external flash suggestions

[bimborocks]

I have had my D70 for a few years now and ticked over 10000 shots a few weeks ago. I have the kit 18-70 ED lens as well as the 70-300 ED lens. I am finding that sometimes that the kit lens just isn't quite fast enough and am thinking about getting an external flash. It seems everyone uses the sb600 or 800, are their other options for someone on a budget

Just wondering what flash you would suggest

cheers
James

[Raskill]

This all depends on budget.

If you are on a tight budget, then I would go for the SB600. If you think you can afford it, and want the choice of more creativity, then I owuld suggest the SB800. The SB600 is a great speedlight, you can certainly do a lot worse!

[bimborocks]

not sure on budget yet as i am also thinking of getting a 50mm 1.8 lens for indoor/lower light/wedding. thinking of getting the lens very soon and waiting till july (birthday) to get the flash even though i want it now.

are their other flashes out there other than the sb600 and 800 or are they just the ducks nut when it comes to flashes

[gstark]

James,

What are the specific issues that you're trying to address?

[bimborocks]

sometime i find that i don't have enough light with the inbuilt as well as on close ups the flash seems to be really concentrated/direct. have seen some stuff on using external flashes to bounce light and use difusers to get a better and more even coverage of light.

i would also like the flexability to fire the flash from the side or angle to get differant effects - particularly when shooting fish and corals in my fishtank

[Oz_Beachside]

sometime i find that i don't have enough light with the inbuilt as well as on close ups the flash seems to be really concentrated/direct. have seen some stuff on using external flashes to bounce light and use difusers to get a better and more even coverage of light.

i would also like the flexibility to fire the flash from the side or angle to get differant effects - particularly when shooting fish and corals in my fishtank

If you have $400, get an SB600 AND an SC-28. If you have $500 get an SB-800 and an SC-29. The SC's give you the ability to hold your flash at an agle well off camera, say the side of your fish tank.

a bounce light is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

If your subject matter is primarily fish tanks, maybe get advise from a fishtank specialist.

There is a member in here, I think his name is ATJ, who has many fish tanks, so he might be a great person to answer on topic...

[Reschsmooth]

I have no experience with it, but perhaps you could look at the SB-80 or the SB-80DX which you can probably find quite cheap on ebay. If you aren't after the creative lighting system associated with the 800/600, perhaps these flashes could suit? Others have probably better advice.

Alternatively, if most of your photos are static, indoors types (with access to mains power) you can look at cheap studio lighting on ebay - I bought a pair of studio lights, brollies, stands, etc for about $350 on ebay.

P

[Mr Darcy]

Depending on what you want to achieve, you can get by with no flash at all.
Try the painters lights available from Bunnings et al for about $30 (I have seen them on special as cheap as $5). These range in output from 150...500 Watts, and are more than adequate lighting for most indoor use. Set the camera to Incandescent & you will be close to the correct WB. This option should be more than adequate to capture your aquarium fish.

Cheap manual flash are the next option. These are portable but you lose most of the automatic functionality & you definitely lose the ability for wireless remotes (you can get adapters to overcome this, but $$. BEWARE. Old flash guns may have trigger voltages high enough to damage your camera. From memory, the voltage must be less than 24V between the contacts on the flash (- this may not be accurate - I don't have the manual with me to check ). Canon are far worse here. They specify a maximum of 6V. One old Haminex flash I have measures over 300V.

Studio flash are the next option. These are available on ebay from $300 up to $KK Much more versatile for studio work, but less than portable.

The SB 600/800 give you portability & almost studio light flexibility, but you really need to spend extra to get the most out of them. Think soft boxes, diffusers, multiple SBs etc.

One interesting option are the later Nikon SBs prior to the 600/800. e.g. SB26. These give you basic wireless capability - you can trigger them remotely via your internal flash, but only in manual mode. You can extend your range, add highlights etc with them, You also get some automatic capability if used on camera, or via a lead (SC28). Available 2nd hand from about $100. See http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html for ideas along these lines.

HTH

[bimborocks]

thanks
you have given me a bit more to think about. just trying to work out exactly what i want to acheive now and also what i am likely to want in the future as well. I still think an external flash is the way to go but i do have some painters lights with 2x150 watts that i never thought of using but that is not really practical if i want to take photos other than at home

cheers
James

[barry]

Good summary Mr Darcy

[gstark]

Hi James,

You've raised a few different issues.

First of all, while the kit lens is a great lens, it is, as you've already identifed, optically slow.

Let's start by addressing that issue: for under $200, you can get yourself a 50mm f/1.8 lens. Sharp, fast, inexpensive, and about as good value as you're going to find anywhere, any time.

As a starting point, through this site it's just $Au167 delivered to your door. You may find it cheaper elsewhere, but my point is that this is a very inexpensive and flexible way to start to overcome some of the issues that you're seeing.

sometime i find that i don't have enough light with the inbuilt as well as on close ups the flash seems to be really concentrated/direct.

This is mostly an issue of ligh balance: what you need to do is to learn about Flash Exposure Compensation (FEC). This lets you dial down the flash unit's output, and permits you to get a better balanced exposure.

Make sure that the camera is turned on.

Using the on-camera flash unit, pop the flash. Now, (and we're looking at the camera from a "photo taking" position, behind it) hold down the flash release button. That's the one on the left side of the pentamirror housing, above the lens mount. While holding this button down, turn the front sub-command dial, and pay attention to the LCD display. As you turn the dial, you'll see values like 0.3, 0.7, 1.0, or -0.3, -.07, -1.0 etc cycle through the display. This is how much (or little) extra power you are giving to your flash.

Start with a setting of -0.7 (under expose 2/3 stop) and see where that takes you. Play with different settings and different subjects, and learn and understand what works for you in what circumstances.

have seen some stuff on using external flashes to bounce light and use difusers to get a better and more even coverage of light.

Yes; these are basically all good for off-camera flash, but the built-in unit is surprisingly good once you understand some of its capabilities, and yes, you can diffuse that too. Try taping a plain white kleenex to it, for instance, taking care to not cause it to interfere with your lens.

i would also like the flexability to fire the flash from the side or angle to get differant effects - particularly when shooting fish and corals in my fishtank

Reflectors are good for this as well, and there are small, cheap flash units that can be used as slaves as well.

For now, I'd try to master what you have, but also consider the 50 f/1.8.

And for shooting into your fishtank, if you're using flash, never shoot directly at it, 'cos all you'll get will be a reflection from the glass.

[Reschsmooth]

Try taping a plain white kleenex to it, for instance, taking care to not cause it to interfere with your lens.

Gary, I presume you were suitably compensated for the product promotion?

P

[gstark]

PAtrick,

Yes, I have one sitting on my desk.

[Alpha_7]

PAtrick,

Yes, I have one sitting on my desk.

Gary don't blow it all in one go.

[Mr Darcy]

Try taping a plain white kleenex to it,

At Last!!! Now I know where I've been going wrong with my flash photography!

Never would have thought of this. I'm a hankie man myself.

[ATJ]

G'day James,

I'm pretty sure you have seen some of my shots from MASS meetings or of my own tanks. I have an old SB-24 left over from my film days that I use mostly mounted on the hot shoe for in-tank fish photographs. I can only use it in manual mode but that gives me more than adequate exposure. While bounce back off the glass can be a problem, the camera is usually close enough to the glass that the height of the flash provides enough separation to eliminate bounce. I guess I have the reflection of the flash in one out of 50 shots. Either the SB-600 or the SB-800 would allow you to do the same thing.

I normally use my 60mm Micro-Nikkor but can still get good shots with the kit lens.

The beauty of using a flash is that you freeze movement - which is a real issue for fish - and you can also use a smaller aperture to increase depth of field. As both the SB-600 and SB-800 support iTTL, you can be flexible with depth of field so that you get the fish in focus but the background out of focus.

Here are a few of my photographs of fish:

[bimborocks]

Thanks for all the advice.
I have seen you in action andrew and have seen many fantastic pics that you have taken and it was at the mass meeting at searlsys place that i saw you taking photos with the flash off the camera and realised how some of those photos where taken.

I think the plan for the moment is to spend a lot of time playing round with the inbuilt flash and try and get as much out of it as possible and also get the 50mm 1.8D lens for a bit more speed indoors. Then come birthday time i may be asking for a sb600 or 800

cheers
james

[ATJ]

I think the plan for the moment is to spend a lot of time playing round with the inbuilt flash and try and get as much out of it as possible...

James,

Make sure you take note of Gary's comments on reflection from the glass. This will be more of the problem with the inbuilt flash that an external one mounted on the hot shoe as it is closer to the lens. This can be a real pain as ideally you want to shoot perpendicular to the glass to reduce distortion. You will have to play around with it until you strike the happy medium between far enough off perpendicular to avoid reflection, but not too far that the distortion is noticeable.

[Keith anderson]

I would only go for a SB600 or SB800, I have a SB800. If you buy the older flashes like the DX series you lose to many functions, two major ones are i-TTL and wireless. The D70's flash can be set up as a commander to remotely trigger the SB flashes, This just plain works and the slave flash doesn't even need to be in sight. i-TTL flash is spot on and rarely do you need to fiddle with settings, The two flashes also automatically, if your camera has been set up switch to FP flash.

Save the money and get one of these, you wontt regret it