flashes and bags [Archive] - Digital Camera Resource Page Forums

shoeytennis

12-31-2006, 05:55 PM

okk i want a flash.
how much better will i notice if i get the sb800 over the 600?
also is there any other off brand flashes worth checking out?
i love indoor shots but the nromal flash us just junk!

also i need a bag to house my d50-70-300 18-55 and 50mm and anothe lens any other good bags around nto to exspensive?
i am surprisngly having a hard time finding one.

jcon

12-31-2006, 06:44 PM

The SB-800 is more powerful, other than that, you wont notice much of a difference. No, dont get "off branded" flashes, stick the the Nikon speedlights, they are INCREDIBLE! You wont even notice the difference between flash and no flash pictures(if done correctly).

I cant speak on bags, thats not my thing. When I get to the point I need something to lug my gear, I will be looking at hard cases.

tcadwall

01-02-2007, 05:23 AM

I am very happy with my SB-600. If I was doing weddings or something like that where lighting was poor, ceilings very high, I would probably opt for the SB-800. Of course if that was my source of income I would have a variety of very fast glass as well - since shooting without a flash for much of the time would be required.

For the most part though, I can't think of another time that I thought my SB-600 was underpowered for what I was doing.

Stick with Nikon flashes.

Bags...

I have 3 hard cases, for camera / camcorder / accessories / etc. Also have a huge duffel that I carry a 3-light flourescent light kit and tripods in. But I have a daypack that I use for my laptop and camera for carrying around. I started a thread on that subject here... (http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26611) There are several good links in that thread. Just remember that you don't have to break the bank, but you don't want to break your expensive equipment either.

LR Max

01-02-2007, 06:02 AM

For bags I use a Lowepro Nova 2 AW. It can carry my D70s with the kit lense, then a telephoto zoom, and lastly has room for a flash but I put my 50mm lense there.

I prefer lowepro because I end up in outdoor situations, and rain can really ruin your day without proper equipment. Most Lowepro products have a rain fly that can quickly cover the bag and equipment. So rain can be countered with no problem. Also this is fairly compact-ish. I can strap it to my side and not have it on my way *too* much. Also if you look online at B&H photo or adorama, you can find this bag for half of what it sells in stores.

As for the flash, I am in the same deliberation as you. But I did play with a SB-800 that has a dome on it. You GOTTA have that dome. Its pretty sweet. If you buy a SB-600 it does not come with said dome but it can be found here for a reasonable price:

http://www.adorama.com/SFOMNK6A.html

rawpaw18

01-02-2007, 12:17 PM

Hey Shoey,
I just got the SB800, one thing I like is that in SU4 mode you can use it off camera and have your on board flash set it off. It will not be TTL but it can be used manually. definitely adds to creative lighting shots.

Also just got the Lowepro Mini Trekker Classic backpack, I can acutally put the D50 with the 70-200mm (which is about nine inches long) attached in the bag! I like the backpacks not for hiking but when I open the bag everything is right there without having to dig under another layer.

shoeytennis

01-02-2007, 02:39 PM

thanxs for all the help so far.
thats a cool feature with the sb800 the 600 doesnt do that? im sure if i can shell out 100 mroe bucks for this feature!
rawapw- that bag look spretty sweet it is exactly what the type im looking for and im going to check out some prices on one right now.
also someone said the sb800 comes pacakaged with a diffuser and the 600 doesnt,correct?

K1W1

01-02-2007, 02:59 PM

thanxs for all the help so far.
thats a cool feature with the sb800 the 600 doesnt do that? im sure if i can shell out 100 more bucks for this feature!

The SB-800 does come with a diffuser and some other items that, if you add them to the cost of a SB-600 make the two flashes almost the same value.

rawpaw18

01-02-2007, 04:36 PM

Shoey,
I had the micro trekker 200 for a couple of days, it is a nice bag but I upgraded for the slightly bigger size(room for future expansion). Try to see one in person if you can. I cut off some of the extra straps but other than that it is perfect.

tcadwall

01-02-2007, 04:47 PM

This has been a topic of confusion before. The SB-600 DOES function as an off camera slave. Unfortunately, the D50 will not control it, though it will TRIGGER it. This is the same for the SB-800. The D70s and quite a few other Nikon cameras will CONTROL the SB-600 as well as the SB-800 (at least at limited levels depending on camera).

When you decide that you want to get fancier with multiple groups and having remote control then you will need an SB-800 or a control module to control the different groups.

---wanted to correct this. The SB-600 will not trigger off the D50, the SB-800 will in SU-4 mode---

rawpaw18

01-02-2007, 06:16 PM

The SB-600 DOES function as an off camera slave. This is the same for the SB-800.

Thanks, noted.

tcadwall

01-02-2007, 06:43 PM

Sorry - it appears that I came across yelling... Just wanted to clear up some confusion - not yell. It can be pretty confusing.

shoeytennis

01-02-2007, 11:41 PM

hey tcaldwell thanxs for the help, hey how do you liek that 18-200 lens?

rawpaw18

01-03-2007, 03:36 AM

Sorry - it appears that I came across yelling... Just wanted to clear up some confusion - not yell. It can be pretty confusing.

I did not take it that way at all, I appreciate the info. The more information the better. I would like to help others but I certainly do not want to mislead them. Keep me straight, Thanks.

rawpaw18

01-03-2007, 03:59 AM

Rockwells comparison of the two flashes
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/sb600vs800.htm

tcadwall

01-03-2007, 04:06 AM

hey how do you liek that 18-200 lens?Ok, this is a bit off topic, but what's new?

Well the answer is - I like it, and it is on my camera most of he time(I don't have a good lens collection yet). But it does of course have some obvious limitations.

It is a slow lens. Don't plan on shooting low-light sports with it.

It does pretty darned well in most situations, but is not - of course - like having primes, or fast glass.

I am glad I have it. If you want more critique, we should probably start a new thread.;)

eduardofrances

01-03-2007, 10:17 AM

For bags if you want Backpack style the Naneu Pro U60 is a great bag that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, but as always is a good idea to carry all your equipment to the store and try the bags by putting your equipment there to see that all your gear is comfortably sited in the bag.

Wowzer

01-03-2007, 10:37 PM

tekriter

01-04-2007, 03:52 AM

How can I set the SB600 so that my D50 can trigger it?

TIA

because I was wondering the same thing.

I have a D50, and am about to buy either a 600 or an 800, but I need to know a few things...

If I use the flash on camera, the 600 can be fully controlled by the D50, right?

Off-camera, say on a clamp stand above my shooting position, what can the 600 do for me, is the 800 better in any way, or does my D50 limit the possibilities regardless of which flash I have? How does the D50 trigger the 600, or 800, for that matter?

I shoot high school sports as a volunteer, and in our gym we have a catwalk that would be a great place to put a flash while I shoot from the floor. I'd love to be able to just buy the 600, but if it won't do stuff like that with a D50 then I have to rethink my options.

Getting a D70s, D80 or D200 really aren't options I can afford right now...in the last 12 months I convinced my wife that I HAD to have the Sigma 18-200, and HAD to have the Nikkor 80-200 f2.8...so I can't go the big money route just yet.

tcadwall

01-04-2007, 04:46 AM

If I use the flash on camera, the 600 can be fully controlled by the D50, right?

I don't have a D50, but the answer would be yes... on camera. iTTL and the whole works. If you want iTTL to work off camera you need to purchase a controller in the form of the SB-800 to work ON camera and say an SB-600 (or of course SB-800) off camera. Or you could purchase the SU-800 which is the controller, but doesn't provide the flash in combination with a SB-600 off camera. Either of those would work.

As far as getting the SB-600 to TRIGGER - someone with a D50 that has done this could answer that better. I think you would just have to set up the SB-600 off camera, and it would trigger in response to the on-camera flash going off. I am not sure if you need to set the camera up differently, nor am I sure if you would need to set anything on the flash - I think you would need to set the strength on the flash since you are missing the iTTL control. I think if you do a search on the forum you will find your answer - I am sure I saw it explained somewhere here within the last couple of months.

As far as the catwalk thing - I don't think that would work. I see big shadows if it was even pointing in the right direction. Depending on the height of the catwalk, I see either the flash not being powerful enough, or the flash being struck by a ball (ok, shouldn't happen in basketball, but you never know).

Since I am not so familiar with the D50 - I will leave this to other to confirm, but I think something like this (http://www.nikonusa.com/template.php?cat=1&grp=257&productNr=4766) might work if you wanted to mount the flash to a bracket on your camera (to get the flash up higher for instance).

rawpaw18

01-04-2007, 12:13 PM

How can I set the SB600 so that my D50 can trigger it?

TIA

Does the SB600 have SU4 mode? That is how I set the SB800, put it in SU4 mode then manually set zoom and flash output.

tcadwall

01-04-2007, 04:01 PM

tcadwall

01-04-2007, 06:59 PM

I have spent some time tonight experimenting with this, and I think I have to recant my statement that the D50 can trigger the SB-600 off camera. Even as adamantly as I earlier stated that it would work:eek: :o (this was based on what others had said, which I now no longer believe). I would really expect that it could, and I know that I have heard this argued by people that own that combination that it works. But I could not simulate it with my D70s and SB-600. Easy enough to make it work correctly, but not able to make it fire at all if the D70s wasn't in commander mode, and the flash was not on Group 3 A.

Maybe there is a Hack out there that will make it work. I don't think there is a "supported" way to do it.

Of course iTTL can be done in a wired configuration... :cool:

rawpaw18

01-04-2007, 07:27 PM

I checked previous threads on Nikonians, dpreview and the best site DCRP and I could not find where using the D50 you could fire the SB600 off the camera without cables or a commander. I guess now we know. Settled law unless someone else has something to contradict it.

tcadwall

01-04-2007, 07:35 PM

Yeah something other than words.;) :o

eduardofrances

01-05-2007, 07:27 AM

This is where some research/testing would be necessary. The SB600 does not have a SU-4 mode. According to Thom Hogan this is required to flash both the on camera AND the remote simultaneously (on my D70s). However, I know that this has been contested by D50 owners that have played with it and hotly contest that the D50 will trigger the SB-600. I can't find an official word that doesn't seem to counter that claim though. I will have to mess with it (without putting my D70s into control mode)

there isn't any way to use the D50 as a remote commander in the CLS system without a SB800 or the remote unit that works as commander for the CLS system.

I have extensively dug up the menu and there is no option to trigger nor the Sb600 or SB800 off camera by the D50, user manual and nikonians. :)

tekriter

01-05-2007, 10:10 AM

Someone could buy me a 600 and an 800 and I promise that I would run extensive tests and report the results.

I'm willing to sacrifice to help out my friends here!!

eduardofrances

01-05-2007, 10:50 AM

Someone could buy me a 600 and an 800 and I promise that I would run extensive tests and report the results.

I'm willing to sacrifice to help out my friends here!!

but to do a good objective test you also need a Nikon D200 to see what the D50 is missing by not being able to be in commander mode, of course this would take you some years and you will need all the equipment close. ;)

rawpaw18

01-05-2007, 11:26 AM

I have extensively dug up the menu and there is no option to trigger nor the Sb600 or SB800 off camera by the D50, user manual and nikonians. :)

This statement is incorrect, in regards to the SB800. There may be no option listed in the menu but, you can have the D50 trigger the SB800 by its onborad flash. All settings on the flash are done manually ie: zoom and output. Put the flash in SU4 mode then go from there. First hand experience.

Link from Nikonians http://www.nikonians.org/dcforum/DCForumID7/15730.html#0

We should have all this in one thread.

rawpaw18

01-05-2007, 12:17 PM

Yeah that's me.
18848

Camerajunkie

01-05-2007, 04:14 PM

I bought the Lowepro Slingshot 200 and I really like it. I wanted a backpack style this time instead of a gadget bag and I looked at camera stores and wasn't too happy with where the backpack hit my back when carrying it. (They didn't have the Lowepro Micro Trekker 200 (just the 100) in the store.) I thought a lot about getting the 200. Then I looked at the slingshot and I love the feature that allows me to sling the bag around and remove my camera without taking the bag off and setting it down.

I got it, it's HUGE (or so it seems) but it holds my things well, leaves me with growing room, and I like where it hits on my back.

Oh, and I bought mine from Amazon. Free shipping at the time and all that.

CJ

TNB

01-05-2007, 09:45 PM

So far I own the bags listed in my signature. Tonight, I also purchased a large "rolling" Tenba Shootout Backpack that holds a 17" notebook, two cameras, a flash, and 7 lenses. However, it didn't appear to come with the weatherwrap, so I'm going to return it and/or exchange it in the morning.

http://www.tenba.com/products/2000_01_shootout_wh_bk.asp

shoeytennis

01-06-2007, 03:52 PM

i got a polaroaid passport camera yesterday and it has a huge flash bulit on it is there anyway to takew it off and out it on the d50? probably no but you ever know.

boominrick

01-07-2007, 10:42 AM

what do you guys think of the nikon bag? i was thinking of getting the slr pack that comes with a bag, filter, battery and book, its like $100

rawpaw18

01-07-2007, 11:14 AM

I usually pass on the pre-packaged kit deals, the filter is probably not all that great, I have not had the need for a second battery, it lasts a long time. Look at bags first hand if possible, to see if it will fit your immediate and near future needs. You are still looking at lenses, so you do not know what size bag to get yet.

eduardofrances

01-09-2007, 08:06 AM

This statement is incorrect, in regards to the SB800. There may be no option listed in the menu but, you can have the D50 trigger the SB800 by its onborad flash. All settings on the flash are done manually ie: zoom and output. Put the flash in SU4 mode then go from there. First hand experience.

Link from Nikonians http://www.nikonians.org/dcforum/DCForumID7/15730.html#0

We should have all this in one thread.

Perhaps you are talking about of firing them with an optical slave function, as I stated before, if it triggered by optical slave is not the same as triggering it with commander mode like the D70s D80, D200 or D2Xs. the D50 and the D40 are the cameras that doesn't have commander function in the CLS system.

The SB800 can act as commander in CLS when mounted in the D50, however the built in flash in the D50 Can't act as commander in CLS.

Camerajunkie

01-09-2007, 10:33 AM

what do you guys think of the nikon bag? i was thinking of getting the slr pack that comes with a bag, filter, battery and book, its like $100

I actually own the Nikon gadget back, from back when I first bought my N65. I thought about, and had it on order, for this time around too. Amazon didn't get it in stock and cancelled my order so I started looking farther afield. It's got enough space for starting out. I never outgrew it with my N65 but I could never afford more camera equipment either. I will say that the big drawback with it would be only being able to use it as a shoulder bag. Makes it harder to carry in crowds or cramped spaces. And if you carry anything else (seems I always had a diaper bag too), it can make you feel really bulky.

As for the extra battery, I'll admit, I'm neurotic that way. I know the battery lasts forever but the thought of not being able to use my camera while it's charging was enough to have me pick up a spare. Now I need a spare SD card too.

CJ

shoeytennis

01-09-2007, 11:15 PM

whole visitng meijers tongiht for some condiments i decided to look at camera bags, sur[risingly i found one i really that fits eveyrthing perfect for 20 bucks, i am a happy camper.

rawpaw18

01-10-2007, 03:41 AM

Perhaps you are talking about of firing them with an optical slave function, as I stated before, if it triggered by optical slave is not the same as triggering it with commander mode like the D70s D80, D200 or D2Xs. the D50 and the D40 are the cameras that doesn't have commander function in the CLS system.

The SB800 can act as commander in CLS when mounted in the D50, however the built in flash in the D50 Can't act as commander in CLS.

You are correct.^

Except
I did not say it was acting as commander, nor did I say it was in CLS, and I never said it was the same as if in commander mode. I said it was in manual SU4, meaning not cls or commander. My stupid picture shows it is possible to trigger the flash off camera just not in commander or cls, can we agree on that?

This is the quote that I have been hung up on...You may have meant it to go with your preceeding paragraph
"I have extensively dug up the menu and there is no option to trigger nor the Sb600 or SB800 off camera by the D50, user manual and nikonians. "