Kelly Christie SB-400 vs. SB-600 Speed Light...Which do you recommend?

[kmchristie23]

I currently have the SB-400 speed light for my camera. I have a couple weddings I'm going to be shooting this summer, and am wondering if the 400 would be enough. Or, do you think I would benefit much more from the 600? And, if you have any experience or tips from using either one, I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you!

[zona5101]

The 600 isn't made any more - so you'd need to find a used one.
A 600 would be a better choice. It has the ability to bounce which will be invaluable.

[Aegea]

Originally Posted by zona5101

the 600 isn't made any more ... A 600 would be a better choice.

800? BTW, the 600 can bounce.

[Tito87]

Originally Posted by Aegea

800? BTW, the 600 can bounce.

Bruce knows that.

[zona5101]

Originally Posted by Tito87

Bruce knows that.

and a few more characters to make 10

[inkista]

Originally Posted by kmchristie23

I currently have the SB-400 speed light for my camera. I have a couple weddings I'm going to be shooting this summer, and am wondering if the 400 would be enough. Or, do you think I would benefit much more from the 600? And, if you have any experience or tips from using either one, I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you!

SB-900 or SB-700 would be ideal, but if the expense is too high, looking for a used SB-800 or SB-600 would be better. If that's still too expensive, then looking at a Nissin Di-622 or a YN-565EX might be the next step, but...

The SB-400 doesn't swivel, and is under-powered compared to a full-sized speedlight. You might be able to get away with it, but it's a lot more limited for bounce work than an SB-900, where the head can swivel a full 360° and you have a lot more power to throw the light farther. The larger the venue, the more powerful your light has to be, and in a very large venue even an SB-900 by itself may not be enough to bounce light off a really high ceiling, and you will still probably be stuck using high iso settings and wide open apertures.

For tips on how to use an on-camera flash, I'd recommend going to Neil van Niekerk's Tangents website (or read the book version of the same material), and for off-camera flash, I'd recommend the Strobist.

If you don't have a lot of time to prep, at least learn how to bounce the flash. This is where you point the flash head at a reflective surface (wall, ceiling), and use the reflected light as your illumination. Bouncing scatters and diffuses the light and makes it softer, so that the light looks more "natural."