SB-600 vs. SB-800

[Obliviou$]

I'm tempted by getting an external flash when the new toy is in the house.
This will be used mainly for taking aquatic pictures. Will a SB-600 do or is the SB-800 a lot better?

SB-600 = aprox 350$
SB-800 = aprox 560$

How much does these go for on eBay? I'm a little sceptic about buying there. But if you all got good experience I will try if there's a lot of money to save.

Thanks,
Alex.

[hir0]

i wonder how much that is converted into U.S. money. you say mainly used for aquatic pictures, which suggests you'd use it for other things as well - i'd go for the sb-800. i'll probably pick up a sb-600 sometime soon, but right now i have no idea how well it would perform. i imagine for aquatic photos it would be fine. sigma has an i-ttl flash (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=352097&is=REG) also, but i opted for the nikon version.

[Obliviou$]

One more thing I want to add. Is the kit lense ok to take aquatic photos with?
Or should I wait to get a flash until I buy a macro lense?

Alex,
Planing ahead :)

[Obliviou$]

i wonder how much that is converted into U.S. money. you say mainly used for aquatic pictures, which suggests you'd use it for other things as well - i'd go for the sb-800. i'll probably pick up a sb-600 sometime soon, but right now i have no idea how well it would perform. i imagine for aquatic photos it would be fine. sigma has an i-ttl flash (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=352097&is=REG) also, but i opted for the nikon version.


Sorry to hear that. Man, it's an expensive hobby!
Of course, when you get an external flash, the odds a quite big for you to use it other places than only the tank. But it's manly for aquatic photographs.

The prices above is in US$, converted from NOK, what it costs in Norway.

[hir0]

honestly, i think kit lens and flash would deliver much better results than macro lens and available lighting.

[Ibn]

Depends on what kind of available light you're dealing with. On my heavily lit tank, the camera does pretty well with the amount of light available to it. On a not so well lit tank, the flash is very useful. For a first flash I'd go with the SB-800. Much more versatile and will allow you to trigger other speedlights in the future (the SB-600 can't do this).

I'm really appalled by the prices that are quoted. I picked up my first SB-800 for $330 before rebate. After rebate, which was $50 at the time, the final price came out to be $280. At that price, it wasn't significantly more than the SB-600 (was going around for $250 at the time), and was a no-brainer to me.

BTW, you can definitely take decent pictures with the kit lens. Most of the pictures that I've taken was either with the kit lens or the 50mm f/1.8 (a lot of bang for the buck). Also, might want to check with either B&H or Adorama will ship to Europe when you're looking at prices like those.

[hir0]

agreed, very strong tank lighting is ok for taking fish photos. it really depends on the intensity of the lighting. but with a flash, you can control DOF better. i shot some photos lastnight @ 1/500 sec @ f22. it would take very good tank lighting to achieve this.
not the best shot, but shows some exif
http://aquatic-photography.com/gallery/files/4/4/7/DOF.jpg

http://aquatic-photography.com/gallery/files/4/4/7/DOF2.jpg

[Roy W.]

sigma has an i-ttl flash (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=352097&is=REG) also, but i opted for the nikon version.
I`ve tried this sigma flash now for a couple of hours, and it performs great for aquatic photos.
I have it on a tripod with a nikon cord to the D100 i borrowing rigth now.

But for D70 i would probably get the Nikon flash so i could use the wireless commander mode

[hir0]

But for D70 i would probably get the Nikon flash so i could use the wireless commander mode
very good point. to my knowledge the sigma will only work in su-4 mode wireless.

[Obliviou$]

Thanks, the available lighting is 0,36w/l.
Will check if I may get it cheaper from the U.S. I'm just worried about the toll (is that an english word aswell?)

Thanks,
Alex