Nikon Speedlight SB-400 External Flash
Posted by Notcot on May 29, 2010 in Photography |
Product Description
Das besonders kompakte und leichte SB-400 i-TTL-Blitzgerät ist bequem zu transportieren und springt ein, wenn die Leistung eines kameraintegrierten Blitzgeräts einmal nicht ausreicht oder indirektes Blitzlicht zum Einsatz kommen soll. Es ist mit allen Nikon Spiegelreflexkameras nutzbar, die über i-TTL Blitzsteuerung verfügen.
- Leitzahl (m; bei Blitzreflektorstellung 35 mm): 30 (bei ISO 200), 21 (bei ISO 100)
- Stromversorgung: zwei Mignonzellen (AA)
- Blitzreflektor in 4 Stufen neigbar: horizontal, 60, 75 und 90 Grad
- Gewicht (ohne Akkus/Batterien): nur 127 g
- Abmessungen (H x B x T): 56,5 x 66 x 80 mm
- The SB-400 flash from Nikon will follow your photo digital camera wherever it goes to give it an additional lighting source for both indoor and outdoor photos. It has a guide number of 30 (at 200 ISO) and is compatible with all i-TTL measurement systems based on the pre-lighting analysis of your device. This way, the SB-400 can offer a balanced flash for spectacular results. In addition, its pivoting head enables it to change lighting direction for creative shots.The compact and lightweight SB-
- 400 is simple to use and runs on two AA batteries (not included).
- NIKON SB-400 Flash for Coolpix P5000, Coolpix P5100, D40, D50, D70s, D80
This is a great little flash. It fits nicely in a small pocket, weighs absolutely nothing and helps immensely indoors. The head tilts upwards at 60-, 75- and 90-degree angles. As a previous reviewer mentioned, it communicates with my camera perfectly ( currently owning a D300 ) to get spot-on exposure every time.
The only time it struggled was in a room where the ceiling was painted black and the bounce was limited. Still, this was easily resolved with flash-metering before taking the shot.
The beauty of this flash is that there are no settings to change on the back, you just switch it on and start shooting. I mostly use it in rooms with friends, and get amazing colours, as if there is no flash at all.
Rating: 5 / 5
As I have a D60 with an 18-200 mm lens so my comments pertain specifically to that camera/lens combination.
While researching suitable flash units I selected the SB400 instead of any of the larger SB600, SB800 and the new SB900 units due to the following reasons in order fo priority:
1. Size – the SB400 is small enough to go in the camera bag or a pocket. Therefore it will actually get used.
2. Ease of use – basically just put it on, turn it on and let the camera control the output.
3. Cost – very good value for money.
4. Power output – powerful enough for a medium sized room and most situations I’ll find myself needing a flash for.
The only slight limitation is the lack of tilt to the side for bouncing flash in portrait mode but this is quite minor considering the other benefits. Taking a wider shot with some cropping solves the issue in any case.
I recommend this flash unit without reservation.
Postscript March 2010: I now have a Nikon D5000 and this flash is equally suited to the D5000.
Rating: 5 / 5
Having swung over to a Nikon D90 from Canon film SLRs after a long interlude with high end compacts, I knew the essential accessory was a bounce flash. My Canon Speedlite EX series flash is big, zoom head, 4 batteries. It hardly ever left the house. I decided I wanted something smaller and not a drag to carry around with my D90 and got the SB-400. I’ve had mine for 3 months now.
Practicality: It is small and light, I take it everywhere with my camera, even on holiday, on days out, etc etc (so it actually gets used unlike my Canon used to). I’m glad I did not spend more money on a larger Nikon flash unit.
Colour and exposure: Colours are great, no blown highlights, exposure generally good, sometimes need to up the flash compensation.
Coverage: The surprising thing about this flash is its even coverage when used at the wide end of a 16-85mm zoom. At 16mm (24mm equivlent) this flash lights up a room briliantly and my old canon speedlite struggled at 28mm which the zoom head supported (then “full-frame” of couse). This means the normal wide end (18mm) of most kit lenses will be easily handled.
Features: There are no advanced controls on this flash, just on/ff and lock lever (neat – again one up on Canon) but it can be controlled from in camera buttons and menus as much as the built in flash. This means on a D90: max 1/200th sec synch speed and gives you front/rear curtain, slow synch, auto fill in, manual, auto red eye, flash exp compensation. Repeating (strobe) and commander mode are not supported. What else do you need? Wireless remote if your camera body supports it? Well…
Lastly for those that want swivel too, you can buy a hotshoe cord for a bit over £20, so you can point it in direction you care. So that makes it a bounce, swivel, off camera flash for £120… Oh – the 2 AA batteries last a long time…
This flash is a no brainer for most situations, so use the money you save on its bigger expensive brothers and buy another lens instead. If you can afford and want the more expensive solutions, get one of these anyway for portability. Go buy. I cannot comment on the seller, bought via another supplier. Look for prices under £100, or near to £95 to compete with the high street or retail park stores.
Rating: 5 / 5
Great, it can stay on my D 300 or my P 5100 all day and the camera doesn’t tip over! Really surprisingly powerful, great for fill in,fast recycle time and it BOUNCES. I rarely use my SB 600 now unless I need a lot of light.
Rating: 5 / 5
The compact SB-400 is ideal for quick shots where you have it in your pocket or in your camera bag: comes with its own little zipper case, and with a few flicks on the Quick settings menu to set white balance, my D-60 does the rest.
The body slots onto the hotshoe very precisely, and the tilt head swivels from 0 to 90 degrees for varying degrees of flash intensity, but with it set to 60+ right up to pointing at parallel to the ceiling (provided it’s a pale colour), who needs a diffuser? Colours come out well, and detail is sharp.
A worthwhile – and robust-feeling – little speedlight that is surprisingly flexible. Likewise, I’d give it the full five. Make sure you have the batteries ready to load: the traditional in brackets (Not Supplied) – two AAs, by the way!
Rating: 5 / 5