kio500 Posted April 7, 2007 Share Posted April 7, 2007 Hi. I am just starting to shoot professionally (weddings + portraits). I have a sb-600 but I dropped it and now it needs repaired. I don't know how long that will take so I'm going to go ahead and get another flash as I know I need two anyway. My dilemma is whether I should get an sb-800 or another sb-600 to compliment the one I'm getting repaired. I keep hearing that the 600 can't be used in commander mode, so what exactly does that mean? Does that mean if I have one 600 mounted that it won't trip the other 600? I mean, what exactly does the 800 DO in commander mode? I'm going to need to order this flash Monday, so I really appreciate anyone's two cents:) Thanks!! Elizabeth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juanjo_viagran Posted April 7, 2007 Share Posted April 7, 2007 What camera are you using...? If you have a D70,80 or 200 I'll go for 2 SB600 since you can shot both wireless with the speedlight built in the camera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinh Posted April 7, 2007 Share Posted April 7, 2007 Commander mode allows for fancy wireless lighting arrangements. Yeah, it means you can use the SB800 to trigger the SB600. Regardless of whether you care about wireless flash stuff, the SB800 is worthwhile for a wedding shooter because it has more power and has an option for a 5th battery for faster recycle times. It's a matter of what you can afford. If you're on a budget, and your SB600 has proven enough for your needs thus far, then you might be able to get away with just another SB600. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsd230 Posted April 7, 2007 Share Posted April 7, 2007 I would probably get the 800, it has more power and will have more flexibility when you get your 600 back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_vener_photography Posted April 7, 2007 Share Posted April 7, 2007 SB800 + SB600 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_skomial Posted April 7, 2007 Share Posted April 7, 2007 "I keep hearing that the 600 can't be used in commander mode, so what exactly does that mean?" - SB-600 has no commander mode, so cannot command other flashes in the CLS system, "one 600 mounted that it won't trip the other 600". But SB-600 as a remote flash can be commanded by SU-800 or SB-800 in camera hot shoe, or by some cameras built-in flashes that have commander mode (D70, D80, D200). You do not tell what camera you have. If by any chance you have a camera that the built-in flash does not have commander mode, e.g. D50, and perhaps the newer D40 ?, then adding SB-600 that has no commander mode to camera that also does not have a commander mode, makes this combination not able to work in CLS. Get SB-800 for many reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kio500 Posted April 7, 2007 Author Share Posted April 7, 2007 Thanks for the quick responses! I guess I haven't exactly made a decision though. Funds are running low, but an extra $100 for the sb-800 isn't going to put me on the street either. Tell me this, now that I'm familiar with the menu for the 600, is getting to know the 800 going to be that much easier or are they really different? And yes, I'm shooting with a D70:) And does anyone have an opinion on this guy's arguments? http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/sb600vs800.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Laur Posted April 7, 2007 Share Posted April 7, 2007 I'll agree with the SB800. Much more flexible, as well as for other reasons not yet mentioned. For example, you can put it in SU-4 mode, and have it act a a dumb flash slave that will repond to even other non-Nikon-CLS strobes as a remote (though, you'd be shooting in manual mode, that way). Faster cycling, better coverage... definitely worth it as a big brother to the SB600. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted April 7, 2007 Share Posted April 7, 2007 For wedding photography, I would get the SB-800 for the extra power and 5th battery option for faster recycle, regardless of whether you need the commander mode or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonybeach Posted April 7, 2007 Share Posted April 7, 2007 Commander Mode using the D70 is very limited, so I would recommend the SB800. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam_thompson2 Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 "And does anyone have an opinion on this guy's arguments?" If you are going to use the flash in iTTL mode. There really isn't much the SB800 offers other than more power. If using the default batteries, since there is less power, you will get more charges out of the SB600 and faster recycle time than the SB800. If you do need more power, the Nikon CLS system will let you easily add another SB600 on a stand to give you additional light. The SB800 will give you little features here and there that might save you couple minutes a shoot. So for the casual shooter that Ken Rockwell is aimed at, it's probably not worth the extra 100 dollars to have a PC sync on board or have manual output down to 1/128th. But for people that know what they are doing, it gives them more options especially if you going to do some strobist shooting and add pocket wizards. http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html That being said I would get the SB800 because of it's extra power and flexibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian_scotland Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 FWIW, I'd go with two SB800's - but if the budget makes this impossible, go with two SB600's. There's something to be said for having identical operating systems and the 600/800 are very different. I have one of each and wish I'd gone for two the same. Trying to remember how to use a piece of kit can mean lost shots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliot1 Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 If budget is a big issue and you are going to take a lot of portraits, I would suggest you get 2 sb-600's and an SU-800. The SU-800 will allow you to use your wireless flash system without a pre-flash - a huge benefit. It is also simple to control the flash output of each flash in your system right from the su-800 with the push of a button. I have one sb-800 and 2 sb-600's. I use the sb-800 anytime I am not using the wireless system. With the 5th battery installed, you get a little bit faster recycle time. You have a little bit more power which really comes in handy for increased range and for better lighting when using bounce flash. You also have the connection for the Nikon external battery pack - with it you can shoot a lot more flash shots without having to change batteries as often, and of course, even faster recycle time. Choices... choices... choices... (and never enought money to make them). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjt Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 i'd get 2 SB800's and an SU800. if you're going to be doing this professionally, and you want to deliver the best quality to your clients, then you need the better equipment. the return on investment will be realized almost immediately. after your first couple of events, you wont even think about having spent the extra money. regards, michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louisekennedy Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 I have two sb 800's and one sb600. I find that when I just want to use one flash I'll keep the sb800 in my bag. It's got more power. It takes a bit of getting used to figuring out how to use it, but this site helped me learn a lot http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/ I usea d200, but my husband uses my old d70s and he also gravitates to the sb800. I haven't needed to use an su 800 as I use my d200 as the commander mode, but if you wanted to position several sb's around the place, picking up an su 800 might be a good future buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kio500 Posted April 15, 2007 Author Share Posted April 15, 2007 Thanks everyone. I've gotten a sb-800. Hopefully I can figure the damn thing out;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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