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Nikon SB-400 AF Speedlight Flash for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

Brand: Nikon    Model : B000KKPN5C    Customer Rating :    List Price : $129.99    Sale Price : $119.89    Availibility : Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Nikon SB-400 AF Speedlight Flash for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras Feature

• Compact, lightweight Speedlight unit
• 18mm angle of coverage with Nikon DX format digital SLR cameras
• Bounce capabilities in 4 steps up to 90 degrees; flash shooting distance range from 2 and up to 66 feet
• Approximate guide number of 98.4 feet at ISO 200 (at 18mm zoom head setting)
• Operates on two AA-size (1.5V) batteries; fast 2.5 second recycling time

Nikon SB-400 AF Speedlight Flash for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras Overviews

i-TTL (intelligent through-the-lens) flash exposure control * four-position tilt flash head (tilts up from horizontal to 60, 75, and 90 degrees) * approximate guide number at ISO 200: 98.4 ft./30 meters (at 18mm zoom head setting) * compatible with select Nikon SLRs using the Creative Lighting System including the D40, D50, D70s, and D200 * uses 2 “AA” batteries (not included) *

Nikon SB-400 AF Speedlight Flash for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras RelateItems

• Sto-Fen Omni-Bounce for the Nikon SB-400 Flash
• Opteka Flash Diffuser for the Nikon SB-400 Speedlight Flash
• Nikon ML-L3 Wireless Remote Control for Nikon D40, D40x, D60, D80 D90 Digital SLR Cameras
• Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
• Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR [Vibration Reduction] Zoom Nikkor Lens

Nikon SB-400 AF Speedlight Flash for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras CustomerReview

Will it illuminate a bridge a hundred yards away? Nope.br /br /Will it rotate in any direction so you can bounce flash off the ceiling when you are doing “fashion” angled pictures? Nah-uh.br /br /Can you shoot continuous shots with the flash keeping up as fast as your memory card? No way.br /br /It’s not a 0 professional flash. But the performance it gives for the price is extraordinary. Really, the only things I would add are the ability to use rechargeables that would charge in-unit (i.e. charge the cameras, charge the flash); the ability to run off the camera’s power if the battery is dead (but that might be a limitation of the camera that precludes such a feature); and the ability to at least rotate 90 degrees so you could bounce when taking a picture in the portrait position (you can of course bounce off a wall, but the results are, well, unpredictable). Results out to 15 feet are outstanding, out to 30 feet not bad, and its integration with Nikon DSLR’s logic is incredible. I remember the Canon AE-1 (dating myself here), the world’s first “automatic” camera with TTL metering, and how exciting it was when “automatic” flashes appeared as accessories. Well, “semi-automatic,” as they still required dialing in numbers. I don’t know how, but between the Nikon and this flash, they figure everything out together. You set your desired brightness as if you were dialing in an index number (assuming you want to even bother doing that much), the duo figure out how far away the target is, and adjusts everything accordingly. The instructions warn that they don’t promise consistent results when bouncing – and you will bounce, that’s the whole point of such a flash (no more red-eye, ever!) – but to be honest we’ve had nothing but excellent results even bouncing off high ceilings. The unit even powers down when you turn off the camera so you don’t waste batteries. You won’t do continuous shooting but you’ll get a shot every five seconds or better with fresh batteries.br /br /One thing I was concerned about was lens shadow – we have the zoom autostabilizing lens and it causes a shadow when using the the pop-up flash at all but one zoom level. Not a problem at all. If you use the autostabilizer or one of the longer focal length zooms with a lens hood then you might have issues. Of course, if you’re bouncing, then by definition the problem goes away.br /br /One last beef, which is not a limitation of the flash but rather then D40 camera, is that the camera’s software does not check if an external flash is attached when you hit the popup button, so it is possible to deploy the popup which then smacks into the external. I’m not sure what happens if you were to try to take a picture with both flashes up and on – it would be great if they actually all synched together, but since the D40 pop-up is not able to fully deploy with this flash sitting on top, I seriously doubt it.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored:May 13, 2010 22:45:18

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