Nikon Speedlight advice

[albiwan]

I wanted to buy a SB-600 speedlight. I have a Nikon D50 with 2 lenses: 15-55mm and 35-105mm. I was wondering if the SB-600 is alright for my camera or if there is any other light that fits better my needs. I usually do macro shots or portraits. thx

[googlit]

I don't know how highly my opinion gets counted, as I don't own it yet, but I'd recommend the 800. We were looking for a flash and thought about getting the 600, but decided to go for the 800 for the remote triggering and the slave flash capabilities. It's a couple hundred or so more, but seeing the 800 in action pretty much clinched it for me.

Does anybody know if they let you try out flashes in camera stores? I know you can test-run lenses and cameras, but I don't know about flashes...

[albiwan]

mmh, yep I saw the price. they have a few of those on ebay. what is exactly the remote triggering? I saw on some snowboarding or skateboarding magazine that they put a flash on a tripod far away from the camera...are we talking about that thing?

[Saralonde]

mmh, yep I saw the price. they have a few of those on ebay. what is exactly the remote triggering? I saw on some snowboarding or skateboarding magazine that they put a flash on a tripod far away from the camera...are we talking about that thing?

Yes, they were probably doing remote triggering. Generally you have a masterflash on your camera with the remote or "slave" set on a tripod away from your camera. The master sends a signal to the slave to flash when you take your picture. Not all flashes can be masters or slaves. You would need to read the specifications before you buy.

[googlit]

yeah, the master-slave thing works really really well... and according to the owner of the 800 that I talked to, you have three channels for the remote triggering, and you can have any number of flashes on each of the channels. So if you get two or more flashes (and I wish I could right now) you can basically use them as studio lights and set them up away from the camera.

If you've ever used an on-camera flash and felt restricted by its range and ability, definitely go for one with remote triggering... it's worth it (imho).

[albiwan]

so....if I buy one of these speedlights....do u have to buy anything else for the remote triggering? I mean does the camera sends a signal because of its built-in capabilities or is there a device u attach to the camera? Keep in mind I have a Nikon D50

[googlit]

nope... as I understand it, the remote trigger is your camera's flash, meaning that when you go to take the shot, your flash will fire, and the remote flash picks that up and fires itself. do make sure, though, that it's compatible with your camera. I'm not sure how the compatibility works out, but definitely look into it.

[AZ4Runner]

Does anybody know if they let you try out flashes in camera stores? I know you can test-run lenses and cameras, but I don't know about flashes...

Any camera store that's concerned with your photography will let you try out the flash in the store. I know the ones around me will also put it on the camera model (the D200 in my case) that I'll be using it with.

[AZ4Runner]

nope... as I understand it, the remote trigger is your camera's flash, meaning that when you go to take the shot, your flash will fire, and the remote flash picks that up and fires itself. do make sure, though, that it's compatible with your camera. I'm not sure how the compatibility works out, but definitely look into it.

Actually, I don't think all flashes have the capability of being remote(s), and some only have the capability of being triggered by IR. The SB-800, from what I understand can be used as a remote, triggered by either IR or a master flash.