What am I missing if I get sb600 over sb900? I don't plan on doing any sort of studio shots and the flash will be always on the camera. Is the diffuser for sb900 works better than typical sto-ffen one? How much more powerful sb900 is?
beam control is light shaping at the source...
200mm zooming means the flash zooms out to 200mm... most flashes go out to 135mm... new to flash are you? if so, have a look here.
I'm going to say, if you know the size of the SB900, and you know the cost, and these things are not issues, then get the SB900. Pick a function, and it will be better than the SB600. Afterall, it's just money.
my sb-800 is great, except for one FATAL flaw. The one direction that I want to turn it the MOST is the one that I can't turn it at ALL. I definately need a sb-900, since I won't lug around a stupid bracket everywhere
the sb600 only zooms to 85mm the sb800 goes to 105mm and the sb900 up to 200mm. You wont get a diffusion dome with the sb600. you can always buy an omnibounce if you want to but that only adds up to the price No gel filter either. But i never use the standard gels... guess the rest has already been mentioned.
oh the Sb900 has a nice star wars sound too when a full flash is emitted. KA SHEEEW, leaving your subject toasted. How cool is that?
R. Francois wrote:
oh the Sb900 has a nice star wars sound too when a full flash is emitted. KA SHEEEW, leaving your subject toasted. How cool is that?
The SB-900 is a much, much more usable flash all the way around. If you have really basic needs the SB-600 will do, but it is so incredibly easy to configure the SB-900 for a variety of setups. I have one SB-900 and two SB-600s. The SB-600's are great to be used in a wireless setup in conjunction with the SB-900, but I wouldn't want to do without the SB-900.
As for complaints, the SB-900 can be a bit too much in some situations. It can't ratchet itself down lower than 1/128th, so if you're shooting fill in dark situations it's very easy for the flash to overpower your subject. I've found myself having to opt for the SB-600 in some cases where the SB-900 was just too much.
JHerr wrote:
my sb-800 is great, except for one FATAL flaw. The one direction that I want to turn it the MOST is the one that I can't turn it at ALL. I definately need a sb-900, since I won't lug around a stupid bracket everywhere
Sam Bennett wrote:
The SB-900 is a much, much more usable flash all the way around. If you have really basic needs the SB-600 will do, but it is so incredibly easy to configure the SB-900 for a variety of setups. I have one SB-900 and two SB-600s. The SB-600's are great to be used in a wireless setup in conjunction with the SB-900, but I wouldn't want to do without the SB-900.
As for complaints, the SB-900 can be a bit too much in some situations. It can't ratchet itself down lower than 1/128th, so if you're shooting fill in dark situations it's very easy for the flash to overpower your subject. I've found myself having to opt for the SB-600 in some cases where the SB-900 was just too much....Show more →
What do you mean, it cant ratchet down lower than 1/128th?? Cant you just set -1 or -2 ev for fill etc?? Or do you have to go manual?
Gregory.Rotter wrote:
What do you mean, it cant ratchet down lower than 1/128th?? Cant you just set -1 or -2 ev for fill etc?? Or do you have to go manual?
Whatever you do, the minimum output of the flash is 1/128 of max power. What happens is, iTTL meters the scene and then decides what power level to use, on a scale of 1/1 to 1/128. You can dial -2 FEC but if the correct exposure needs 1/128 then that -2 has nowhere to go to. Just like adding +1 FEC when the flash would fire at full power anyway.
However, given that the SB600 only goes down to 1/64 and given that the SB900 is about 1 stop more powerful than the SB900 then 1/64 on the 600 is the same as 1/128 on the 900. So I'm not really sure where the perceived advantage comes from. It is a much bigger issue when using the pop-up flash on some cameras. Even though the pop-up flash is weaker than a SB600, the pop-up can only dial down to 1/16 so the minimum output will be more than a SB600 dialed down to 1/64.
Remember, the actual power is always relative to the max power setting. So 1/32 on one flash is not the same as 1/32 on another.
panos.v wrote
However, given that the SB600 only goes down to 1/64 and given that the SB900 is about 1 stop more powerful than the SB900 then 1/64 on the 600 is the same as 1/128 on the 900. So I'm not really sure where the perceived advantage comes from. It is a much bigger issue when using the pop-up flash on some cameras. Even though the pop-up flash is weaker than a SB600, the pop-up can only dial down to 1/16 so the minimum output will be more than a SB600 dialed down to 1/64.
The bottom line is that whether it's due to its power range or its guide number, the SB-600 will put out less power than the SB-900, and I've noticed this as being an advantage in some situations. This is with on-camera flash work, fwiw.
Sam Bennett wrote:
The bottom line is that whether it's due to its power range or its guide number, the SB-600 will put out less power than the SB-900, and I've noticed this as being an advantage in some situations. This is with on-camera flash work, fwiw.
Oh well, I set my mind on getting SB900...and, this...
if so, have a look 
