Speedlight for Nikon DX

d00d

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David
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Hey guys, I don't know if this is the best place to ask but, I need a speedlight, and I saw the following advertised as part of a package:

Nikon SB-800 Speedlight with diffuser, extra battery attachment, case, & manual

The seller has agreed to sell the above separately for £75. Is that a good price and what do I lookout for when buying this used gear?

Cheers. (y)
 
Does sound a good price assuming full working order and good condition. What to look out for? Simply that really, that everything works and there's no bits hanging off etc.
 
As above if it works correctly it is a good price.
 
Well, I aim to meet up and buy the SB-800 on Tuesday.

Been googling for compatibility with my D5300 .... and I'm confused. As far as I can gather the next range up (D7000) has a camera command mode to get the built-in flash to trigger the SB-800 remotely. But I'm not sure about my D5300. o_O

I'm sure there are many settings for both camera and flash to be mastered once I'm the new proud owner, but I don't think I want it if I can't use it remotely ... or will a cable do?!:confused:

I'd really appreciate any help/advice on this.

(y)
 
Looks like the D5300 does not have commander mode so for OCF you will need some triggers. I started off with yn603 even though my D90 could fire the my SB800, but have since moved to using a YB622n trigger as I can control the flash setting from them the yn622n tx.

If you are are only going to be using the flash OCF indoors for studio type work then the yn603n will do the trick. You could buy the triggers and a YN565ex or a YN560 iii for OCF which might work out cheaper.
Also don't forget to factor in the cost of a diffuser, light stand, bracket etc for OCF work.
 
Thanks so much Kev @sep9001 for shedding some light on this. I'm not so sure I want to go down this road right now.

Just thinking ... about on camera / hot shoes flash bouncing off ceiling techniques and stuff.

If the SB-800 won't do remote fire, can it be done with a cable?

or best forget the whole thing?
 
That's very cheap for an SB-800. Check it out carefully. I sold two recently for £130 each.

SB-800 can be fired OC from. Nikon SU-800 or pocket wizard type radio triggers. PWs give you TTL
 
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For using on camera it works well. For OCF I prefer to use a trigger as when I tried using the onboard flash to trigger the sb800 I was not happy with the results. I might have been using it the wrong way.

With the rf603's it worked well, then I changed to yn622 and that works well in TTL but what I found was I was not getting constant exposures until I started using the triggers in manual.

So depending on what type of photography you want to do using OCF it might be worth getting the rf603n to get you going.
 
Thanks all for your valued input. (y)

I'm thinking of just going ahead and buying this SB800, see what the different modes, settings, ceiling-bounce etc can do for my tabletop photography. Then looking into cables, triggers, wizards etc.

But first I need to know what I'm buying ...

snap-happy said:
Check it out carefully.
Click to expand...
technics100 said:
check it's fully working. . Flash zooms with lens zoom etc
Click to expand...

Of course I wouldn't buy it if it looked at all damaged or won't flash at all. But how do I know things like if the flash is zooming? Hmmm must remember to take a zoom lens along.

I'm just a simple old school SLR user who believes in natural light, in other words, I never learnt how to use a flash.
 
technics100 said:
It should zoom with a lens attached to the camera. When you zoom the lens the flash should zoom too..
Click to expand...


Thanks Adam, but I was wondering how you know when the flash is zooming! Do digits change on the speedlight display or something? And incidentally, does one need a zoom lens for this or would the flash zoom in & out when changing focal distance on a prime lens?

Cheers.
 
You can hear it zooming either when it's on the camera or if you use the buttons on the back.

As well as using various triggers the SB800 has an optical slave built in, so if you can manually dial your onboard flash right down you can use it to trigger the 800. Works well indoors and is probably just as efficient if not better than the CLS triggering but the obvious drawback is that it'll be a manual flash.

CLS is handy as it removes the need to buy triggers but you'll soon find that it becomes unreliable quite quickly when you're placing your flash anywhere that's not in direct line of sight and you'll end up buying radio triggers anyway. Yungnuo do a good line in radio triggers that won't break the bank like Pocket Wizards and offer similar options.
 
£75 is VERY cheap, I've bought 3 of these through this board and as Snap-happy has said £130 is the norm for these. The SB-800 is a great flash but is not very intuitive. Youtube was my friend when trying to fathom them out, check out Dom Bower for an over-view of the flash.
 
Thanks everyone for your help. I bought the SB-800 yesterday, in very good condition, zoom working no prob. When I've more time to play, I'll be back referring to this thread.

Just one quick question tho ... Re batteries, the vendor has been using cheap disposables, and said he never bothered with the 5th battery. Is this the way to go?
 
This all depends if you require a faster recycling time, also a 5th battery will share the load of the other 4. I must say that if you purchased it at £75 it has to be the cheapest SB-800 in the country and if it was all you say it is I'd have snapped it up in a heart beat.
 
"faster recycling time" ... hmmm thanks Brian. (y) Any idea what's the normal recycling time (presumably that means time between uses) for 4 batteries and for 5 batteries?
 
If you don't already have rechargeable batteries have a look at the eneloop ones.
 
d00d said:
"faster recycling time" ... hmmm thanks Brian. (y) Any idea what's the normal recycling time (presumably that means time between uses) for 4 batteries and for 5 batteries?
Click to expand...
For my limited use I've never even used the 5th battery, I've found the 4 Eneloops in them adequate.
 
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