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I am trying to decide which flash will best suit my needs (general flash use with D70's, some sport, perhaps with the 70-200 VR). Ken Rockwell reckons the SB-600 is better because the 800 is kitted with extra stuff like strobe that no one uses or cares about and is a much more user friendly flash.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/sb600vs800.htm

However talking to my local he seems to think the 800 is far superior.
They both cant be right? I know personally I can get excited about specs but often these can get in the way of real world use.
Any insight would be appreciated.
Thanks..

Essendon,
Pls. do the search, we have so many threads on this board about these two speedlights.

Birdy's right - there's numerous threads on this topic

But, since you asked...

Yes, Rockwell is right - there are a lot of features on the SB800 that most people wouldn't want, letalone need. These can be a lot of fun though - and I've had some pretty cool results with the strobe (which has more uses than you'd think as we discovered in Jenolan Caves last year).

If you're not after a flash that does everything including tie-ing your shoelaces, then the SB600 is probably sufficient. The SB800 does have a slightly stronger head on it's shoulders though, which may be useful in really dark situations. There's a few other points of difference too. Do your research, and choose based on what you think you may se it for - and be happy with that decision once it's made

Go the SB800, lots of extra features, fantastic flash, did some test shots around the house trying different angles. Just lights up the whole room its amazing.

Searching is the best way type in SB800 and on your way, thats what made up my mind

If you still cannot make your mind up, will this be the ONLY flash unit you will buy ? If you only plan to have the one & don't need all those "extra" features, go the SB600.

If you plan to get additional speedlights in the future, go the SB800. The 800 can act as a master and control other SB800's OR Sb600's. The SB600 cannot control other units.

If all this is of little importance to you, and you don't want to spend the extra $$$'s, buy the SB600.

Whichever you get, you won't be disappointed

I have the SB800, and anticipate buying at least one and maybe two more.

Why? Power. The flash knows how to give you less power than its maximum, but there is no way it can give you more. If you are doing sports, you'll need the grunt.

Additionally, the SB800 can act as a master in multi-flash situations, while the SB6000 cannot. The additional features such as diffusers and gels are not to be sneezed at either.

For the small difference in cost, the SB800 gives a lot more.

Thanks guys.

Your insight is appreciated.

If i had the time to read all of the posts i would probably never have to post here. There is a hell of a lot of fantastic info covering pretty much everything. I have read a fair bit on both flashes, but as with my question i am getting conflicting info so was looking for it from your collecive knowledge base.

With that said the SB-800 definatly seems like the way to go and i wont feel so guilty shedding out the bucks for one.

cricketfan wrote:Why? Power. The flash knows how to give you less power than its maximum, but there is no way it can give you more. If you are doing sports, you'll need the grunt.

For the small difference in cost, the SB800 gives a lot more.

2/3 of a stop isn't that much power.

One of the bigger benefits of the SB800 to some people, is that it can be attached to the bigger external powerpacks. If you aren't shooting professionally at an event that requires fast recycling at high power (eg graduation ceremonies) you will not need this though.

When controlling other SB-600's why not use the on camera flash (D70, D200, but not D2x).

This is just a matter of what is overkill, the SB-800 is quite a lot more expensive.

I agree with Heath. I purchased a SB600, and have been very happy with it. It does everything that I need.

Regards
meicw

Something that is rarely mentioned but I find extremely useful on the SB-800 is the builtin SU-4 mode. If you shoot film you can trigger the SB-800 remotely. With a D50/D70 it can still be useful since with a little manual config you have 2 flashes (onboard and remote). Unfortunately when the D70 is in commander mode you can't use it's flash for illumination & the D50 doesn't have commander mode. The D200 doesn't have this limitation.

The included diffuser and gels are nice and save some effort hunting around for 3rd party bits.

I decided on the SB-800 myself & haven't regretted it in the slightest.

How about this comprimise...

Buy the SB-600 first, SB-800 second. This way you get to start simple, but still use it when you decide to use multiple flashes.

..Or get the SB-800 and have the ability to use multiple flashes (popup + SB-800) from day one .

xorl wrote:..Or get the SB-800 and have the ability to use multiple flashes (popup + SB-800) from day one .

I don't understand what you mean... The SB-600 can be used in a multiple flash setup also. (popup + SB-600!)

I got the SB600 first - it's a brilliant piece of kit. Wireless just works with the D70 inbuilt. I want an SB800 too so I can start controlling multiple wireless as well though. I mean, you can do this with multiple 600's and the inbuilt, but I'm ready for the bigger toy.

I have a SB600 and want a SB800.

In my view its like comparing a D50 Vs a D70 both great cameras but why sell yourself short on features you might need....SB800 but it depend on your priority I guess.

Heath Bennett wrote:I don't understand what you mean... The SB-600 can be used in a multiple flash setup also. (popup + SB-600!)

When using the D70 flash in commander mode the popup can't light the subject in the photo. The flash can only be used to control 1 remote flash group. If you put the D70 flash into manual mode and put the SB-800 into SU-4 mode you can light the subject with both the D70 flash and the SB-800 simultaneously. It's not automatic and requires some setup but in many situations it's fine. The same technique can provide remote flash on the D50 which doesn't support commander mode.

This trick has saved me $$$ since I have been able to keep my lust down to manageable levels and avoid buying another SB-800 .

I'd be going the SB800 personally. Extra power alone would do it for me, 2/3rd of a stop is quite a bit at times and in other features you can out grow a flash faster than a camera so you need to be sure of your initial purchase imo.
I think what you should be asking yourself is how many flashes do you want to end up purchasing? If only one, go the SB800, if your prepared to maybe look at additional purchases down the track, then maybe the SB600 may be the one. You can always go an SB800 second time around if you think you need "more."

the argument about the extra 2/3 stop in flash power can be likened to the argument over the 50 1.4 or 1.8

Is that little extra worth all the money ? If you are out somewhere and you need that extra 2/3 stop, then YES, it is worth it. It's a hard one to judge because without any of the speedlights, you're ALWAYS wanting more flash power (when using the in-built flash). Knowing whether or not you WILL need that little extra power is hard to guage.

In the end, if you can afford to get the SB800, get it and all your troubles are over (well most of them). If you cannot, get the SB600 and if you find it is holding you back.....you know what to do !

xorl wrote:

Heath Bennett wrote:I don't understand what you mean... The SB-600 can be used in a multiple flash setup also. (popup + SB-600!)

When using the D70 flash in commander mode the popup can't light the subject in the photo. The flash can only be used to control 1 remote flash group. If you put the D70 flash into manual mode and put the SB-800 into SU-4 mode you can light the subject with both the D70 flash and the SB-800 simultaneously. It's not automatic and requires some setup but in many situations it's fine. The same technique can provide remote flash on the D50 which doesn't support commander mode.

This trick has saved me $$$ since I have been able to keep my lust down to manageable levels and avoid buying another SB-800 .

I see what you mean, and the 600 can't be used for illumination like that...

You would have to be pretty close to your subject with the on-board flash to make an impression (or be using the 800 at minimal power), and the tiny flash is about as un-diffused as you could ever get!

Still, it does the trick I suppose.

Heath Bennett wrote:You would have to be pretty close to your subject with the on-board flash to make an impression (or be using the 800 at minimal power), and the tiny flash is about as un-diffused as you could ever get!

The SB-800 is quite powerful so you can diffuse the remote flash and use the popup for fill if necessary.

I am very happy with my SB600 and use it all the time with my Lightsphere II and get great results....

Happy new year to all. I have been away for 2 months and have 18000 posts to read!

Cheers
Gecko

This is like one of those 85mm f1.8 vs 85f1.4 threads at dpreview...

I'd tell you to get the SB800, because you're going to get it eventually, why not satisfy yourself sooner?

People, there will be another same thread in the next few days