Cost effective flash for D500

Iansky

Senior Member
I am looking for a cost effective flash to use with my D500 especially as a daylight fill for portraits. I used to have the SB700 that I used with my D3s / D810 and it was a smallish flash that worked well in FP mode.

I am not prepared to spend the price asked for the new SB5000 and feel the 800 / 910 series are too large.

Are there any D500 owners on this forum using the SB700 especially in FP / HSS mode and if so are you happy with the performance?

Thanks in advance for feedback.
 

Iansky

Senior Member
Thanks Lokatz,

I do have a trio of Yongnou 560 series that I use as studio / portrait lights with radio triggers and they are superb for that and will continue to remain my studio lighting setup.

Having had the SB700 previously it met all my requirements for size / performance and quality lighting for on camera daylight flash so just want to know if anyone has used this flash on their D500 and if they are happy with it.
 

Fred Kingston

Senior Member
Thanks Lokatz,

I do have a trio of Yongnou 560 series that I use as studio / portrait lights with radio triggers and they are superb for that and will continue to remain my studio lighting setup.

Having had the SB700 previously it met all my requirements for size / performance and quality lighting for on camera daylight flash so just want to know if anyone has used this flash on their D500 and if they are happy with it.

What difference does it make which camera you use the SB700 on? Flash are not camera specific. You buy a flash for a flash's features... It will provide the same features on any one of a hundred different models. If you're happy with it, buy it.
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
I am looking for a cost effective flash to use with my D500 especially as a daylight fill for portraits. I used to have the SB700 that I used with my D3s / D810 and it was a smallish flash that worked well in FP mode.

I am not prepared to spend the price asked for the new SB5000 and feel the 800 / 910 series are too large.

Are there any D500 owners on this forum using the SB700 especially in FP / HSS mode and if so are you happy with the performance?

Thanks in advance for feedback.
Well the SB-700 is compatible but you asked about "cost effective" flashes. I think you are going to find a lot of support for the Yongnuo flashes because that's exactly what they are. I have an SB-700 and it's a great little flash but, when push comes to shove, I reach for my yongnuos.
 
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Iansky

Senior Member
Thanks all for the feedback.

The reason I asked about the SB700 is I like it's size and wanted to know if anyone is using it with the D500 and how they like the combination.
 

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
I use the SB700 with my D750. I also use the SB910. The SB910 is much more powerful for my needs at church when I'm trying to bounce flash off the very high ceiling. If you don't require quite that much power, the SB700 works extremely well. Sorry I can't say how it would work on the D500.

The SB700 only offers TTL metering, not TTL BL. Here is an article on that difference. https://neilvn.com/tangents/nikon-flash-ttl-vs-ttl-bl/
 

Iansky

Senior Member
Hi Cindy,

Thanks for this - according to the SB700 manual (Page C-2), the flash does do iTTL - BL that is displayed on on the screen of the flash.

This works in both in matrix and centre weighted metering but reverts to standard iTTL in spot metering mode.

The manual confirms this takes into account ambient light and balances the flash accordingly, this plus FP ( again I have confirmed the SB700 offers this as well) are the critical elements I want so wanted to know if anyone out there has used this flash with the D500 and if they are happy.
 
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Fortkentdad

Senior Member
Look at Godox gear.

It may be sold under a different name in UK - Godox rebrands itself by retailers, eg. Adorama sells it as Flashpoint, B&H calls it a Bolt, and in Canada I buy Studiopro, all same, Amazon.UK sells Godox as Godox. It is a really odd marketing strategy.

Look at the reviews and prices.
I have SB400, SB600, SB700 and Metz flashes (and others) and now rely 95% of the time on my Godox gear. Love the Lithium flash - recycles so fast. As powerful as SB900. Lots of features.

Just check it out and give it consideration.
 

spb_stan

Senior Member
The SB-700 has the one advantage that was of concern which was small size, over the Yn-568ex. Sometimes I wish I had a smaller flash like the SB-700 since I keep a flash mounted most of the time, night or day, and have 3 SB-900 and 3 Yongnuo 568ex. The SB-900 is a little taller but lighter, and zooms to 200mm beam width but otherwise, it is pretty hard to beat the performance price ratio of the 568ex. For a smaller close fill flash I would go with a SB-700 also, in place of one of the 900s or 568's.
The comment about TTL BL vs TTL has confused some, BL only make sense when the whole frame is metered so it switches automatically between the two modes based on metering mode, Matrix or spot. The BL function was the only concern when first trying the Yongnuo 568, and bought 1 after testing in the store, worked great. So impressed by it on a shoot using it and 3 SB900 that I went back and bought 2 more and mating 622n controllers to match my 622 Tx transmitter and slew of 622 transceivers. They are the only flash controllers that have never failed me.
So back to the question...D500 and SB700 are fully compatible based on conversations on a larger forum that I am moderator on that is exclusively Nikon oriented. They hit a nice price point for Nikon plus are common enough to be seen occasionally on the used market. They stay cool, never thermal shutdown like some report of the SB900. Go for it.
 

lokatz

Senior Member
The SB-700 has the one advantage that was of concern which was small size, over the Yn-568ex.

Hi Stan, I am continually impressed with the insights you give in your posts, so it almost feels bad to correct you here: According to Nikon's tech specs, the SB-700 measures 71x126x104.5mm. Yongnou spec their flashes differently, lying flat rather than set to a 90 degree angle, but I just took my 568EX and measured it the same way Nikon does: approximately 71x127x99mm.

In other words, the two flashes are almost the same size, with the Yongnou being marginally smaller. It is also a wee bit lighter (350g vs. 360g). You just confirmed again that both do the same job. Plus, the Nikon costs almost three times as much.
 

spb_stan

Senior Member
Thank you for the correction. I have used the 700 before with the 900 and the size difference was noticeable so when I compare the 900 with the 568, the 900 is taller but the 568 feels heavier in the hand. That might be an illusion because the thickness of case on the Yongnuo feels so much denser and thicker than the Nikon SB800. I never weighed any of them. I just got two out and extended the 900 is about 1/2 in taller, and when folded for on-axis flash, the difference is a little more than 1/2 in. Weighting both in hand, they seem about the same but the feel of the 568 gives the impression of being harder, more rigid, denser. I don't have a SB700 here to compare but from memory, I always picture the 700 to be smaller, particularly in the head cross section.

One thing the Yongnuo has over the Nikon models is the more powerful and larger focus assist light. It seems brighter and sharper than the Nikon, plus covering about twice the area. The near IR output of both brands is very effective yet does not distract subjects or trigger blink reactions. They do not seem to see it, or notice it where as the body mounted white light is a mood killer and it is good that it is being dropped on higher models.

Two other differences, the flip out diffuser screen on the Yongnuo is lighter weight weaker plastic, two of mine broke within a month and I do not even use them.
The second difference is about 1/3 stop more light emitted in the same scene as the SB900 so when combining them, say in tandem mount in a folding stripbox or softbox I set one -1/3. All three are identical so it is programming and I have not bothered to figure out which is right. Makes no difference, except with shooting in parallel. 2 combined in a 80x80 cm or large softbox makes a very competitive light source to a 300-400w/s monolight.That means I can do real studio type sessions with a backpack and folding softboxes, with light stands strapped to the sides of my backpack. I have seen adaptor plates that allow 4 speedlights to be groups in a 2x2 grid. So many cool adapters, controllers and accessories out now where someone can do serious work for very unserious equipment prices. I have not turned on my home designed and built strobes for over a year. I built them when I came across some cheap surplus aircraft strobe bulbs so built two 600 w/s strobes.

Looking at them closely I seen another difference that might account for the 1/3rd stop difference. The SB900 has clear plastic lens in the center and fresnel lenses on the left and right of the center. The 568ex has similar fresnel lenses on the sides but also through the center. That would make a different in focused light level in the very center, and also throw.. The 568 focuses a beam width out to 105mm equiv. and the SB900 can focus to a narrower 200mm field of view, but my style seldom uses direct 200 mm focused beams. For wildlife photographers that could make a difference, but my mostly people shots are diffused and modified, even if using 200 mm lens focal length. If I need to light something further out, I want it lit, so put a speed light near the subject controlled remotely so I have control of the light. Placing the light near a distant subject means I have the same options to focus the light or snoot, or flag it as up close, instead of lighting everything between the camera and subject, with the least being illuminated being the subject.
 

Iansky

Senior Member
Thank you both for the feedback and interesting discussion / comparison. I have opted for and gone with the SB700 as they are currently a good price here in UK if you shop around.

The SB700 will be my "On camera / extension lead single flash unit" and an easy carry unit - I did consider one of the bigger brothers but the comparison between the SB700 and SB900 showed an overheating issue with the SB900 so the 700 can deliver what I want in a small package with both TTL BL in matrix and FP mode.

For studio work I will still use my 3 x Yongnuo units with radio triggers.

Again, thank you for the constructive feedback and comparisons and I think the cost of the SB5000 is very prohibitive for what it is!
 

spb_stan

Senior Member
My take on the SB700 was that it is almost a 900 but more compact and a bit lower power and does not focus to 200mm field of view(not likely to ever be needed in practical application), but overall, everything anyone needs for the vast majority of time.
I have used my SB900s almost daily for 6 years and never once had one overheat.It was reported by some wedding photographers but those not shooting in high ceiling churches, with full power shots 2000 at a time probably never experienced it. I used mine in events and club shooting for most of that time so was not firing bursts.I picked up my second and third SB900 because an acquaintance has a number of them and did weddings occasionally and was afraid of them after someone told him on a forum that they were blowing up or failing due to heat. I got them for a bargain price and he thought I was a sucker for paying for his defective flawed units. That was 4 years ago and they are still running strong.
Nikon flash prices for the 5000 and 910 are really high, opening a great void in the market for a dozen makers who are filling the gap. I doubt I will buy any more new Nikon flash....not with trying to save for a D850;>)
 

Iansky

Senior Member
I am delighted with the SB700 on the D500 and have it set up for fill & FP (HSS) when needed.

I took some photos of my wife yesterday who was modelling some beach wear for a company using the D500 - 24-120 f4 and SB700 on camera for fill - I am very happy with the results some of which are below.


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