Nikon SB-600 Speedlight Flash for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

Manufacturer:	Nikon
List price:	~~$249.99~~
Our price:	$189.94 that is 24% off!

Nikon SB-600 Speedlight Flash for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

Average rating: Stars

A word of Warning for CoolPix owners

I bought this for use with my CoolPix 5000 camera because Nikon's tech support had recomended it. They said it would improve my indoor shots (because the CP 5000 has a terrible flash built-in), but instead it overloads the shots and they come out mostly white. I read the manual carefully and it looks like the reason is that this flash is built to automatically or manually focus the light for a 14mm to 70mm lense and the CP 5000 has a 7.2mm lense. I subsequently purchased a Nikon D70s camera (1,000,000 times better camera) and this flash is great for extremely dark shots on that camera (though the built-in flash is perfect for fill so this is really only for night shots and shots in darkness where I want to get something far away). If you own a CoolPix camera, consider buying a used flash that isn't as powerfull. If you own a D70s and want superior night photography, this is the best flash in the world (good thing I ended up in the latter end of the spectrum).

Nikon SB-600 Speedlight Flash for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras - Nikon

The perfect D70 flash

Despite having a sackful of flashes, including a lot of Vivitar 283s and 285s that have served me well, when I bought my D70 I had nothing that really worked well with the new camera. In order to take advantage of the D70's iTTL metering system you really have only two choices- the SB-800 and SB-600.

Many opt for the SB-800, yet it really has only two practical advantages over the SB-600:

1. It delivers somewhat more output (at the cost of slower recycling) and

2. It can act as a master unit in an array of SB-600s and SB-800s.

All well and good, but who among us really intends to set up the three and four flash arrays Nikon shows in their brochure? Or even two flash arrays? If I need that many lights I'd use a studio flash setup, which would be cheaper and more flexible in the long run.

As it is, the SB-600 can be triggered remotely by the D70 flash, or you can use a remote cable. A small slaved fill flash unit can be added (I like to use them for lighting hair in portraits) without really affecting the main exposure. And most of the time all I need in one light. The guy who taught me lighting showed me that you can do handle just about any lighting task there is with a sigle soft light or bounced flash.

So for 2/3rds the cost of the SB-800, the 600 delivers 90% of the features, and 100% of the useful features. Add the remote cable and a couple of reflectors, and you can do just about possible one-light trick- and that's a lot of tricks.

Nikon - Nikon SB-600 Speedlight Flash for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

Great flash for prosumers; comparison vs. SB-800

I have a confession to make: I bought the SB-800 instead of the SB-600, but only after spending way too much time looking at both the two flashes and trying to decide which one was right for me. The 600 is a very sophisticated and capable flash, fully supporting Nikon's various TTL modes.(TTL=through the lens, meaning the camera monitors the flash.) The 600, as with the 800, is most effective on recent Nikon digital SLR bodies, esp. the D70, which can take full advantage of flash functions that constitute what Nikon calls "creative lighting system (CLS)" (basically the CLS allows you to use multiple 600 and/or 800 flashes to create studio-like lighting conditions).

(...)

Of course, either the 600 or 800 (or even "older" Nikon flashes such as the SB-28, etc.) will provide better lighting than the internal flash. Whichever flash you buy, be sure to get one that allows you tilt the flash head so you can do bounce photography. Bounce photography makes a world of difference vis-a-vis direct flash when it comes to indoor portraits.

(Originally posted on the SB-800 product page: Why I chose the SB-800 over SB-600):

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 effectively use Nikon's sophisticated flash modes and the CLS, please let us know. Thanks.

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