Flash for D40

[Gigman]

Hi, I have a D40 with a 18-55 and the 55-200 VR. My next investment that I would like to make would be in a flash unit. Using off camera flashes sounds like fun, but buying a handful of flashes really isn't in my price range right now. I was looking at the SB-400 and the SB-600. I would like to know if any of you have them and what your thoughts are on them. I also am not opposed to buying a non-Nikon flash, do any of you know of any particularly good ones? Thanks for all your help
-Gigman

[Paemt]

I have the SB-400. I love it. Very small yet more than I ever need. Price can't be beat either.

However, If you want to use the flash remotely, this isn't the one you want.

[kirbinster]

I too got the SB400 due to its small size. I don't use flash that much and did not want the larger (or more expensive) SB600.

[Firemaine]

I too have the SB-400 and am very pleased with it. The batteries seem to last forever.
Here is some info on the SB-400 (http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/sb400.htm)
And some good info on the SB-600 (http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/sb600.htm)

Hope this will help you out.

[Dr. WooD]

I don't have a D40, but I've been stressing over which flash to purchase myself.

After reading great multitudes of reviews, I decided on the SB600.

Should ship out from B&H on Monday.

[baseballboy828]

The SB-600 is more versatile. It tilts and turns more, and is bigger therefore having greater output over a greater area.

[RussHeath]

I have the SB-600 for use with my D80 and it's wonderful. The remote triggering is a great trick, but I don't think the D40 knows how to do it (it's been a while since I purchased my D80 but I think this was one of the reasons I got it over the D40).

You can overcome this by also buying a commander (either separate or built in to the SB-800). If you want to do remote triggered flash with the D40, you'll have to buy at least a commander and a flash, or one SB-800 (commander) and one SB-600 (slave).

[ELAY]

If you can afford it, and have ambitions of getting into more elaborate set ups (off camera, multiple flashes) then save up for the SB800.

Otherwise you could try the SB600, or, and this may seem a bit radical, dip into the older Nikon lineup -- SB 24, 25, 26 or 28. They are good solid performers (though TTL may be limited on your D40), and can be had for not very much on eBay.

Here (http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/04/steal-this-flash-nikon-sb-24.html)is a piece by my favourite flasher, David Hobby, explaining the value in these flashes (he also likes the new-build Vivitar 285s (see here (http://strobist.blogspot.com/2007/02/return-of-classic.html)) -- but avoid older ones as they have voltage fluctuation problems).

[rickysu]

buy sb600 so you can get a bounced flash image for the natural lightning
sb600 can be a wireless flash

[s9am_me]

buy sb600 so you can get a bounced flash image for the natural lightning
sb600 can be a wireless flash

if you plan to upgrade your D40, the SB-600 would be great for wireless. But you can't do it with the D40 at the moment. The D40 doesn't have a commander mode like the D80.

I have the sb-400 and I love it! Fits the D40 perfectly in weight and size. Its much more powerful than the on camera flash. The batteries do seem to last forever also. The only downside is that it can only do ceiling bounces if your shooting landscape. If your shooting portrait style, you can only bounce off the sides or straight on your subject. The flash can't tilt sideways. The sb-600 can tilt and swivel anyway u want it. But for the price of the sb-400, its a good beginner flash unit, easy to use too. I'd personally save about $80 and get the sb-600 just to future proof yourself a bit. Here's an example of the sb-400 in action:

without the bounce flash (direct):
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/1299/6ad8ab51ud1.jpg

WITH the bounce flash (tilted 90 degrees to the ceiling):
http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/604/71531743vq6.jpg

[rickysu]

oops i use sb800 on my D40
sb800 i set as remote flash and i turn my d40 pop up flash on then i just shot it and both of it fired the flash...
i can make a creative lightning :)
but use manual mode ,ok?

[topslakr]

For use on a D40 you can't go wrong with an SB-400. Works great, recycles fast and is tiny. I have a tiny camera bag that I take when I'm out but not out to shoot. It has my D40, my 24-120 and the SB-400. I own an SB-600 but it's too big to carry around. The SB-400 could fit easily into a pocket and only takes 2 batteries. If you are looking for a simple flash to use indoors the SB-400 is the best choice. The ability to bounce the flash off the ceiling makes all the differance.

When I want to do off camera I use my SB-600 with the D300. I have never wanted to put the SB-600 on the D40 and I don't regret buying the SB-400 even though I now own a SB-600 as well. If you are thinking about off camera you either need another camera or a commander of some kind for the D40. When that times comes you may be looking at another camera but at the very least you will need an SB-800 or a SU-800 to make the off camera stuff flash.

For me, the SB-400 and the SB-600 fill differant purposes. For the price of the SB-400 you can't go wrong.

Robert

[bonez318ti]

I happened upon a ridiculously cheap SB-26 during my search for a prime lens.. and although I never thought I'd need a flash, i bought it anyway just to experiment with.

I realize there are alot of features on the SB-26 that I'll never get to take advantage of, but I wonder, as a new photographer, what are some useful features I can use it for? Since much of the settings will need to be manually set, it doesn't seem like a particularly useful flash for off the cuff shots.

The only usefulness I've found thus far is having the ability to bounce the flash during indoor shots.. are there any other situations that I would consider lugging around this flash for?

Thanks!

[mrmnikon0921]

I currently have all three (well my wife has the SB-400 on her D40) and I have the SB-600 and SB-800. If you're just going to be doing simple, family, casual shooting - get the SB-400 and tilt the flash head up. It is a wonderful little flash and about a third the size and price of the 800. If you are going to be doing more complicated exposures or want the added flexibility - go for the 800 as it can be used as a master flash to trigger others also (if you decide to add on later). If you're going to use your camera as a very high quality point and shoot - 400, if you're going to experiment to see what the Nikon Creative Lighting System is all about - 800. Hope this helps!