External Flash

tinkerbell615

DIS Veteran
Joined
Aug 28, 2005
I was wondering if anyone could please tell me a good reasonable external flash for my daughter's Nikon DSLR camera? She just recently started helping my great niece with wedding photos, and has been using some of her equipment, but would like to start getting more of her own equipment. She had put the camera down for a while, because she has been super busy, but recently started taking pictures again. She not only has a passion for photography, but really has a great eye for unique shots. I would love to buy her a flash, but I know nothing about them, and would like something decent that won't break the bank. I am super excited that she has started taking pictures again.

I appreciate any of your suggestions.

Thank you!
 
I'm not au fait with Nikon as I'm a Fujifilm/ex-Canon user myself, but I know that Godox make reasonably priced speedlights. If you wanted to go cheaper still there's a brand called Yongnuo that deal in flashes, wireless triggers etc. Ultimately I'd imagine getting a Nikon brand flash would be best for reliability if you can afford it (if it's anything like Canon), looking at model numbers the SB-700 looks decent but Godox and Yongnuo are both alternatives if not!
 


I've got the old Sb400 as a starter external flash. Its great, but I quickly outgrew it. Compact, cheap, and you can bounce flash it one direction. I think it's been discontinued and replaced with the Sb500 now.

Now I mainly use the Sb700 anytime I need an external flash. It is larger and requires a lot of batteries, but I love the quality of the flash.
 
I've got the old Sb400 as a starter external flash. Its great, but I quickly outgrew it. Compact, cheap, and you can bounce flash it one direction. I think it's been discontinued and replaced with the Sb500 now.

Now I mainly use the Sb700 anytime I need an external flash. It is larger and requires a lot of batteries, but I love the quality of the flash.

Thank you!
 
Do understand what each Nikon flash offers you. The SB-5000 is the flagship flash for a reason.
  • https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1214170-REG/nikon_4815_sb_5000_af_speedlight.html
  • higher power for bounce lighting or shooting through diffusers
  • light pattern shaping.... the flash looks at the lens zoom to see if the flash should deliver a wide or concentrated light pattern
  • thermal protection to prevent overheat damage
  • ability for external power packs for quicker recycling. For the bouquet toss, I can get 3 or 4 flash pictures of the bouquet mid-air.
  • drop protection. My flashes have fallen off tables and I just pop the batteries back in to keep going. No, I do not plan to repeat the test for you.
  • TTL... unlike third party flashes, this flash talks to your camera on the appropriate power.
If your daughter plans to make money on photography, don't skimp on your equipment. Personally, I carry two or three SB-5000 flashes to swap out as they overheat or just as backup when one fails (dead batteries).


For weddings and events, my fav accessory is a custom flash bracket. Eliminates red eyes and removes side shadows when the camera is held in vertical position.

 


Do understand what each Nikon flash offers you. The SB-5000 is the flagship flash for a reason.
  • https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1214170-REG/nikon_4815_sb_5000_af_speedlight.html
  • higher power for bounce lighting or shooting through diffusers
  • light pattern shaping.... the flash looks at the lens zoom to see if the flash should deliver a wide or concentrated light pattern
  • thermal protection to prevent overheat damage
  • ability for external power packs for quicker recycling. For the bouquet toss, I can get 3 or 4 flash pictures of the bouquet mid-air.
  • drop protection. My flashes have fallen off tables and I just pop the batteries back in to keep going. No, I do not plan to repeat the test for you.
  • TTL... unlike third party flashes, this flash talks to your camera on the appropriate power.
If your daughter plans to make money on photography, don't skimp on your equipment. Personally, I carry two or three SB-5000 flashes to swap out as they overheat or just as backup when one fails (dead batteries).


For weddings and events, my fav accessory is a custom flash bracket. Eliminates red eyes and removes side shadows when the camera is held in vertical position.


The good news, the Godox has 98% of those features at 1/4th the price. (Main down side of the Godox, the build quality is just slightly lower than the Nikon, but it’s more powerful with more features)

I know more and more professionals taking Godox over the Nikon/Canon flashes for a few reasons:
-better price
-rechargeable battery with 650 full flashes per charge
-compatibility with Godox strobes

Essentially... if you want to use a Nikon sb5000 with a strobe and do it all wirelessly, you need extra accessories and wires attaching the accessories.
With Godox... you get the flash, you get the ad200 strobe... they work wirelessly with each other out of the box.

And I’m shocked at how many pros I see (myself included) using the ad200. It’s a fairly new product and really versatile. Pros are flocking to it.
 
Last edited:
Do understand what each Nikon flash offers you. The SB-5000 is the flagship flash for a reason.
If your daughter plans to make money on photography, don't skimp on your equipment. Personally, I carry two or three SB-5000 flashes to swap out as they overheat or just as backup when one fails (dead batteries).

For weddings and events, my fav accessory is a custom flash bracket. Eliminates red eyes and removes side shadows when the camera is held in vertical position.
The good news, the Godox has 98% of those features at 1/4th the price. (Main down side of the Godox, the build quality is just slightly lower than the Nikon, but it’s more powerful with more features)

I know more and more professionals taking Godox over the Nikon/Canon flashes for a few reasons:
-better price
-rechargeable battery with 650 full flashes per charge
-compatibility with Godox strobes

Essentially... if you want to use a Nikon sb5000 with a strobe and do it all wirelessly, you need extra accessories and wires attaching the accessories.
With Godox... you get the flash, you get the ad200 strobe... they work wirelessly with each other out of the box.
And I’m shocked at how many pros I see (myself included) using the ad200. It’s a fairly new product and really versatile. Pros are flocking to it.

I agree, using Godox or Yongnuo "off-brand" external flashes makes sense, you get more features at a much lower price. Just make sure the flash has a USB port for updating the drivers to work with newer camera models.

www.flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless
 

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