SB-400 good enough?

jamin100

jamin100

Messages
1,208
Name
Ben
Edit My Images
Yes
I'm thinking about my next photography based purchase in the next month or two. Ideally i'd like a D90 but i dont think the missus is going to spring to that seeing as were due our 3rd baby at the end of January..

Anyway, I was thinking about getting a Speedlight. Looking at the reviews i think i've narrowed it down to the SB-400. I know people say stay clear of this and get the SB-600 but I honestly dont think i'll need the 600...

I have a D3000, and really only take photos of the kids. When i'm indoors I'll need to use a flash. My ceiling height is about 12ft and there all white. I want to be able to bounce the flash off the ceiling to soften the light that the flash produces.

Now, the only downside I can see to the 400 is that when doing portrait shots I'd have to bounce the flash to the side, of a wall for example.

Is there any other reason I should know of that would make the 600 a better choice for MY requirements?
Price is a factor as always and the SB-400 is about half the price of the SB-600 second hand...

TIA
 
Have you considered a third party flash unit? Something like the Nissin 622 mk2 or the Yong Nuo YN467 both offer TTL modes (like the 400) and offer far more than an SB-400 features wise.

Looking at the prices of a SB-400 the Nissin will be about the same money and the Yong Nuo far cheaper.

You can use this to compare the flashes
http://speedlights.net/compare-speedlight-specs/?model=YN467&model2=SB-400

I ordered a YN467 and a wireless trigger for £80 and am waiting for it to arrive on the slow boat from china!
 
maninsuitcase said:
Have you considered a third party flash unit? Something like the Nissin 622 mk2 or the Yong Nuo YN467 both offer TTL modes (like the 400) and offer far more than an SB-400 features wise.

Looking at the prices of a SB-400 the Nissin will be about the same money and the Yong Nuo far cheaper.

You can use this to compare the flashes
http://speedlights.net/compare-speedlight-specs/?model=YN467&model2=SB-400

I ordered a YN467 and a wireless trigger for £80 and am waiting for it to arrive on the slow boat from china!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the Relpy,
The only thing that puts me off these flashes is the size. Same as the SB-600 its a big flash to put on a D3000 I think. To be honest I have never brought a flash before and am confused buy all the different modes etc....

What attracted me to the SB-400 was the small size and the simple operation.
 
jamin100 said:
Now, the only downside I can see to the 400 is that when doing portrait shots I'd have to bounce the flash to the side, of a wall for example.

Is there any other reason I should know of that would make the 600 a better choice for MY requirements?
Price is a factor as always and the SB-400 is about half the price of the SB-600 second hand...

TIA
Click to expand...

With the SB400 you can't, as you have said "bounce the flash to the side" as the head doesn't swivel, it only tilts up. It's also barely more powerful than your D3000's onboard flash.

If you shop around you can get the SB600 new for around £200 and about £150 secondhand, against £120 or so for a new SB400. If price is really the deciding factor then get a Nissin Di622, it's nearer the spec of the 600 than the 400 and can be found for under £100 at places like 7dayshop.
 
As long as your happy to stick to 'landscape' mode for your portraits (as you've already said that you can't be bothered with attaching the flash to the camera via a cable), then the SB-400 will be a significant improvement over any on-board flash and does indeed produce some pretty nice results when bounced off white ceilings :). As you say, it's also portable (and relatively cheap).

If you're fairly sure that you only want to use it in the way you described, then it's probably the easiest solution. For another 20 quid or so, you could add a cable to enable you to take it off-camera, which opens up other options. It doesn't do as much as some of the third party flashes and isn't as powerful, but it's neater and simpler to use.

Personally, I hardly ever use mine now, as I have a pair of SB-900s and usually take one of those with me if I think that extra light will be needed. Still, they cost nearly four times as much and are more than four times the size and weight, so there's no comparison really :|.

All things considered, I think an SB-400 sounds like a good choice :thumbs:.
 
I have a SB400 and an SB600 and I never really use the SB600 as it's just big and clunky and 99% of the time the SB400 does the job perfectly. Also consider that on the D3000 a SB600 will seriously compromise the handling (well it does on my D60 which is the same size).
 
Personally I would go for the 600, my flash is rarely off the camera when I am with the kids be it indoors or outdoors, even in the summer. I would also say before I got either my 800 or 900 I had a small cheap flash and hardly used it because it was no better than the onboard flash, the money would have been better used going towards a better flash
 
I've got the 400 and the 600. The 400 is handy when you want to travel light, but the 600 is definitely a notch up on power and function.

Then again, I bought a flash from Jessops last year at a silly price (around £35 IIRC) and it's not half bad at all ;) (it's build quality is naff, but that makes it a lot lighter which would be good on a small SLR!)
 
argh . . I really dont know what to do!!!!

I understand what everyone is saying about the limitations on the SB-400 and I also understand why the nissin Di622 is a better flash for the money...

The only thing that puts me off the nissin is the size. I think it'll look ridiculous on my D3000!
 
does anyone know whats better about the nissin di622 MK2 rather that the origional
 
I am not going to suggest one model over another - but I would say is, do not buy what is only "just good enough for now".

In a year or two, you will want to upgrade if one model isn't quite as good as you thought - think down the line. The bigger, more capable flash is going to be very much more versatile for longer.

I would also say, instead of bouncing the light off the ceiling - get a bounce card of some sort. the Lumiquest 80-20 is brilliant and only £30 or so. The difference the "softbox" attachement makes will do wonders for any flash that you get, especially for people pictures - remember to try and have the subject to background distance greater than the flash to subject distance. That way you will avoid horrid sharp shadows on the background.
 
Thanks everyone for there help in this thread. I've decided to bite the bullet and order the sb-400. I know I'll probably regret it but they seem to hold there value so I could always re-sell it in the future.

1 more question. I know I said that I didn't want to take the flash off the camera with a cord, but I've just seen a video on the Internet where the sb400 is taken off using a sc29. Now if I did decide to take the flash off the camera what's the cheapest way to do ir. Would the sc17 work or are there any other cheap cables that would do just as good a job.

Thanks and sorry for all the questions
 
Had a 400, then a 600, now a 900. The 400 was fine at the start, but going to a 600 was so much better, bouncing flash off a wall will look awful for most pics. If you cant get the 600, get one of the Yonguo (Not sure on spelling), from Flash in the Pan on here - think £60 or so should do the trick. I would choose that ahead of the 400.
 
Lol...too late now I have brought the 400.

Its only for taking photos of the kids. I may well end up selling and getting a better flash but for the money u need to give it a go
 
jamin100 said:
Thanks everyone for there help in this thread. I've decided to bite the bullet and order the sb-400. I know I'll probably regret it but they seem to hold there value so I could always re-sell it in the future.

1 more question. I know I said that I didn't want to take the flash off the camera with a cord, but I've just seen a video on the Internet where the sb400 is taken off using a sc29. Now if I did decide to take the flash off the camera what's the cheapest way to do ir. Would the sc17 work or are there any other cheap cables that would do just as good a job.

Thanks and sorry for all the questions
Click to expand...

The SC17 will work but it has been replaced by the SC28, there is also the SC29 which is the same as the SC28 with the addition of an AF assist light.
You will find that in a normal room the SB400 will work OK in portrait mode, just bounce off the wall with spill light reaching the ceiling etc. Set a custom white balance if the wall gives a colour to the shot. Not much control of where the light ends up but still good enought for family shots.
You can always add a bounce card to the SB400, for a small one just use a small piece of card with a tab on the longest side, slide the tab between the flash body & the head.
Uncle Ken shows you how to make a larger one, don't get taken in too much by his enthusiasm for the SB400 though, it is a good flash but not that good :D
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/sb400.htm
 
jamin100 said:
...

1 more question. I know I said that I didn't want to take the flash off the camera with a cord, but I've just seen a video on the Internet where the sb400 is taken off using a sc29. Now if I did decide to take the flash off the camera what's the cheapest way to do ir. Would the sc17 work or are there any other cheap cables that would do just as good a job.

Thanks and sorry for all the questions
Click to expand...

Yes, as I said before ...

Naboo32 said:
...

If you're fairly sure that you only want to use it in the way you described, then it's probably the easiest solution. For another 20 quid or so, you could add a cable to enable you to take it off-camera, which opens up other options. It doesn't do as much as some of the third party flashes and isn't as powerful, but it's neater and simpler to use.
Click to expand...

Perhaps I should have posted a link to an example. Here's one :) ...

Link ...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top