you decide to go with the wireless option.
 
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