Have a D90 with Nikon 18-105VR, 70-300VR, 50 1.8 and believe I am going to go Tokina 11-16 2.8.
I need a flash suggestion to compliment where I am at. The Nikon SB-600 seems well liked but I have had a few people suggest non Nikon brands as a better value.
In my experience, the off-brand flashes are *generally* not as reliable, and in many cases do not have consistent output. If you do buy an off-brand flash, consider some of the higher-end Metz flashes; my store's customers have said good things about those units... but all of the others on my shelves (Quantaray, Sunpack, Promaster etc) end up coming back as returns.
Nov 11, 2009 at 08:56 PM
Andre Labonte Offline • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
Exactly what do you want the light to do, and what are you lighting? That can make a huge difference in what I will suggest. You aren't going to over power the sun with an SB-600.
I'd like maybe one more stop of power and/or zoom to say 135mm out of my SB-600. Being stuck at smaller than f4 past 50mm eats into flash power pretty quick. Even my 70-200 2.8 could use more power from my SB-600 at times.
With that out of the way, the SB-600 is still a great flash and pretty good value at around $225. My D90 gives spot on exposure and white balance with my two SB-600s, and wireless CLS using the D90's built in flash as a commander is too much fun.
You might be able to find an SB-800 used, the next step up in the Nikon stable is the SB-900 at $470. I've used a SB-900 for all of ten minutes, but even in that short of time I can tell you that the controls on it are vastly superior to the SB-600. I haven't used any of the third party flashes , I don't want to chance CLS compatibility.
