nikon SB flashes

[BetterSense]

I have an n8008s and SB28 that gives me perfect exposures on slide film with daylight fill and bounce ability. It's like magic.

The flash broke. Are there other flashes I should consider for replacing it? I didn't choose the 28... it came with the camera.

 

[jwd722]

I guess the obvious choice would be another SB28. I have one and like it. The other one to consider would be the SB26 which has a built in slave feature, however you would need another flash to trigger it (buy two?). Those would be my two Nikon choices. I myself would opt for the 28.

 

[Ricardo Miranda]

Anything from a SB-24 onwards works great in your camera.
I would consider a -24, -25 or -26 as these are the only flashes that do Rear curtain synch with your camera as they have a dedicated switch on the back. Flashes from the -27 onwards rely on the camera body for rear synch.
Read the camera manual and your chosen flash to find out exactly what you can do or not.
You can find manuals for most cameras and/or flashes here: http://www.butkus.org/chinon/index.html

 

[dorff]

The SB-26, 28, 80DX, 600 and 800 will all work well enough. I think the SB-700 and SB-900/910 are no longer TTL compatible. Of the lot, the 80DX might be the most affordable because it is neither here nor there in terms of system position. It isn't iTTL, and was made for the D1/D1x while maintaining TTL backward compatibility. You may also have a serious look at some of the Metz flashes with appropriate adapters. I have 40MZ3i and 54MZ4i flashes, both of which have Nikon TTL modules. The SB-24 is a small flash that is useful for fitting into a small pocket of your camera bag, but the GN is nothing to write home about.

 

[Ricardo Miranda]

dorff,
You are making some confusion: the SB-24 was made for the F-801 and F4. It was the most powerful flash released at the time for the new AF bodies and it isn't that small.
You are probably thinking of the SB-23.
Here: http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonf4/flash/SB24/

 

[Two23]

I have about eight of these (fired by CyberSync triggers,) and am familiar with flashes SB-25, SB-24, SB-26. I would buy another SB-28. They are much smaller than the SB-24/25 and have better battery life.

Kent in SD

 

[Ricardo Miranda]

They are much smaller than the SB-24/25 and have better battery life.

Yeap, but they don't do rear or slow synch with the F-801s (N880s), which is a pity.
The SB-28 was released with the F5 and that camera (and most Nikon SLRs after that) has a switch on the body for slow and rear synch.

 

[dorff]

dorff,
You are making some confusion: the SB-24 was made for the F-801 and F4. It was the most powerful flash released at the time for the new AF bodies and it isn't that small.
You are probably thinking of the SB-23.
Here: http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonf4/flash/SB24/

Hi Ricardo, typo! Yes, I meant the SB-23. What I should have added, is that the SB-23 is still a good deal better than any built-in pop-up flash on more recent bodies. So it is a useful flash for fill-in and general use on almost any TTL-capable body.

Of the lot, I'd go for an SB-26 or SB-80DX. The slave function is actually surprisingly useful. I have used it on numerous occasions to good effect. With an SC-17 cable, one can daisy-chain multiple flashes, which means macro flash and studio work with two or three flashes becomes a possibility. One needs a flash light meter when using the slave function, but that is sort of par for the course.

 

[PhotoJim]

The SB-24 is indeed the native flash but aside from the issues of rear-curtain sync compatibility (which I actually didn't know ), the -25 (F90), -26 (F90x), -28 (F100) and -28DX (mumble mumble digital) flashes will all work well with your camera. There are also some more modern flashes that support the newest Nikon digital-body flash modes but also support the film TTL modes, if you want a flash that can work on multiple cameras.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

I have a SB-28 for my F5 and am just learning what I can do with it. Man what a piece of work!

 

[Ricardo Miranda]

What I should have added, is that the SB-23 is still a good deal better than any built-in pop-up flash on more recent bodies. So it is a useful flash for fill-in and general use on almost any TTL-capable body.

Absolutely agree! It is a great little flash. I have a even smaller one, the SB-30, and it is just a pity it doesn't take regular AA batteries like the -23 uses.

There are also some more modern flashes that support the newest Nikon digital-body flash modes but also support the film TTL modes, if you want a flash that can work on multiple cameras.

That would be the SB-600 and -800 that are cross compatible with all Nikon bodies apart not being able to do rear-curtain synch with the F-801 and F4 as these cameras lack the proper switch on the body.
As a curiosity, the F-601 is the only Nikon body to be completely "blind" to what flash is on the top as all flash functions are commanded from the body.

 

[destroya]

i got a 23 because of the size to use with my smaller cameras. Paid $9 with shipping from ebay. they go really cheap as most people overllok them. great for a small fill flash use. i had a 25 and 28 which i used on my f4, f5 and f100. but traded them and a little cash for an 800, so i can use it with my digital cameras as well. but the cost of them now is insane.