Speedlight choice

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Deleted

Senior Member
I'm looking to choose a Nikon Speedlight for my forthcoming new kit.

Usage would be indoor & outdoor close-up & macro shots, handheld or tripod.

Budget £200-£300. Would consider the SB-R1 £400 close-up kit if strongly advised.

D610 + 105mm f2.8 micro

Can anyone advise which Nikon Speedlight I should consider please?
 
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Bill16

Senior Member
I use a sb-800 myself, but a lot of people are just loving the sb-700! With my sb-800 I use a defuser and it seems to work pretty good for me, though I'm almost ready to build a home made defuser like what my buddy Scott came up with that attaches at the end of the lens. :)
 
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rocketman122

Senior Member
Sb800 is a fantastic flash . if I was low on money, thats what id get. I still consider it a flagship flash in every way. if nikon puts out new products it doesnt make there older gear irrelevant. it will do HSS and can also be used as a commander flash or as a remote off camera flash. very powerful. I would say on par with the SB900/910.

I have many flashes so I guess I can be a judge on what a good flash is.

IMG_4511.jpg
 
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Felisek

Senior Member
I got a SB-700 and it is very good. It is just over £200. It will give you all you need from a Nikon speedlight, including commander mode and high-speed sync (Auto FP).

I have also ordered a couple of YN565EX as secondary flashes for studio work (and, possibly, outdoors). They work fine with the Nikon CLS as slaves and cost only a third of SB-700 (about £60). They have generally good reviews, but since I don't have them yet, cannot tell you about my own experience.
 
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singlerosa_RIP

Senior Member
Also a fan of the SB-800. I have 3 of them, all bought used over the past 10 years. If you must have new Nikon, the SB-700 is nice. If after-market is OK, there's lots to choose from.

The R1 system works best with the SU-800 and comes as a bundle, called the R1C1. Unfortunately, it quite a bit more than just the flashes.

If you get a traditional flash, keep in mind that you won't just be buying a flash. You might need a light stand and modifiers.

Good luck.
 
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WayneF

Senior Member
Biscuit said:
Usage would be indoor & outdoor close-up & macro shots, handheld or tripod.

Budget £200-£300. Would consider the SB-R1 £400 close-up kit if strongly advised.
Click to expand...


The SB-R200 flashes (R1C1 kit) is only for closeup work, like macro. You need to realize that it only has half the power of the cameras tiny internal flash, and has very limited range, not for general use.

I'm a fan of the SB-800 too, I have two of them. But it has not been in production for a few years.

That leaves the SB-700 today. But I would also suggest looking at the Yongnuo YN565EX too, no warranty, and no HSS, but otherwise, does the rest with more power for 1/3 the price. Seems a great way to get started, until you discover your own preferences.

See Review of the Yongnuo YN565EX Speedlight
 
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SkvLTD

SkvLTD

Senior Member
Yongnuos are real bang for buck. Used mine for over a year and it never failed me once. 565EX is the way to go these days since it has about SB-800 worth of features for $100 new.

For MACRO, you'll want a ring flash/led light that goes on the front of your lens, not a flash. Again, Yongnuo WJ-60 is a solid choice that only costs about $20-30. Just make sure to get a 55>67mm step up filter ring.
 
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WayneF

Senior Member
Biscuit said:
This is only for close-up & macro work. So would the SB-R1 kit be more suitable? I'm happy to stay with Nikon. I understand that the SB-R1 would work on the D610 & I wouldn't need the R1C1 commander kit?

Nikon UK - Speedlights - Remote Kit R1 - Digital Cameras, D-SLR, COOLPIX, NIKKOR Lenses
Click to expand...

There are always different preferences and opinions. My first notion is that EVERYONE obviously needs a good hot shoe TTL flash for walk-around bounce for general purpose use (so you are really talking to the wrong person. :) ) Others do have other opinions, but my own opinion does Not favor ring lights, even for macro. Because it is such a very frontal flat flash. However, if using two of them (like the R1 kit), the lighting could be made less flat by dialing down one of them (on one side) to be a stop or two less in the commander menu.

But yes, the kit is made for macro, and this is Nikons solution. and obviously, many do like it. The flash is not a hot shoe flash, it instead mounts on the lens. Or rather, on some lenses - those with internal focusing. The R1C1 kit is the R1 kit plus a SU-800 commander (or the D600 internal flash could be the commander). Then you would set the Group for the D600 builtin flash to be MODE "- -", to disable its contribution to the lighting (it still flashes commands).

Point is, the R1C1 manual is at http://support.nikonusa.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/13851 (same as R1 except it includes SU-800 commander).

See pages 13 and 14 regarding mounting compatible lenses. See first sentence at top of page 14.
 
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ShootRaw

Senior Member
Yongnuo 560-iii is the way to go..Has a built in receiver that works with the RF-603 version 2...$72 shipped for this flash...Used to have a Nikon SB 700...The Yongnuo is very underrated but gets the job done...
 
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rocketman122

Senior Member
ShootRaw said:
Yongnuo 560-iii is the way to go..Has a built in receiver that works with the RF-603 version 2...$72 shipped for this flash...Used to have a Nikon SB 700...The Yongnuo is very underrated but gets the job done...
Click to expand...

will also work with 602.

for off camera flash its wonderful. not for ttl though. if you need ttl then the 568/565 is great OP. personally, id wait. I think YN might release the 568 MARK II in photokina. my 568 underxposes a lot though. TTL iTTL, same same. underexposes consistently. same with 622n underxposes
 
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Deleted

Senior Member
@WayneF

Thanks for the info & links. The main purpose of the flash for me would be macro & close-up work. Reading the manual from your excellent link, it seems that the kit is specifically designed for Macro lenses, including my suggested 105mm. The is a specific adaptor for this lens. The R1 kit seems to include a sensor that fits in front of the inbuilt camera flash & this receives signals to relay to the R200 flashes. You can also buy additional R200 units to create a mini studio. The R200s don't have to be attached to the lens ring & can be hand-held or they can sit on little stands. It does seem to be the perfect mini studio. They seem entirely useless for anything else other than macro.

The other option would be an SB-700 with diffuser. It's a compromise for macro. However I'm not sure that I'd use an SB much in landscape or walkabout. I'd only use it as fill-in for character portraits for which maybe the inbuilt flash would do?
 
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