Which Nikon Flash? SB-400 or SB-600 (above water)

[mike_s]

well I just got a SB-600 that I borrowed from my brother who was in town for the holidays.... took a few pics with it, but too early to give it a review.


However, my first thoughts on it when I saw it in the soft pad Nikon case it came in was "Wow, that thing is huge for a top mount flash".

 

[Mariozi]

I understand the 600 has more features... I just don't know that I'll use them all.

One thing I use ALL the time on my SB600 is the ability to turn the head sideways.
It is VERY useful for vertical shots with ceiling bounced flash. Or horizontal with wall bounce.

 

[mike_s]

yeah... I tried some "direct" flash shots (straight on) with the SB-600 and it really "burned" the image with too much flash. definately had to bounce it off the ceiling.

 

[CycloneFever]

Kind of dredging up an old thread, but I want to comment on one thing in particular.

You can bounce a 400. The front part does actually pivot upwards.

 

[sabbath999]

Absolutely positively the 600. No question about it.

 

[mike_s]

Since this thread is back alive, I'll report on what I did.

I borrowed a SB-600 from my brother... I really liked it, but it was big and not the perfect "travel flash".

The SB-400 was more compact and would do a lot of the jobs, but not as fancy as the SB-600 with all it's features.

So I bought both. My father is retired now and likes photography as a hobby. So I gave one of the flashes to him as his primary external flash and kept the other. That way we can easily trade or borrow the others flash if we need a bigger flash or a smaller compact travel flash.

 

[garyfotodiver]

Good idea. I like it.

 

[Rainer]

We us the SB-400 on a D40. Super portable and for most cases plenty of light. Yes, it bounces (vertical, not horizontal). Perfectly fine for shots around the hose (the majority of what we shoot), and works in spaces not too great in size. For *most* typical users, it's all you'd need. That, and it's cheap.

 

[mike_s]

Kind of dredging up an old thread, but I want to comment on one thing in particular.

You can bounce a 400. The front part does actually pivot upwards.

Correct. You can bounce the SB-400 upward. It's just not easy to tell in the Nikon pictures that it does this. Just the very front of the flash lens tilts upwards, not "half the flash" like on the SB-600


Ken Rockwell's page actually shows this quiet well though....



Pics from Ken Rockwells SB-400 page

Normal 'non tilt' mode.

Here is the "tilt up"