How much better is the SB900 over the SB600
Discussion
Yes, in many ways and no in some others.
The "No's" first. When you turn on an SB900, there's a lot of noise. Sometimes on mine, just turning it to On, the screen lights up but nothing much else happens. It needs resetting and then it's good to go. I'm not a jobbing pro, and speed isnt of the essence, so I'm OK with it. It's also big, bigger than a 600 and some adaptors (Rayflash etc) that I have for the 600 dont work on the 900.
The "Yes's"...it's powerful. I was getting F11 through an EZ Fold Softbox at around 10/15ish feet @ ISO200 and it could crank up a little further but for the thermostat cutoff. It'll act as a remote commander of other Nikon CLS flashes (I've tried it to fire the SB600's). It has a SU-4 mode, so can detect other flashes. It has inputs! I use Pocket Wizards, and had to import hotshoe adapters to make them work with the PW's with SB600's. The SB900 has it's own jack, so I can put a lead into it. The zoom is further (200mm) and can be controlled, using wide or narrow options. Or just the centre section
Thats pretty much all I've found so far. When I was looking, the 800 had just been EOL'd and I'd seen and heard a few horror stories about the 900, but it's been great
(*edit) The SB600 is cool too, it just feels a bit limited in comparison. If you're not bothered about latest/greatest, the SB28 isnt too bad either
The "No's" first. When you turn on an SB900, there's a lot of noise. Sometimes on mine, just turning it to On, the screen lights up but nothing much else happens. It needs resetting and then it's good to go. I'm not a jobbing pro, and speed isnt of the essence, so I'm OK with it. It's also big, bigger than a 600 and some adaptors (Rayflash etc) that I have for the 600 dont work on the 900.
The "Yes's"...it's powerful. I was getting F11 through an EZ Fold Softbox at around 10/15ish feet @ ISO200 and it could crank up a little further but for the thermostat cutoff. It'll act as a remote commander of other Nikon CLS flashes (I've tried it to fire the SB600's). It has a SU-4 mode, so can detect other flashes. It has inputs! I use Pocket Wizards, and had to import hotshoe adapters to make them work with the PW's with SB600's. The SB900 has it's own jack, so I can put a lead into it. The zoom is further (200mm) and can be controlled, using wide or narrow options. Or just the centre section
Thats pretty much all I've found so far. When I was looking, the 800 had just been EOL'd and I'd seen and heard a few horror stories about the 900, but it's been great
(*edit) The SB600 is cool too, it just feels a bit limited in comparison. If you're not bothered about latest/greatest, the SB28 isnt too bad either
Edited by andy-xr on Thursday 6th May 14:36
Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff