My digital slr camera...

[donnnnnny]

AS some of you will know i recently bought a new digital slr nikkon d80
at the time i was interested in the nikon d200 but the cost was way above my means at$3500 aprox aus dollars quoted at paxtons in parramatta.sept 2007
i priced same camera in MBK and was quoted 45k bhat aprox 1500 aus dollars wow cheap
no warrenty for australia though.only for thailand
Now as most photo buffs will know the new NIKON D300 is out and available, guess what D200 $1895 close to thai prices in australia. quoted today 15th nov
the D300 in australia$2699 all in aus dollars and all for body only.
Im very happy with my d80 great camera and it will do practically anything i want. shoots 3 frames per second so great for action shots(yes i know the d300 will shoot 6 frames / sec)
ok question for the buffs, recomendation on a nikkon flash unit.
cheers the flash donnnnnny

[Snick]

I don't know Nikon Equipmwnt, but I do suggest you get a genuine Nikon Flash. I have used non-Canon Flash units w/ my Canon and they never work as good or offer as many features.

[donnnnnny]

snick perhaps my dyslexia is rubbing of on you equipmwnt??
thanks mate yeah im looking at a couple of nikon flash systems

[Snick]

LOL, I noticed that after I hit submit....and was counting on someone comparing my spelling 2 U

[Torurot]

Yep get the Nikon flashes. They get pretty good write ups. Look at the Guide Numbers (GN) like 32, 56. The higher the number the further away from your subject the flash will work. More powerful light, but more expensive. They have a built in zoom in the flash head. Don't get one with a guide number of less than 32. If money is not too much of an option go the larger guide number. The built in flash on the top of the camera is fine for closer pictures, but not so hot for crowds, but also having a grunter flash increases weight and bulk, and makes you stand out in crowds. You may not always want this. Add on flash also does not drain camera battery like the on board one does but you will need to carry an accessory charger for the batteries in the flash. (probably AA's). Make sure you get rechargeable Nickle Metal Hydride batteries NOT Nickle Cadmium's.

The two Nikon flashes are SB-600 & SB-800 that go with your D80

http://www.nikon.com.au/products.php?categoryid=14

[donnnnnny]

thanks torurot good info there cheers snicgk

[rxpharm]

donnnny, both Torurot and Snick have given you pretty good advice about flashes.

A couple of other things you should consider - make sure the flash head can tilt and swivel. This gives you greater control to "bounce" the flash when you are shooting the body in the vertical position.

Also think about how you want to use the flash, this will help determine how powerful a flash you need. When I was looking for a flash for my Konica-Minolta 5D dSLR, I knew I wanted to take photos of cabaret shows, sometimes sitting from around 50 feet away - so I bought their most powerful flash the 5600 HS. It works amazingly well, plus the flash can work wirelessly. This opens up more creative options using the flash off camera.

One other thing I have found very helpful when using the flash for portrait photos is using a flash diffuser. I tried the Omnibounce, but it was too limiting and now I have a Joe Demb flipit which really makes the flash portrait photos much better. Joe Demb Flip-it

A third party flash may be less expensive but compatibility may not be the best. You can read the Nikon camera forums to look for discussions on now well they work.

[donnnnnny]

nikon sb800 looks the go with a nikon off cam shoe cord sc-28tll

[donnnnnny]

rxphram. actually there is no substitute for natural light and the best light of all as any photographer will tell you is the first light of the day,ie the morning light.
but in certain situations one needs a flash, ie shooting with low iso , inside, also using flash light to back light a subject, by bouncing light behind the subjectis another area, and you are quite right to say the flash needs to rotate or tilt
modern dslr cameras use a digital image sensor, which captures the light when the mirror reflexs up and out of the wayie when you take the shot. understanding the light and how the sensor works are crusial to understanding photography. IMHO

[rxpharm]

donnny, you are right - natural light is best, but it isn't always convenient or easy to get your subject lit properly with natural light.

Check out the link for Joe Demb Flip-it I put in my earlier post - it makes flash appear much better, I am very happy with how it works doing flash portrait shots - so much better than direct flash and much more flexible than using a ceiling or wall to bounce the flash.

I have been shooting 35 mm film cameras since high school (old year book photographer), using an old Minolta SRT-101b (old match the needle light meter), and got my dSLR last year, Konica Minolta 5D. Very happy with it, and was able to use my old Minolta 5Xi lenses.

The flash range I have from the 5600 flash is amazing - I can shoot up to 70 feet away and still get properly exposed photos. Great for those cabaret shows!

[Dieter]

Studio light is the best...you have the full control and no shadows...natural liht you need brighteners and and...
What say our professionals from here ...like monkeyman,snick and ziggy...

I have a Minolta 9 with two 5600 and one 5400 flashes, lenses from 17 to 300mm G series....
But the best is all working fine with my Sony Digital and could choose between Sony,Minolta,Zeiss and some other producer of lenses....

Dieter

[Snick]

It all depends what your are shooting and what effect you want. But in general Natural light is best, and the best natural light is in he morning or evening ( slightly overcast days are also good ). When shooting with natural light a flash is still useful to shoot something that would otherwise be in shadow (a 'fill-in' flash )

Whenever I shoot a naked LB I use my own camera flash for fill-in effect, otherwise the Dick is shadowed

Obviously when shooting indoors you need a flash, My most recent shots at Goldfingrs were done using a Canon-Flash unit - without it I would not have been able get such good shots or have been able to shoot as quickly.

[donnnnnny]

seems we are in agreement. natural light is best , lets face it a hot shemale in an outdoor stetting is always going to look better , bouncing light and filling in is also pretty easy and with the modern photo shop for pc and iphoto for mac users, its pretty hard not to get the results you want,
a good photographer these days only needs an artistic eye and a decent knowledge of his tools of trade. ie his camera flash and lenses and his computer program. bing professional shots every time