Recommend a flash for a beginner?

batman1

Hi,

I have just recently got into the whole photography world, and have to say I like it..!

I have a new Nikon D3000 and some time soon I would like to get a flashgun for it as I have a few family weddings to attend this year.

Everyone I speak to tells me to get a flashgun instead of the built in flash.

I dont yet understand the whole concept of flashes but I will get there.

I am hoping someone could recommend me a (not too expensive) flashgun for my camera that will get me going and help me learn a bit. What to look out for etc. I don't want, or indeed can't afford, to spend huge sums yet.

Any help is much appreciated.

pixbyjohn

The cheapest Nikon flash for your camera is probably the Nikon SB600 a good flashgun, the next up in quality and price is SB800 and top of the range is SB900. I use the SB600 and find it a very good flashgun. I wouldn't recommend any of the generic flashguns although they are cheap and cheerful.
Look here http://www.berminghamcameras.ie/store/index.php?target=categories&category_id=193
If you haggle a bit you will get the SB600 new for 269euro.
Otherwise look on Ebay.ie

pixbyjohn

Have a read here about flash
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/flash.htm

quilmore

sb400 is a marvel of a flash
it does most the big ones do and it will cost you less than 100 euro
I even saw a few going in adverts, not sure if gone now

mrmac

+1 on an SB400. It's a small, easy to use, no frills flash.
Ideal for a starter, as it'll probably do 80% of anything you'll ever want.

There are no SB-400 on Adverts atm.

Next up, is a SB-600, followed by an SB-800 - both excellent items.

The SB-600 can be bought new for £218stg.

The SB-800, is a great flash, but was discontinued when Nikon brought out the SB-900. The SB-900 is the current Nikon flagship flash, but it only has a few extra features over the SB-800. Nikon decided it didn't need two flashes in this range. The SB-800 still sells for high money second hand.

I have just bought an SB-900, and it's a lump of a flash! Still figuring out how the thing works! You're welcome to test it, but it'll cost you a cup of coffee
(Recognised the user name from another forum )

Something else to consider is old Nikon flashes. They may not be able to do iTTL stuff, but are still quite useable. even if you where to use them in manual mode, and adjust the flash output yourself, they're reasonably cheap and a great way to learn.

I have an SB-25 and an SB-26 knocking around here, plus a Cobra unit somewhere, so I'm sure I could lend you one for a few days.

batman1

Thanks everyone.

The sb400 looks like it would be a good choice for me at the moment. I can always upgrade in the future. It's not too expensive either.

Hugh_C

I can;t speak for the 400, but I have both 600 and 800 and they're brilliant.

There's a really great website you should take a look at called Strobist which covers pretty much everything about lighting, of course once you start reading it you'll want to start experimenting with off-camera flashes and the like - slippery slope...

Enjoy.

Fenster

Get a Nikon-branded flash. I have had nothing but bad luck with non-branded flashes.