Nikon Speedlight SB-600 vs SB-800

I am planning to purchase a Speedlight for use with my Nikon D-80.


Any thoughts or comments on the SB-600 versus the SB-800? Is the SB-800
worth the extra $125 or so?


Thanks
Mel_J

On Mon, 18 Jun 2007 07:11:45 -0400, "Mel_J" nospam@fake isp.com
wrote:

I am planning to purchase a Speedlight for use with my Nikon D-80.


Any thoughts or comments on the SB-600 versus the SB-800? Is the SB-800
worth the extra $125 or so?


Thanks
Mel_J


Hello Mel,

Ken Rockwell did good overall comparison:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/sb600vs800.htm

You didn't specify your needs, but you also may want to check out the
SB-400. I have an SB-600 and an SB-400. The 400 is much smaller and
lighter and provides enough funtionality for most of my needs. You may
require more, but it would be worth checking it out:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/sb400.htm

Good luck!

Hal Lowe

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http://www.halowe-graphics.com/photo.html (digiPhoto)
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http://www.halowe-graphics.com/tinc?...name=web_email

On 2007-06-18 04:11:45 -0700, "Mel_J" nospam@fake isp.com said:

I am planning to purchase a Speedlight for use with my Nikon D-80.


Any thoughts or comments on the SB-600 versus the SB-800? Is the
SB-800 worth the extra $125 or so?


Thanks
Mel_J

If you ever plan on using more than one flash at a time, the SB-800 is
the way to go. The difference in price is not $125 when you consider
the accessories that come standard with the SB-800 and are extra with
the SB-600.

Ken Rockwell, who is always going on about how a little extra effort in
lighting would improve most photographers' work (he is right about
this), inexplicably seems to prefer flash units that have the least
capability.

Go with the SB-800.
--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor

As noted earlier, it all depends on how you intend to use flash.

Nikon has gone to a lot of trouble to come up with what they call the
"Creative Lighting System" (CLS)which essentially lets the photographer set
up what amounts to studio lighting with a group of self-contained flash
units, rather than traditional plug-in lighting. This gives you a lot of
flexibility in the field. Unless you're a professional, or a very serious
amateur, you may not need this kind of capability. If you do need it, the
SB-600 & 800 provide support with the right cameras (or add-on accessories),
the SB-400 does not. For a simple explanation of the CLS, check this out:

http://www.nikondigital.org/articles...oose/index.htm

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,12...1/article.html

And this from Nikon:
http://nikonimaging.com/global/techn...less/index.htm




"C J Campbell" wrote in message
news:2007061807022116807-christophercampbell@hotmailcom...
On 2007-06-18 04:11:45 -0700, "Mel_J" nospam@fake isp.com said:

I am planning to purchase a Speedlight for use with my Nikon D-80.


Any thoughts or comments on the SB-600 versus the SB-800? Is the SB-800
worth the extra $125 or so?


Thanks
Mel_J

If you ever plan on using more than one flash at a time, the SB-800 is the
way to go. The difference in price is not $125 when you consider the
accessories that come standard with the SB-800 and are extra with the
SB-600.

Ken Rockwell, who is always going on about how a little extra effort in
lighting would improve most photographers' work (he is right about this),
inexplicably seems to prefer flash units that have the least capability.

Go with the SB-800.
--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor

If you simply want to boost on camera flash the 400 may be adequate.
If you want the ability to use "commander" off camera flash the 600 is
likely adequate. It is also excellent as an oncamera flash attachment.
If you need, or simply have to know you have, all the bells and whistles
then you know you need/want the 800.
If you do not understand and need the added capabilities of the 800 you will
be happy with the 600 and how it allows you to experiment with wireless
control of off-camera flash.

gowanoh wrote:
If you simply want to boost on camera flash the 400 may be adequate.
If you want the ability to use "commander" off camera flash the 600 is
likely adequate. It is also excellent as an oncamera flash attachment.
If you need, or simply have to know you have, all the bells and whistles
then you know you need/want the 800.
If you do not understand and need the added capabilities of the 800 you will
be happy with the 600 and how it allows you to experiment with wireless
control of off-camera flash.

I'd like to use flash, with multiple SB units in future, for studio
portrait shots with reflectors/diffusers.
I find Nikon's instuctions on their CLS unbearably cryptic. Apparently
Thom Hogan is rewriting his guide to the Nikon flash system, updating it
for iTTL. I expect that it should be pretty good, though I've never felt
compelled to buy his camera guides as what isn't explained well in Nikon
manuals is either intuitive or common knowledge.
In the meantime, apart from extra power and/or faster recycle times, are
there compelling reasons why I should be considering getting 2xSB800s
instead of 2xSB600s?
Using a single flash mounted on camera or bracket is something I'd
probably use very rarely.

frederick wrote:

gowanoh wrote:

If you simply want to boost on camera flash the 400 may be adequate.
If you want the ability to use "commander" off camera flash the 600 is
likely adequate. It is also excellent as an oncamera flash attachment.
If you need, or simply have to know you have, all the bells and
whistles then you know you need/want the 800.
If you do not understand and need the added capabilities of the 800
you will be happy with the 600 and how it allows you to experiment
with wireless control of off-camera flash.

I'd like to use flash, with multiple SB units in future, for studio
portrait shots with reflectors/diffusers.
I find Nikon's instuctions on their CLS unbearably cryptic. Apparently
Thom Hogan is rewriting his guide to the Nikon flash system, updating it
for iTTL. I expect that it should be pretty good, though I've never felt
compelled to buy his camera guides as what isn't explained well in Nikon
manuals is either intuitive or common knowledge.
In the meantime, apart from extra power and/or faster recycle times, are
there compelling reasons why I should be considering getting 2xSB800s
instead of 2xSB600s?

Here's something I ran across which sounds useful:

Page 6 of this Nikon pdf:
http://www.nikonusa.com/pdf/SB800_techniques.pdf

"Auto FP High-Speed Sync

Automatic high-speed flash synchronization at
shutter speeds exceeding the camera’s flash sync
speed is possible. When shooting with flash
outdoors, faster shutter speeds allow you to use a
wider aperture to blur the background and/or
freeze fast-moving subjects"

I (think?) this is what Rockwell calls "Idiotic repeating strobe mode":
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/sb600vs800.htm

I've not used flash hardly at all but recently experimented with my
on-camera flash on a hummingbird & found it awfully frustrating to be
limited to 1/250 sec when using flash.


Using a single flash mounted on camera or bracket is something I'd
probably use very rarely.

On 2007-06-18 14:47:17 -0700, frederick said:

gowanoh wrote:
If you simply want to boost on camera flash the 400 may be adequate.
If you want the ability to use "commander" off camera flash the 600 is
likely adequate. It is also excellent as an oncamera flash attachment.
If you need, or simply have to know you have, all the bells and
whistles then you know you need/want the 800.
If you do not understand and need the added capabilities of the 800 you
will be happy with the 600 and how it allows you to experiment with
wireless control of off-camera flash.
I'd like to use flash, with multiple SB units in future, for studio
portrait shots with reflectors/diffusers.
I find Nikon's instuctions on their CLS unbearably cryptic.

They are, but I eventually figured them out. Once you understand the
jargon the instructions are clearer.

There are a few books on the subject that are pretty good. The Magic
Lantern Guide is almost as cryptic as Nikon's documentation. Thom Hogan
is re-writing his ebook. The Nikon Creative Lighting System Digital
Field Guide by Thomas and Heron has extensive photographs and
instructions how to set up lighting to create those effects. It is not
the definitive book on lighting, of course, but it will give you a good
push in the right direction.


--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor

According to gowanoh :

[ ... ]

If you do not understand and need the added capabilities of the 800 you will
be happy with the 600 and how it allows you to experiment with wireless
control of off-camera flash.

And -- if you later decide that you need the additional features
of the SB-800, you can still use the SB-600 as an additional slave flash.

One of the advantages of using the SB-800 on the camera (at
least based on my experience with the D-70) is that it will allow you to
choose an alternate communications "bus" to talk to your other flash
units when someone else is using the same camera and "commander" flash
control in the same area. The D70 only uses a single "bus" (channel)
when using the built-in flash as the master, but the SB-800 on the
camera will allow you to select alternate channels, so you avoid
tripping the other fellow's flash slaves, and you avoid him tripping
your own flash slaves.

If you aren't working in a situation where others are also using
slave flashes, this won't matter to you, but if you do expect it as a
possibility, it is something to bear in mind.

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

Paul Furman wrote:

Here's something I ran across which sounds useful:

Page 6 of this Nikon pdf:
http://www.nikonusa.com/pdf/SB800_techniques.pdf

"Auto FP High-Speed Sync

Automatic high-speed flash synchronization at
shutter speeds exceeding the camera’s flash sync
speed is possible. When shooting with flash
outdoors, faster shutter speeds allow you to use a
wider aperture to blur the background and/or
freeze fast-moving subjects"

Yeah, but you lose a lot of power doing this.

I (think?) this is what Rockwell calls "Idiotic repeating strobe
mode": http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/sb600vs800.htm

Maybe. I think he's referring to what Nikon call Repeating (RPT)
flash operation.

I've not used flash hardly at all but recently experimented with my
on-camera flash on a hummingbird & found it awfully frustrating to be
limited to 1/250 sec when using flash.

The best way to fix something like that is to use a powerful flash,
say 500 Joules or more, at 1/64 power to get an extrememly short
pulse. Add a neutral density filter if required. Auto FP High-Speed
Sync wouldn't help: you'd still get blur. The point of this mode is
fill-flash in daylight.

Andrew.