D90 with SB600 hot shoe better results than wireless.

[michaelinitaly]

I have been playing with the SB600 in wireless mode and the quality of the light or I more accurately, the image looks a thousand percent better when the unit is sitting in the hot shoe. Is this normal? When in wireless mode, there is a much more evident shadow and the overall lighting of the subject lower. I have tried holding the light over the hot shoe to make sure it is not the angle or distance. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong?

[Rob Necciai]

Depending on the conditions, I have found that when controlling remote flashes from the built-in on-camera flash, the on-camera flash "participates" in the exposure lighting. It's supposed to just communicate (with pre-flashes) to the remotes. What you're seeing may be a side effect of this behavior.

[OsmosisStudios]

Are you bouncing the light somehow? Using a diffuser?

Showing some examples can also help us diagnose any problems.

[cphoniball]

Generally speaking, if you know what you're doing, off camera light can be more dynamic and interesting than on camera light. That said, on-camera and bounce flash is easier to use, and if you don't know what you're doing off camera flash can be extremely haphazard. Very little things like the angle of the light and the use of gobos (cards to block the light from hitting certain things) and so forth all have a large effect...

So, in conclusion, my advice is to learn more about off-camera flash