dcraton Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 My wife shoots a D40 with an 18-135mm lens and does a great job. She often is my assistant on the job. She hasa small frame and does suffer with arthritis in her hands. Not old, just had "Arthur" as we call it. She lovesthe cam and is a great photographer. We have a small photography/film/audio firm here in doing very well. I have put D200s and above in her hands, and it just doesn't work per her condition and hand size. I do at timesput on the 17-55mm on her cam as well. So, I tried the SB-400 and hated it. Will the SB-600 or another lighter weight flash work for her? I have an SB-800, but it is too bulky and top heavy for her. Believe it or not, she has has been nationally published via her D40 and above mentioned lenses. I say that as Iam trying to accommodate her physical challenges as this is her second income and has her own client list. Trying to be thorough here as this is a different need than just a "whut do I need" post. Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will_daniel1 Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 David, Have you considered other brands? There was a discussion in here a while back about Quantaray flashes from Ritz Camera for Nikon iTTL. The poster was having problems with his, but I responded that I've never had any problems with mine. It's model QF-30 (his was a different model), and mine is very well balanced with the D40. It won't have the reach of some of the Nikon flashes you mentioned, but for weight and balance, check it out. And don't judge by a photo of the flash -- it looks like the larger ones, but it is compact and uses just two AA batteries. Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elyone Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 Did SHE hate the SB400? Why do hate it if I might ask? If you need a lot of power and / or the ability to take many shots in a row, the 400 won't cut it, but for lots of other things, it's great. You can't beat it's size or weight. Add KR's one cent diffuser and it will give you great results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daverhaas Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 David - I'd try the SB 600 - go into a store and have her try it on for size / weight before buying it. The SB600 gives you most of the functionality of the 800 without (IMHO) the bulk / weight. I'm surprised you didn't like the SB400 - I've not heard anything bad about it, but in fairness it is not a Pro flash by any stretch of the imagination. As for 3 party units - I've not had good luck with them. Since Nikon re-engineered the flash with the D70 - I haven't been able to get a 3 party flash to work consistently and they were as bulky as the SB800. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lex_jenkins Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 I understand the challenge, David. Arthritis has caused me to reconsider my equipment choices several times. I've been using a wrist brace with a malleable metal rib when handling the cumbersome D2H and SB-800, not an ideal solution. While you were dissatisfied with the SB-400, could it be a workable solution when combined with a lightweight flash bracket, to compensate for the limited bounce capabilities? The Demb bracket appears to be a possible alternative to the usual heavy, bulky brackets: http://www.dembflashproducts.com/bracket/ Another possibility, a bit of an unfashionable kludge nowadays, would be one of those plastic doodads that provides a "cold" accessory shoe for attaching a flash to a tripod, or to provide bounce and swivel capabilities for flashes lacking those movements. They used to be very popular but became unfashionable when camera makers improved their lineup of house brand TTL flashes. I've scrounged 'em out of pawn shops for a buck. Besides elevating a compact flash another inch or two, because it's a cold shoe (no pin connections), it can be slipped into the camera's hotshoe sideways, backward, whatever, to enable bounce flash with any flash. The SB-600 is a bit smaller and lighter than the SB-800 and could be an alternative. However, if the weight of the SB-800 *without* batteries is still too heavy, the SB-600 might not be a good choice either. (The empty SB-800 is roughly comparable in weight to the SB-600 with batteries, tho' some AA batteries weigh less than others, another factor worth considering.) I'll try to think of more alternatives. Still working on my first cup of coffee, most of the brain cells still snoozing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lex_jenkins Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 This site features several of those unfashionable flash accessory shoes I mentioned: http://www.silverprint.co.uk/acc13.html They ain't sexy by today's standards, but still help solve certain problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcraton Posted October 17, 2008 Author Share Posted October 17, 2008 Yes, I had the Stofen diffuser on the SB-400 and the flash simply is not powerful enough when shooting past 85 to 100mm IMHO. I did try a very light flash bracket for her, and it did not work for her. Good suggestion as we all know how a bracket improves the obvious. Thanks Lex and sorry your are suffering from the same Arthur! Just trying to take care of my number one assistant. Aging is not for sissies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 Well, Nikon has four iTTL flashes: SB-400, SB-600, SB-800 and SB-900. You have already ruled out the SB-400, which I wouldn't recomment to anyone above the casual photographer level. The SB-900 is well known to be huge. The SB-800 is also on the large size, especially on the D40. Just by elimination, I don't think you have a whole lot of options. Personally, I wouldn't rely on third-party so called "iTTL compatible" flashes. As far as I konw, there are a lot of compatibility issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliot1 Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 There is another option... Put an SU-800 on your D40. You will have to figure out where you can put the SB-600/800/900. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tri-x1 Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 I have an SB 600 on my D300 and I really like it because it has decent output but is considerably smaller and lighter than say, the SB 25 I used on Nikon film cameras. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray House Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 David, this doesn't answer your flash problem directly, however I share some of the same dificulties in handling my cameras. I bought a hand strap from Camdapter and with the way it helps transfer the weight of the camera I now can add a flash and carry both much easier and longer. You can visit their web site and check their products, I highly recommend them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcraton Posted October 20, 2008 Author Share Posted October 20, 2008 Thanks to all. Just got back in from a job out of town. I think I'll get the SB-600 and some type of brace for her wrist. You all have been very kind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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