Nikon 7100 - External Flash

[subba_rao]

<p>Good day everyone. I am an amateur photographer with a Nikon 7100 DSLR with a few lenses. My interest in photography is taking photos of people (various settings), portrait photography and building architectures (exterior and interior). So far I have been only using the built-in flash when required.<br>

Now, the big question. What is the advantage of an external Flash? What is good recommended external flash for my photography interests?<br>

<br />Thank you in advance for any advice.</p>

[craig_shearman1]

<p>External flash allows you to get much better lighting, lighting that doesn't have the deer in the headlights look of typical on camera flash. To to <a href="http://www.strobist.com">www.strobist.com</a> and read the Lighting 101 section. Everything you need to know from what to buy to how to use it, written by a former newspaper photographer who knows what he's talking about and how to do it quick and cheap but with great results.</p>

[chuck]

<p>The advantages are:</p>

<p>1. External flashes can be much more powerful, and cover a wider angle.<br>

2. External flashes doesn't have to be mounted on the camera, and can give you vastly more options in terms where you want the light to come from and where the shadows to be.<br>

3. You can simultaneously use multiple external flashes to expand you lighting options even more.<br>

With external flashes, you can think much more in terms of composing a photo like a painting, rather than grabbing a shot.<br>

While Nikon flashes are great, there are many off brand flashes which are nearly as great but which cost 1/5 - 1/3 as much. Some of them are even more capable than their costly Nikon equivalents. So I recommend you look into those.</p>

[Matthew Currie]

<p>One little advantage of an external flash also is that the lens hood won't shade it.</p>

[elliot1]

<p>In addition to the above, there are a couple of more reasons that I can think of. An external flash has its own power supply so you don't use the camera's battery.</p>

<p>As well, most external flashes allow you to rotate the flash head so, for example, you can bounce the light off of a ceiling. This tends to give a much more natural, non-flash look to pictures. (I always try to make my flash picture have the look of natural lighting and that is often difficult to do with built-in flashes.)</p>

<p>As far as which one to pick, that really depends on your budget. I would suggest that whichever flash you choose, you stick with genuine Nikon flashes.</p>

[subba_rao]

<p>Thank you all for the information!<br>

@Elliot Bernstein, why stick only with Nikon flashes? I think there are some 3rd party lenses that are pretty good on Nikon cameras. Why not Flashes?<br>

Please excuse my ignorance.</p>

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>I've got both Nikon (SB700/SB600) and 3rd party (Yongnuo) flashes. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, so I cannot recommend to stick to only Nikon flashes, but if your budget is enough, the SB700 would be my first suggestion, or the SB910 if you can spend more.<br>

It is userfriendly in operation, I find it highly dependable (it does the job, always) and it supports pretty much all features Nikon's flash system has. Well-made. On the downside, it does cost quite a bit more than the 3rd party options, so you can get quite a bit more power for less money with the 3rd party options.<br>

The Yongnuo model I have (YN-568EX) does support nearly all tricks, it's more powerful and for the price of a single SB700, I have two of these. The menu isn't bad, but not close to the ease of use of the SB700. I do have an occassional hickup with these flashes, I know several others who have the same flash, and they're 100% satisfied. My hickups seem isolated incidents - but well, never seen similar problems with a Nikon flash. So, overall for the price, I am definitely happy with the 3rd party option, but I also see where the extra money for the Nikon went. When I carry only one flash, it's the SB700.<br>

Sorry, it doesn't help you make a choice, but yes, another vote to explore the 3rd party options, and when in doubt, you can't really go wrong with the Nikon ones.</p>

[Two23]

<p>Light is everything to a photo. When you control the light, you are limited only by your own creativity.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>IMHO Nikon's flashes are quite overpriced - especially for amateur use where they're not going to get heavily used or bashed about.</p>

<p>I recently bought some Godox "Ving" V860Ns, and am impressed with their performance. Build quality seems pretty good with a decent finish and weight to the product. These flashes take a Lithium Polymer battery that gives a very short recycle time and good capacity. They're around 1/3rd of the price of a Nikon SB-910 and just as powerful, with pretty much the same features including CLS/AWL master and slaving. They don't have Auto-aperture mode, but that's about the only difference. They also take a neat little clip-on dedicated radio trigger that allows manual control of power from a transceiver on the camera. All-in-all they're quite handy bits of kit.</p>

<p>Going even cheaper, there are the YongNuo range of flashes that have a good reputation, although I haven't used one personally.</p>

<p>Then at a mid price range there are Nissin and Metz flashes that are every bit as good in quality as Nikon's products. The Nissin flashes are built in Japan, same as Nikon's. Their Di866 MkII is fully CLS/AWL compatible and has a supplementary sub-flash and takes interchangeable battery holders that Nikon's speedlights don't offer. If you ever need to change batteries quickly the Nissin range are worth considering for this feature alone. Nissin also offer a pro-quality MG8000 flash that's designed to be heat resistant and can pump out a lot more consecutive full-power shots than an SB-910 without thermal problems. And they still manage to sell it for slightly less than the cost of an SB-910.</p>

<p>One 3rd party flash to steer clear of is the Meike 910, which looks like a clone of an SB-910. Unfortunately it has less than half the power of an SB-910 and is pretty useless all round, as I found out after buying one. However it didn't cost a lot either.</p>

[elliot1]

<p><em>"</em><em>why stick only with Nikon flashes?"</em> I can think of several reasons, with the main one being compatibility. Overall quality and durability also come to mind. Accurate exposure are another.<br>

<br>

I buy third party accessories but when in comes to a flash, because there are so many complexities involved to get the correct exposure, especially when using bounce flash.<br>

<br>

Often, used Nikon gear can be purchased for around the same price as new 3rd party options. (I am not saying there are not good third party flashes, but Nikon flashes consistently do a great job and are generally quite durable.)<br>

<br>

If you are shooting as an amateur, it may not matter as much, but if you are shooting professionally, you might want to stick with Nikon. </p>

[CvhKaar]

<p>For all off the above :<br /> I think you also want to distinguish between System- or Strobist flashes like the Nikon / Nissin, Metz etc. systems which can be placed on the camera's hot shoe if you whish to do so, and the likes of Studio flashes which you place on their own tripod mostly.</p>

<p>Big difference and each has its own place..<br /> For (indoors ?) Portraiture a set of studio flashes , complete with different light modifiers like soft boxes , barns , snoots etc. allow you to control the light on your subject to the max. ( combined with some reflectors and a backdrop extents the possibilities again). but make you less "mobile".</p>

<p>A set of external "sytem Flashes" or "strobist flashes" (diffference : strobist flashes mostly used only in manual settings mode ) gives you more "agility", and more possibilities to work outdoors ( studio flashes can be used outoors to, but take more setup time and other hardware like batteries etc.) but in general provide less output so can be "just not enough"for buildings / architecture</p>

<p>So when going "external flashes"there are a lot more choices to be made ....</p>

<p>I would ,also start to experiment with some reflectors , which can be dyo cheaply made from white cardboard or styro foam and the like. You can do suprisingly mach light modiying with those. ( gold and silver are also polpular colors for those..) .</p>

[rodeo_joe1]

<blockquote>

<p>".... because there are so many complexities involved to get the correct exposure, especially when using bounce flash." -</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I'd take slight issue with that Elliot. I think the "complexities" have been entirely manufactured by Nikon, Canon and the rest simply to protect markets. They have nothing to do with technical advancement, or even with getting a better exposure.</p>

<p>For example: I still use old Nikon SB-25s in Auto-Aperture mode, and can say that the exposures I get are just as accurate and consistent as when using I-TTL, bounced or direct. There is nothing basically wrong with using a sensor on the flash to detect its own light coming back at it as a means of regulating exposure. However, Nikon have done their best to make these flashes increasingly obsolete, by having cameras not recognise them. My D700 recognises when an SB-25 is fitted to its hotshoe and responds by limiting the shutter speed to X-Synch range. The D800 and successive cameras do not - for no good reason other than Nikon's greed to get sales of newer flash equipment. The more they do this the more likely I am to resist. Light is light, and it really doesn't matter whether it comes from a cheap no-brand flash or from an expensive and over-engineered OEM "flagship" model. 75 Joules of flash capacitor discharging into a xenon tube is the bottom line really.</p>

[CvhKaar]

<p>Couldn't agree with you more Joe.<br />If Nikon, instead of all the i-TTL mumbo Jumbo would have provided a good radio trigger in the camera's and receiver in the flashes, most would have been helped a lot better io think. They even could have lost the contacts in the hotshoe possibly, because with a good radio trigger system you would not need that either...</p>