new sb700 or used sb800

pmaccyd

pmaccyd

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Just moved over to nikon and need a flash. I've got a relatives wedding (registry office) at the end of next month. What would you guys get a used 800 or new 700. It isn't clear in the pocket wizard site if the 700 works with the flex system for off camera flash.
 
I'd get the SB800, it's more powerful for a start and I've not heard overly positive things about the SB700 - it's not that it's bad, just not better than what it's supposed to replace (SB600).

Edit, just had a further look and if you're using indoor flash the built in gels on the SB700 could be pretty handy!
 
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The gels are a most useful addition to the SB-700, pleased with mine :)

(Fair enough, the 600 has a higher guide number. It depends on what you are trying to achieve with the flash in the first place)
 
I have used the sb700 and the main thing that stands out is how much easier it is to use compared to the the sb800 and sb600. Its menus are very similar to the sb900. A flick of a switch gives u master/slave or ttl. No holding buttons for 3secs etc. The only thing I see better on the 800 is a pc sync port, which may or may not be important to u, depends if u use triggers or not?
 
pmaccyd said:
Just moved over to nikon and need a flash. I've got a relatives wedding (registry office) at the end of next month. What would you guys get a used 800 or new 700. It isn't clear in the pocket wizard site if the 700 works with the flex system for off camera flash.
Click to expand...



If you get the 900 you might want to disable to overheat shutdown, do it through the menu. It seems overly sensitive even with the latest firmware, once it kicks in you can't disable it or use the flash at all until it cools down. A real problem if you don't have a second flash on hand.

You still get the warning beeps and on screen warning but you can continue shooting. I've driven the 900 until the front fresnel lens starts to bubble, doesn't hurt the flash but I don't care about cosmetics just need the job done. Using a reasonably high ISO will reduce how hard you have to run it and external battery packs also reduce temp. And have the benefit if reducing recycle time.

Not sure if the 700 has the same issue with the thermal cut out but you might want to check. Besides this I still think the 900 is an awesome speedlight, much better controls than the 800, maybe the 700 has a similar layout?
 
lensflair said:
If you get the 900 you might want to disable to overheat shutdown, do it through the menu. It seems overly sensitive even with the latest firmware, once it kicks in you can't disable it or use the flash at all until it cools down. A real problem if you don't have a second flash on hand.

You still get the warning beeps and on screen warning but you can continue shooting. I've driven the 900 until the front fresnel lens starts to bubble, doesn't hurt the flash but I don't care about cosmetics just need the job done. Using a reasonably high ISO will reduce how hard you have to run it and external battery packs also reduce temp. And have the benefit if reducing recycle time.

Not sure if the 700 has the same issue with the thermal cut out but you might want to check. Besides this I still think the 900 is an awesome speedlight, much better controls than the 800, maybe the 700 has a similar layout?
Click to expand...

I checked into this before I purchased mine (700). This pretty much sums it up;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgtLyjhYLiI

Also, bear in mind the 900 is physically much bigger (and heavier) than both the 700 and 600 models.
 
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