A Summary of Current Nikon Speedlight Options

Today, a friend of mine asked me, what would be a better choice, a 2nd hand SB-800 Nikon Speedlight (Nikon-speak for Flash) or a brand new SB-600. Well, given the two, I told him to get the SB-600, as he'd probably never use the extra features that were exclusive to the SB-800.

While on the subject, I did some research and put together a comparison of the 4 contemporary Nikon Speedlight Options (I-TTL compatible):

Model	SB-900	SB-400	SB-600	SB-800
Construction	Automatic Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) and series circuitry	Automatic Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) and series circuitry	Automatic Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) and series circuitry	Automatic Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) and series circuitry
Guide Number	34/111.5 (ISO 100, m/ft), 48/157.5 (ISO 200, m/ft)	30/98.4 (ISO 200, m/ft), 21/69 (ISO 100, m/ft)	Approx. 30/98 (at 35mm setting) at ISO 100	38 (with zoom head set at 35mm)
Flash Coverage	* 17 to 200mm (FX-format, Automatic mode) * 12 to 200mm (DX-format, Automatic mode) * 12 to 17mm (FX-format, Automatic mode with built-in wide-angle panel deployed) * 8 to 11mm (DX-format, Automatic mode with built-in wide-angle panel deployed)	Light distribution covers an 18mm lens when mounted on a Nikon DX format camera and a 27mm lens when mounted on an F6	* Automatic 24 to 85mm zoom * 14mm with built-in wide flash adapter	* 24mm to 105mm in 5mm zoom steps * 17mm, 14mm with built-in wide-flash adapter * 14mm with soft dome
Film Speed Range in TTL auto flash mode	100 to 6400 ISO	0.6m to 20m (2 to 66 ft.) (Varies depending on the ISO sensitivity, zoom-head position, and lens aperture in use)	ISO 25 to 1,000	ISO 25 to 1600
Recycling Time	* 4.0 sec. with Alkaline-manganese (1.5V) * 4.5 sec. with Lithium (1.5V) * 3.0 sec. with OxyrideTM (1.5V) * 2.3 sec. with Ni-MH (2600 mAh)	Approx. 2.5 seconds	* Approx. 3.5 sec. with AA Alkaline manganese batteries * 4 sec. with AA lithium batteries	Approx. 2.9 seconds with supplied SD-800 Quick Recycling Battery Pack (Manual at full)
Number of Flashes	* 110 with Alkaline-manganese (1.5V) * 230 with Lithium (1.5V) * 190 with Ni-MH (2600 mAh) Note: When firing Speedlight at full output once every 30 seconds (120 seconds with lithium).	Approx. 210/2.5-30 sec.	Approx. 200 (Alkaline) 400 (Lithium)	Approx. 130 (Manual at full)
Weight (without battery, memory card or body cap)	Approx. 14.6 oz. (415g)	Approx. 127g (4.5 oz.)	Approx. 300g	Approx. 350g
Other Features	* The SB-900 indicates unit is fully recycled: Rear ready-light lights up and the front light blinks. * Insufficient light for correct exposure (in i-TTL, Auto Aperture flash, Non-TTL Auto flash, or Distance-priority manual flash operations): both rear and front (in remote setting) ready-lights blink. * Ready Light	Ready light	Modeling flash, LCD panel illumination, Color filter set	* Ready-light, open-flash button, sync/multiple flash terminal, modeling flash, LCD panel illumination * Automatically fires LED beam toward subject when performing autofocus with Nikon AF SLRs in low-light conditions: cancelable
Dimensions	Approx. 3.0 × 5.7 × 4.7 in. (78.0 × 146.0 × 118.5 mm)	Approx. 66 x 56.5 x 80mm (2.6 x 2.2 x 3.1 in.)	Approx. 68.0 x 123.5 x 90mm (2.7 x 4.8 x 3.5 in.)	Approx. 70.5 x 129.5 x 93.0mm
Power Requirements	* 4.0 sec. with Alkaline-manganese (1.5V) * 4.5 sec. with Lithium (1.5V) * 3.0 sec. with OxyrideTM (1.5V) * 2.3 sec. with Ni-MH (2600 mAh) * Optional :SD-9 High-Performance Battery Pack, SD-8A High-Performance Battery Pack, SK-6 Power Bracket Unit	Two AA-size 1.5V batteries	Four AA-size batteries	Four 1.5V LR6 (AA-size alkaline), 1.2V KR-AA (AA-size NiCd), 1.5V R6/AA-size Nickel, 1.2V (R6/AA-size Ni-MH) or 1.5V FR6/AA-size lithium batteries; DC Unit SD-7, High-Performance Battery Pack SD-8A, Power Bracket Unit SK-6A/6
Supplied Accessories (may differ by country or area)	AS-21 Speedlight Stand, SW-13H Diffusion Dome, SJ-900 Color Filter Set, SZ-2 Color Filter Holder, SS-900 Soft Case	SS-400 Soft Case	Speedlight Stand AS-19, Soft Case SS-600	Quick Recycling Battery Pack SD-800, Speedlight Stand AS-19, Speedlight Color Filter Set SJ-800, Diffusion Dome SW-10H, Soft Case SS-800
Current Price	RM 1688	RM 588	RM 988	RM 1698

Now, TTL stands for "Through-The-Lens", which is basically the principle which SLR's (Single-Lens-Reflex) work. The photographer literally looks through the lens of the camera via mirror / prism mechanism, therefore seeing exactly what the film / digital imaging chip sees through the lens. This is different from a rangefinder, where the eyepiece is a separate optical path from the lens. For rangefinders, you don't really see exactly what the camera sees, and there will be some differences in terms of angle and coverage (especially up close).

Back to I-TTL or Intelligent TTL. Before I-TTL there was D-TTL, beffore that there was 3D-TTL. This is merely the progression of the exposure control technology (even I-TTL has improved to I-TTL 2, so I wouldn't get too hung up on the terminology). What matters is that your camera is compatible with your flash, so if you have the latest Nikon DSLR, it's going to work fine with any of the above 4 speedlights.

Now, the SB-800 is no longer available, having just been replaced by the SB-900, which retails for slightly cheaper than its predecessor's starting price. That leaves just the SB-900, SB-600 and SB-400 in the equation. The SB-400 is a really simple flash which operates on only 2 AA batteries, but lacks the full bounce capabilities and IR AF assist features of its brethren. That last bit means that it only tilts UP, not to the side, so for horizontal shots you bounce off the ceiling, for potraits you bounce off the wall. No IR AF assist means you will have to depend on the camera's AF assist lamp in low light instead. Therefore, it's fine for beginners, but you may find yourself wanting when you progress. Good thing is that it's tiny and portable, consumes less power and recharges faster between shots.

A step up from that would be the SB-600, which has full tilting bounce capabilities and AF assist, and also wireless slave capabilities as well. Meaning, you can set this up off camera and trigger it remotely for some clever lighting effects (note you need to know what you are doing and you need a camera / flash which functions as a master, which the SB-800 and SB-900 does). Now, the SB-900 improves on the SB-800 in zooming farther and correctly compensating for the 1.5X crop factor of DX frame DSLR's, as well as optimizing itself for the full-frame FX models.

So, in the end, my advice to my friend was, as a hobbyist, get the SB-600 (which is nearly half the price of the SB-900 on the street) and start taking creative flash photos!

Note : the table doesn't seem to appear entirely on Blogspot. See the full table over at : http://mcwk.multiply.com/journal/item/120/A_Summary_of_Current_Nikon_Speedlight_Options