Nikon SB-800 Speedlight |  | Brand: Nikon
Category: CE
Buy Used: £320.00
as of 30/7/2010 14:48 CDT details
Used (2) from £320.00
Seller: mutenzs
Rating:  6 reviews
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: Yes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 5 x 3.6 x 2.8
Legal Disclaimer: http://www.rpadistribution.com/terms_and_conditions.asp
MPN: 4801
Model: 4801
UPC: 018208048014
EAN: 4960759024152
ASIN: B00015GYU4
Release Date: February 7, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
New Speedlight SB-800 with wireless i-TTL flash control evolves the technology beyond the D-TTL of the D1 series. It introduces features that include Advanced Wireless Lighting wireless remote control over multiple flashes, Flash Value Lock FV Lock, AUTO FP High-Speed Sync and Flash Color Information Communication. It also features the new Wide Area AF Assist Illuminator that is tailored to the new D2Hs 11-area Multi-CAM 2000 AF Sensor Module. Additional features include a built-in wide flash adapter for 14mm wideangle lens coverage, GN 38/53 ISO 100/200, at 35mm and flash coverage from 24mm up to 105mm when using the Auto Zoom function in 5mm zoom steps between 35 and 105mm.- Advanced, Powerful Speedlight Flash- i-TTL intelligent TTL flash exposure control- Flash Value Lock FV-Lock- Auto FP High Speed sync.- Flash Colour Communication Information- Advanced Wireless Lighting including full i-TTL remote flash- Complete package including battery booster pack, filters, free standing foot and case.FeatureProduct FeaturesEnergy managementNumber of batteries supported4 Battery typeAA Alkaline, NiCd, Lithium Weight & dimensionsDimensions W x D x H70.6 x 91.7 x 127.4mm Weight350g ColourColour of productBlack Technical detailsApproximate recycling time2.7; 6s Approx. number of flashes150 Guide number ISO 100, set at 35mm zoom38m Lens focal range24-105 mm
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| Customer Reviews:
 Fantastic April 7, 2009
loopy
This is a fantastic bit of kit, I was unsure at first as I have limited flash knowledge but this flash does everything that you need it to.
The fact that you can move the head pretty much anywhere that you could imagine gives you so much freedom.
I also love the option to use this as an off board flash this gave me great results when taking still life work. I Love it.
Fantastic! June 2, 2008
R. D. Robson (County Durham UK)
19 out of 19 found this review helpful
This Nikon SB-800 Speedlight was purchased to be used with a D300 D-SLR.
Although not the most powerful flashgun available on the market it's however, powerful enough and extremely well built and it's manual is very comprehensive and I'm still digesting all of it's content.
As with all of today's camera/flashgun manufacturers, whose products work effortlessly together, Nikon products are no exception. You get various auto modes such as I-TTL, AA etc. depending on your camera type, together with full manual mode when desired. It comes with a case, stand, soft light diffuser, gel kit and the extra battery attachment so a fifth battery can be use which reduces it's recharge time but strangely, no batteries. I'm currently using five rechargeable 1300mAh Ni-MH AA batteries with no issue whatsoever, although as yet I haven't tried my 2700mAh batteries in it. Some people seem to have problems with the higher capacity Ni-MH batteries in various flashguns.
It can be attached directly to the camera's accessory/hot shoe with the light bounced off a wall or ceiling. It can be also be used remotely when set as a slave unit and triggered by the optional SU-800 commander or another SB-800 set as the master. It's so versatile that it can be triggered optically by the D300's built-in flashgun (or any other third party camera/flashgun combination including compact cameras with a built-in flash - I've tried this out with my Olympus Mju 1030 SW so I know that it works!). This can provide extra valuable direct or bounced light from an umbrella or wall etc..
There's the usual multi-channel facility to prevent interference from other Nikon camera/flashgun combo's setting off your equipment in error.
I'm finding the menu system fairly easy to use (with manual in hand to keep me right, LOL) but I've still got a lot of ground to cover and when I can afford more flashguns I'll be working on Nikon's Creative Light System thingy!
All in all an excellent addition to my photographic equipment and I can wholeheartedly recommend it.
Nikon's Creative Lighting System is AMAZING March 1, 2008
Jack Oliver (Kent, England)
20 out of 21 found this review helpful
I've been a keen amateur photographer for 35 years and have always been uncomfortable using flash light. Until now.
Flash often meant hit-and-miss results, poor exposure, ghost-like flesh tones, horrid colours, stark shadows, not to mention red-eye. But this changed when I started using a Speedlight SB-800 on my D200... consistent balanced exposure and great colour. But that's just the start of it. Using the D200 as controller of multiple Speedlights opens up a whole new world in photographic lighting. Admittedly the apparent complexity of using multiple Speedlights is, at first, rather daunting! Here Simon Stafford's Magic Lantern Guide "Nikon AF Speedlight Flash System" is helpful. I've added 2 SB-600s to my Speedlight system. I set each Speedlight to "remote", use the SB-800 as key light, one SB-600 as fill, and one SB-600 to light the background. Then all the control is from the camera. In the D200 menu the exposure value of the Speedlights can be dialled up/down in 1/3 ev steps. All TTL-metering and, of course, wireless. After one practise shot it's easy to dial-in the required values and then it's plain sailing... shot-after-shot perfectly exposed with great shadows and wonderful flesh tones. Use bounced light, different positioning/configuration of Speedlights, diffusion dome, coloured gel filters ... all is factored-in by the system to give astonishing results. A veritable portable studio!
Note: I found that while Nikon's user manuals explain the use of each component of the CLS, I had to search around to find a clear & simple explanation of how to use multiple Speedlights! Nikonians.org has an article entitled "Nikon D200 and Nikon's Creative Lighting System" which is most helpful.
 wonderful flash unit marred by its menu system July 24, 2007
A. J. Martyr (Inkberrow England)
32 out of 34 found this review helpful
Another reviewer has commented that the unit lost a star in its rating because it was not very intuitive to use. I agree absolutely.
While my D200 operation is helped by a clear menu system the SB-800 menu is plain horrid; it is difficult to access quickly and the instruction manual is not a great help. However once you get it set up the remote operation is very very impressive.
I assume that persons who buy this unit will want to use it in more ways than sitting on top of a camera in auto mode; in which case they will be willing to invest the time and practice needed to learnt how to quickly change between modes of operation - if they are then this is a good investment
Just a flash - until you go multi. Then it's amazing July 8, 2006
Martin Turner (Marlcliff, Warwickshire, England)
115 out of 117 found this review helpful
The SB-800 is easily the coolest flashgun that you can put on your camera's hotshoe. But the amazing control of the Nikon creative lighting system only becomes apparent when you add a second or even third flash. A word of caution, though -- the best features only work on Nikon's most recent cameras.
As a flash in itself, this is well-specified. The Guide Number is 38 at ISO 100 -- not far short of the GN45 of the classic (and enormous) Metz MecaBlitz flashes that were virtually compulsory on professional cameras in the 80s and 90s. It neatly compensates for digital's inability to do TTL flash metering with i-TTL, as well as providing useful features like Flash-Value lock and auto-high FP, for synchronising at any speed. Like its predecessors, it has built in zooming, and modelling flash.
The SB-800 comes with a nice set of accessories -- a stand, gel filters, a diffuser (in addition to the on-flash wide adaptor), and a neat extra battery add-on, which improves recycle time. It also comes with a smart, velcro close bag, which has nice compartments for all the accessories. Neat.
Although it will function on virtually any Nikon camera, the SB-800 is designed to solve the problems created by digital cameras. The biggest of these problems is that Through-the-Lens flash metering, where the light bounces off the film and is measured by the light meter, will not work on digital because -- to put it simply -- digital sensors are not shiny enough to reflect sufficient light. Nikon's original solution was D-TTL, which is found on the SB-80 DX. It was not a winner. The SB-800's solution is called i-TTL, and works by pre-firing the flash so that the camera can measure the light. The exposure is nigh-on perfect, although it naturally slows down the whole process. If you don't like it, you can always select Auto-Aperture, or fully manual. i-TTL works on the D2 cameras and the D200.
The SB-800 really comes into its own when you match it with one, two, or even three other SB-800s or SB-600s. In remote mode, you set the flash to one of four frequencies, and to one of three groups, A, B or C. In master mode (the one actually attached to your camera), you can then change the ratios of each group, and the master flash, from -3 to +3. When you take the picture, all the flashes pre-fire for i-TTL, if that's the mode you selected (you set mode per flash), and you get a perfectly exposed picture. Of course, getting the ratios right is the real trick -- the exposure can be 'right' and it can still look dreadful. You can keep playing with the ratios on the master flash without having to touch the remote flashes. On one of the D2 or D200 cameras, you can keep checking until you're happy.
If this sounds like studio-flash, it is. And it isn't. Once you've shot off 15 flashes at full intensity at the maximum burst rate, you have to let the unit cool down for ten minutes. Compared to mains-powered studio flash, the recycle time is slow, and even powerful NIMH batteries discharge after a couple of hundred exposures. And, powerful as it is for a flash-gun, the SB-800 is weak compared to most studio flash. Nonetheless, for something that you can stick into four big pockets and take with you up a mountain, this is something extraordinary. Add to that the tight integration with the Nikon cameras, and the result is nothing short of revolutionary.
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