User_1855600

<p>I purchased a Bolt CPB-N1 from B&H late in 2012 as an additional power supply for one of my 4 SB-800's. I have two Nikon SD-8a's (holds 6 AA's), but hoped the 8 AA batteries in the Bolt unit would provide faster recycling and longer life. I use my SB-800's only as remotes and trigger them with Radio Popper PW units from my SB-900's mounted on Nikon bodies. I loaded the Bolt pack with my usual rechargeable batteries and plugged it into my SB-800. The Bolt pack failed to contribute any power to the flash and seemed to be defective. I unplugged the unit from the SB-800 and tried it on two other SB-800's and had the same result. To be sure, I plugged in my SD-8a into the SB-800's and they worked perfectly. B&H happily exchanged the Bolt for another and to my surprise, I had the same problem again. Stranger things have happened, so I exchanged the Bolt CBP-N1 for yet another. Yes, you guessed it, same outcome. I called B&H to talk with a rep who put me in touch with Bolt customer service. They felt I should try another pack, and so I did.... with the same problem. I searched the internet and found one other person who experienced the exact same issue. Is there anyone out there who has encountered this issue and has solved it? I would like to hear from you. Thanks!</p>

<p>I too have struggled with the issues presented by the D700 and SB900 with my pro wedding business. After sending in my camera and flash to Nikon, I stumbled upon what seems to be a great solution.<br>

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=wg-as3&N=0&InitialSearch=yes<br>

This device not only offers water protection to the hotshoe/flash connection, it also greatly reduces the stress on the D700's hot shoe by distributing the weight and stress of the SB900 to the areas surrounding the hot shoe. I have shot many weddings since installing the WG-AS3 on both my D700's and the flickering flash problem has been completely eliminated.<br>

-John</p>

<p>Lachlan,<br>

I shot weddings with Bronica SQAi's for over 10 years. Solid camera with excellent lenses. You can use bulb on this body with a simple old fashion cable release. I have two SQAi's and wouldn't mind selling one. Send me an email if you're interested.<br>

Thank you,<br>

John</p>

<p>Rich-<br>

I shoot weddings for a living. Nothing I have found is more reliable, lasts longer and recycles my SB-900's and 800's faster than SANYO 2700mAh AA NiMH Rechargeable Batteries. They have 700 more mAh per cell than the Sanyo Enleoops. I recommend this charger- MAHA MH-C801D AA - AAA Battery Charger. The combination of these two items will guarantee no more battery issues. Your SB-600 should be able to recycle in about two seconds after a full power flash with the Sanyo 2700's. At 1/2 power and less, you will see almost instantaneous recycle times. I have found 'Thomas Distributing' www.thomasdistributing.com, to be the best source for these items. Although this battery and charger combination might seem like overkill for your needs, you will get years and years of reliable service from them. And, if you're not using the AA batteries in your flash, you can use them in other devices in your home- TV remotes, kids toys, flash lights, wireless keyboard, mouse, or many other portable electronic devices. One more note, this charger also works with AAA NiMH too. </p>

<p>I make my living photographing weddings. I used to shoot with two Canon 5D's and L lenses. Issues with blown / soft focus drove me crazy. I wanted to throw my 5Ds against a wall. Never had too many issues with QC..... 85 1.2 once needed repair. But my 24-70 had a 'soft' corner and liked to back focus- not a good combination. I thought long and hard about switching to Nikon. Everything I read about the 5DII auto focus left me feeling ill- Canon had not made an AF update from the 5D, and that was enough reason for me to 'jump ship'. I made a gradual move to Nikon by picking up a D700, 24-70 and 14-24 and SB-900. The percentage of sharply focused images rose dramatically. Hands down, the D700 and Nikon lenses allowed me to be much more confident at weddings and I was able to capture images that would have beef iffy with the 5D. Differences in image quality between the two (5D & D700), in normal light were non-existant, but in low light, the D700 had a distinct advantage. Yes, I missed my Canon primes..... but Nikon is slowly remedying that, their 24 1.4 and 85 1.4. On a side note, at half the price of the 85 1.4G, I decided to pick up Sigma's 85 1.4 and it is phenomenal. No focus issues on my D700 (as others have reported), and my copy is very sharp. Steve, you may want to wait and see what changes are in store for Canon and Nikon this spring, or not. You might want to make the switch sooner than later. Here's why- If you switch to Nikon, be prepared for a pretty steep learning curve that won't take over night. You'll want to get acclimated to Nikon's somewhat 'different' controls before shooting your first wedding. I found the switch from the 5D to the D700 difficult and fairly time consuming. I had to re-program my 'Canon brain' to Nikon's interface. I practiced for weeks with my D700 before shooting my first wedding. Not sure about going to a crop body..... but the D7000 sure sounds amazing. I wish you the best with whatever you decide to do.</p>

<p>I found the 135L to be the perfect lens for H&S portraits.....inside or out. It allows enough distance between you and your subject so they don't feel crowded. The compression at 135mm is very flattering- more so than 85mm. The 135 is very sharp @ f2.0 but I usually shoot it at 2.5-2.8. The results are stunning. Don't be fooled into thinking the 70-200 2.8 can compete with this lens. The difference between f2.8 on the 135L and 70-200 2.8 is day and night. If you think your zoom is sharp wide open, wait until you see the 135 @ f2.0, or 2.5 or 2.8. Compared to the 135, the images from your zoom will look soft. I can only imagine that the 135L on a 5DMkII would be an outstanding combination.</p>

<p>Roman- your post struck a chord with me. I don't know what type of photography you do, so I'm not sure why you want or need a wide prime- I can only share my thoughts why I think the absence of a fast wide prime limits my ability to deliver unique images. I also will talk about why you might want to stay put with your Nikon system.</p>

<p>I have been making my living over the past 15 years photographing weddings The context of my thoughts are from this perspective. I recently left Canon, (and their amazing primes including the 24 1.4), for Nikon. There were two extremely important reasons for my decision: 1) Focus accuracy. 2) High quality files under poor lighting, (ie. high ISO). When the Canon 5D 'hit' focus just right, life was good- but when there were focusing issues...... Lets just say that in the privacy of my office late at night while inspecting wedding images on a 24" monitor from a 10-12 hour day only to find my best images of once-in-a-lifetime moments were OOF- I swore like a drunken sailor. To a wedding photographer, nothing is more upsetting than being in the right place, at the right time, at the right angle, with the right lens, with the subject against the right background,....only to have the camera's auto focus hunt and search and miss. A soft, out of focus image is useless and the moment is forever lost. It's crushing. However, to capture a beautiful image of a married couple dancing in dramatic ambient lighting @ f1.4, (or 1.6,1.8), in sharp focus is without comparison. The contrast of a razor-sharp rendered subject, floating in a sea of wonderfully soft out-of-focus shapes and orbs of light is simply gorgeous. The difference between 1.4 and 2.8, in this situation is night and day. A background at f1.4 is impressionistic and at f2.8 it is not. Even the difference between f2.0 and 2.8 is significant.</p>

<p>The problem with my former setup, (a couple of 5D's and a large assortment of L primes and zooms), is that focus accuracy under low light, (and even decent light), was very, inconsistent. I was missing many great images because of this limitation. I looked closely at Nikon's D700 and the reviews consistently praised focusing accuracy and great high ISO files... just what I needed so I took the plunge, (emotionally and financially), and switched to Nikon and I'm glad I did. Yes, I'm able to produce wonderfully sharp images at 2.8 with my 24-70G much more consistently than I could ever dream of with my 5D and 24-70EF.</p>

<p>I do miss my 24 1.4. If Nikon comes out with one, I'll be one of the first in line. Roman, I would think about selling your D300 and picking up a used D700 and 35 1.8. The 35mm 1.8 AFS can be used FF on the D700 and will vignette in the corners...... but not too badly. Post processing and a little cropping can solve this issue. Many times when focused at 10' or less with this lens, vignetting is virtually a non-issue. The 35 1.8 is very sharp and inexpensive. This is the best combination I have found for my current dilemma. (it's a great 'street' set-up too). Let's hope that in the not too distant future, Nikon delivers a 24 1.4 AFS, (or something close to it).</p>

<p>Like other posters have said, the obvious and most notable limitation resides a few inches behind the camera.</p>