Help!!!........Flash for Nikon D90

[Leithal]

G'day guys,

Very lost in looking for what I need or should be buying.

I am looking a buying a flash for my D90 as it seems a necessary buy to improve on my low light/ indoors photography rather than using the pop up flash. (I tend to get a shadow from the lens using the pop up).

As the Nikon branded flashes are quite expensive (im on a budget being a beginner), does anyone have any suggestions on a relatively good generic flash for my D90?

I have had a bit of a look on ebay at brands such as Vivitar & Nissin but am totally unsure of these brands or what I should be buying for flash photography as I am new to it.

Any help will be much appreciated.

Thanks.

[patrickv]

Nissin Di866 is very good

[junqbox]

not usre if it's suitable for you, but the Nikon SB-400 is an affordable speedlight which can be useful for the right circumstances.

[Leithal]

Has any one heard of Yongnuo. just found a flash made by them on ebay for $67. But as i said above not to sure about certain brands or why so cheap.

[I @ M]

Leithal, Nikon have had a very good flash system for quite a few years now. It has been regarded so highly in that time that due to the simple reason that it works extremely well compared to other brands, especially for people learning the the whole flash "thing".
There is nothing at all wrong with many of the non OEM brands such as Metz, Nissin, Yongnuo etc but most of them have slight compromises in the system ( particularly for new users ) that can lead to disappointment.
Going out and buying either the top of the line ( expensive ) or the generic brands can lead to frustration unless the whole subject is researched thoroughly first.
Settle back for a bit and have a look at the strobist website (http://strobist.blogspot.com.au/) and in particular seek out the "101" section. There are some very good lessons and hints on there that can save you a lot of time, money and pulled hair. :D

As for my flash advice, for a beginner, I would seek out secondhand SB-600 or SB-800 units ( just because they are superseded models doesn't mean they don't work well ), they have many many positive attributes that you will need and not many of the negatives that you may in time find with the non OEM brands.

[junqbox]

+1 for I@M's comments regarding 2nd hand Nikon units, 600/800, especially as these would work very nicely with a D90, as they in the market at the same time. So they 'match' together well.

[Leithal]

Thanks to all for the help.

Looks like I've got a bit of research to do. Did not think it would be so hard to find a flash.....all part of the fun i guess.

Cheers guys!

[Leithal]

G'day guys,

Just an update with what I went with, and thanks heaps for the help.

After many hours of research and taking I@M's advice i went with the Nikon branded speed light the SB-700 (mainly because i had a lot of trouble finding 600's and 800's) and this one (being more than i was planning to pay anyway) seemed like great value for money. Also has alot of great features that i'm looking forward to testing out and experimenting with as I have never used an off camera flash. Very Very excited. :D

Also in my spending spree I bought a Meike branded battery grip as I have pretty big hands so hopefully this will give me more to grip onto and stabilize the camera. And mainly give me more shooting time. Did i say i was Excited.

Cheers again for your help guys, it was much appreciated.

[arthurking83]

.....

I am looking a buying a flash for my D90 as it seems a necessary buy to improve on my low light/ indoors photography rather than using the pop up flash. (I tend to get a shadow from the lens using the pop up)......

Getting an external flash isn't necessarily may not cure the lens shadowing issue.

Describe it in a bit more detail to begin with.

I second the motion for an SB400, as little and petite as it is, it's still quite capable for a lot of photography.

Without more background info:
I'm thinking that the OP is probably having difficulties with low light people photography where the folks are in groups and the lens used is decently wide(maybe 18mm or so) and the on camera flash is casting shadows low down in the foreground ... or something to that effect.

Of course the more money you spend, the better the quality of the light output, but without a more accurate description of what the OP is trying to actually achieve money could well be wasted in trying to drive in a nail with a jackhammer!

All these brands have Nikon compatible flash types, and if you are going to the trouble, also look for a Nikon compatible model that also works remotely/wirelessly as well!
Handy lil devices they are.

How much(max) are you willing to spend?

[Leithal]

I was under the impression that the shadow I was getting in low lighting conditions (groups of people and single subjects) using the pop up flash was from my 18-105mm lens casting a shadow in the lower portion of the image. (I would put up an example but i am unable to locate one at the minute).

I was starting to think i could get away with under $100, after more research i found that I was probably looking at around $300 - $400. did manage to find a Nikon SB-700 speedlight for $294 which i thought was reasonable. After reading into the SB-700 I found out that these were relatively good flash for beginners with the options to tweak features and get creative later on. Also works remotely which will be fun.

[arthurking83]

Yep! and Yep!!

18-105 will cause a shadowing when used with an 18-105VR, as I also explained to my brother on his D5100 .. and he still didn't listen!!

Zoom up to about just past 20mm .. say 24mm and then back off a smidge if you need really wide.
The problem is focal length, not the lens, nor the flash itself, even both the on board flash and the lens are the culprits in most of the images you have shadows in.

That's probably confused you now, and I apologise for that, but the real problem is focal length itself, as you can get shadowless flash images with both the 18-105 and the on board flash as long as you keep the min focal length on the lens to about 20+mm.
I can't remember the exact focal length where it disappears, but that's a good rough value to start with.

If you need to get more width in the image, then you need to stand back more .. or as you now know use an external flash.

But!! and the reason you want something like an SB700(which is great!!) is for the wireless function.

What you end up doing is to hold the camera with only one hand have the pop up flash up tho.
Set it to as low power as possible(zero power if it's available) in wireless commander setup, and have the SB700 in the other hand held up high, down low, from one side or whatever.

For group shots, I tended to use my SB-800 from above with the diffuser attached for a softer light, and then used the 10-20mm at 10mm for a wide wide angle shot.
The kids loved the 'look'.(they were dancing at the time).

While you can most certainly get this with those Yongnuos and Nissins and suchlike, I like the look and operation of the SB700 and the speed and ease with which you can set up wireless in an instant!! :th3:

SB-800 is a POS Pineapple On Steroids by comparison to try and set up from fixed to wireless modes, and usually I can't be bothered.

[Leithal]

Thanks Arthurking83 for the great advice and helping me troubleshoot the shadowing issue in regards to the 18-105VR lens. Much appreciated.

Really looking forward to getting my SB700, should provide me with much fun and plenty of shooting time/ practice trying different things with it like shooting with it wireless.

As I have a young daughter and another on the way, I am trying to get a bit of practice with portraits (using my 50mm) to capture some nice photos of them. The external flash will hopefully help.

Thanks again.