NIKON SB-800 AF Speedlight

Rating:
Summary: Electric Sun
Review: I bought the Speedlight to take to Europe with a new D100. It worked fantastic. I was able to light the ceilings of every church and castle we visited. The light is bright and very fast. The color digital image was true to the actual color - no yellow tinge at all. Close-ups were great. NO red-eye on any shot and no washed out images. I took about 1200 pictures and used the Speedlight on about 500 of them. Everyone was perfect. Took the shadows right out of the pictures in bright sunlight. There should be no doubt about whether it is worth the dollars - it is every one of them.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect Flash
Review: I bought this flash to use with my Nikon D70. I wanted a flash with plenty of power and flexibility, but smart enough to handle caluation of exposure when I just wanted to shoot. I was not disappointed.

This flash works hand-in-glove with other elements of the Nikon system. When connected to the hot-shoe of my D70 the camera and flash instantly recognize each other. The default "TTL" mode (Through The Lens) gives consistantly well-exposed photos. If anything, the camera and flash tend to want to underexpose just a bit, but you can easily use the flash compensation to fix this. It appears that the Nikon folks are going for a more natural-light exposure, while I prefer a brighter picture. I usually set the flash to +2/3 and am always happy with the results.

The SB-800 has many flash modes that can be used by the creative photographer for different situations. They include 2 TTL modes, auto-aperature mode, manual mode, and a repeating flash mode. The RPT mode lets you set the flash power and frequency in Hz and the flash repeatedly fires during the exposure. Great for experimentation.

The flash head tilts to 90 degrees straight up, and swings completely around to 180 degrees - backwards. It has a red focus-assist lamp which works wonderfully.

The SB-800 comes with a number of accessories that come at an additional price for many other flashes. An extra battery attachment is included, which decreases the flash recycle time. A flash diffuser dome is also included to give a softer lighting effect. Two light filters are included to match the flash to background lighting for more natural white balance settings. They even include a nice padded case.

The Sb-800 takes 4 AA batteries, and you can use the optional battery case to add a fifth to decrease recycle time. The batteries last a long time - see the manual for the battery life that Nikon documents. I can go all day without recharging my 2300 ma AA's.

This flash also has a number of wireless modes. When using the D70's internal flash as the "Commander" I can trigger the SB-800 and the camera and flash will communicate the exposure information back and forth with a series of brief flashes, then fire the exposure flash. It really works, and works well. The SB800 can also use a SU-4 remote mode, which will trigger the flash when it "sees" any other flash fire, so any camera could trigger it.

This flash is not inexpensive, but it works wonders for the photographer who wants flexibility and good exposures. I now find myself wanting another one, to use in a wireless group and expand the flexibility. I recommend it without reservation.

Rating:
Summary: Incredible flash right out of the box.
Review: I just received my SB800 a week after placing my order and was so anxious to use it, I didn't even bother reading the instructions. Popped in the 4 AA's, attached it to my D70, and started shooting at everything in the house. I am really impressed with how easy it can be to use and yet, so sophisticated and complex if you want to venture into the full capabilities of this flash. This is probably the best accessory that I can imagine for my camera. My camera's built-in flash tended to be quite harsh and unflattering whereas the SB800 produces much more pleasing lighting effects, especially when using the diffuser and bouncing off a wall or ceiling. Using the flash off the camera in the wireless mode is probably the most fun. It is interesting to see the variations of shadows and light in a portrait pose simply by moving the flash relative to the subject. The exposure was always correct and consistent. Also, it is surprisingly light and unobtrusive for something so powerful. This is a must have if you have a Nikon D70.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect flash for D100
Review: I just recently bought this flash for my D100.

My wife wanted me to take a bunch of photos of her grandmother's small antique objects - pieces of jade, little carvings on ivory, some vases, etc. I have never been happy with the D100's built-in flash, and my local camera shop suggested the SB-800 over several other Nikon models (after I told them I would also use it for photographing pets and some indoor photography while sightseeing).

This flash is great. First of all, the color is natural... The photos I have been taking of jade, ivory, small glass objects, and even my pets (and my wife as a test subject) come out evenly exposed with no hot spots, especially when using the diffusion dome and pointing the flash up at the ceiling (when mounted on the camera, the flash can be turned, and tilted 90 degrees in about 10 degree increments).

Second of all, it is FAST. It contains 4 AA batteries, with the option of adding a 5th in a small addition (so you can trade off between weight and recharge time). With all 5 batteries installed and fresh, it can keep pace with my camera's rate of 3 pictures a second for 5-6 flashes. After that, it needs less than a second to be ready to go again.

Third of all, it makes using a flash brain-dead simple, At least attached to my D100 (and presumably the D70). It automatically adjusts itself based on the characteristics of my lens, the zoom, the distance to subject, backlighting, etc. I can still manually futz with settings if I want, but I don't have to to get a great shot.

One accessory I would consider a 'must' for the flash is the 4 foot cable that lets you use it off-camera. Especially since my main purpose is to take photos of small objects, having side-lighting is crucial to bringing out the relief on things like carved jade. It doesn't come with the flash.

Rating:
Summary: Superb--even for a beginner
Review: I purchased this Speedlight along with a Nikon D70. Although it appears complicated to use at firstI was able to get it up and running in no time. It is a great improvement over the Speedlight housed on the camera body.

Rating:
Summary: Why I chose the SB-800 over the SB-600
Review: I won't repeat the wealth of information the other kind reviewers have already given. I'll just focus on why I decided to cough up the extra $100 to get the SB-800 instead of the less powerful SB-600.

Compared to the SB-600, the SB-800 has the following extra features:

1) Much more powerful, as reflected in the GN.
2) Slightly faster recycle time with the standard four AA batteries. It also comes with a battery holder that holds a fifth battery which cuts down recycle time by 1/3 to 1/2.
3) The SB-800 has non-TTL auto and auto aperture modes. (More on this later.)
4) In wireless remote mode, the SB-800 can act both as the master and slave, whereas the 600 can only be a slave.
5) It comes with a useful diffusion dome, which won't even fit on the SB-600.
6) The SB-800 package also includes two colored gel filters.
7) The SB-800 can do repeating flash (in the same exposure), for a strobe effect.

Basically, both the 600 and 800 support Nikon's latest flash technologies, i-TTL (supported by the D70 and D2H only) and CLS (creative lighting system), in addition to all the TTL (through the lens) flash modes Nikon introduced in the past. The 600 is really a prosumer-level flash that's either TTL or manual, whereas the 800 is pure pro-grade with a lot of modes and options. The manual, evidently written by a Japanese manual writer, attests to its sophistication; understanding the manual will really require a Ph.D. in yoga so you don't stress yourself out.

The 800's auto modes are what won me over in the end. The auto modes can set the flash output automatically on Nikon bodies that do not support any TTL (through the lens) mode. On those bodies, with the 600 you'd have to resort to manual, which is simply a pain in the butt, not to mention prone to error. The two non-TTL auto modes on the 800 are auto aperture and auto. You'll need to study the manual very carefully to figure out the difference; I still haven't, but I'm already enjoying the auto aperture mode. The availability of auto modes also means the 800 can be used on a wide range of Nikon bodies than the simpler 600.

If you are deciding between the 600 and the 800 like I was, ask yourself the following questions:

1) Do you have an extra $100-$150 to spend? If yes, the 800.
2) Do you plan to use the external flash a lot? If yes, the 800.
3) Do you have Nikon bodies (usually older manual ones) that do not support TTL (you can find out in the camera's user's guide)? If yes, the 800.
4) Do you plan to do a lot of wireless flash photography and take full advantage of Nikon's Creative Lighting System? If yes, the 800.
5) If you want to get a diffusion dome that fits the flash, get the 800.

In the end, I think the SB-800 is a better long-term investment than the SB-600, despite the higher price. It's much more powerful and flexible, and even though it's an overkill for me right now, I imagine when my flash photography improves (and I'm trying very hard right now), it'll prove a very worthy investment.

Feel free to drop me an e-mail at hotmail with any questions. BTW, if anyone knows of a good web forum that discusses how to use Nikon's flash modes and the CLS, please let us know. Thanks.

Rating:
Summary: Very Good Flash
Review: Simply excellent. Got this flash on Xmas day and in ONE day I'm getting the best results from the camera ever. Wireless mode is great and the flash zoom function is quite effective. I do think this is a large flash. I wish it was the size of the SB600 instead. The 800 is a lot more capable than the 600 and well worth the extra bucks...more power, built in bounce card, diffuser dome that switches zoom to wide mode, built in SU4 mode, 5th battery case shortens recycle times and gives more juice and so on. There are also a couple of gels and a stand. It all packs into a smallish case. On top of the D70 you have a BIG camera around your neck! You'll feel a bit like Jimmy Olson waiting for the next big story to break! The camera balance is certainly compromised to a degree, but you can get use to it. The display also shows camera settings which is very nice. Press the display button on the D70 and both displays light up. If you're not experienced with a flash like this, study the manual and experiment before using on people. The flash is VERY powerful, far beyond built in flash types, so go easy on the eyes!
[...] Happy shooting!
Capt RB