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Choose flash : Bower SFD35N iTTL or Nikon SB-400?


justin_ngo

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Hi,

 

I'm very new to Digital SLR camera.

I'm planing to purchase an external flash for D40x. I know the SB-600 is great

but I can not afford to get it.

 

Would you advice me which one I should choose:

1/ Bower SFD35N iTTL Dedicated for Nikon Digital SLR cameras

2/ Nikon SB-400

 

If not Bower, which other brand name/model is good to buy at under $100?

 

Thank you so much!

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I use (in addition to SB-800s) a few 3rd party iTTL flashes.

(See: http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00NsbF)

 

There is an inexpensive one from "digital concepts" sold on ebay.

 

Small and light weight. Flash shoe contacts on this one are a bit tricky. i-TTL works best in the spot mode with -1.7 flash compensation. If you can figure out all this and still live with it, get one.

 

Since you are a beginner, the safe bet is (at least) an SB-400. The SB-600 recommended by Keith is better.

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If you buy a Nikon flash you are guaranteed that it will work correctly. If you buy a 3rd party no-name flash that was reverse engineered to use on a Nikon camera, then there are no guarantees. Well you are probably guaranteed to get inconsistant results, which as a newbie can be very irratating. You may end up spending more in the long run.

 

Kevin

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Thank you all of you for your helpful advices.

I will go ahead and save $ for the SB-600!

I read on internet, someone says the SB-400 is just little powerful than the built-in flash, is that correct?

 

One more question, please. What does i-TTL mean? Do I need to get that function? Sorry for this simple question, I'm very new and the D40x is my first DSLR.

Thank you again and have a nice day!

 

Justin

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