which flash gun ??

dave_putty · Post by **dave_putty** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 8:11 am

Hi everyone
I'm thinking about buying a flash gun for my D80 but not sure which type...I am sure I will only use it for macro work...any advice would be great

georgedingwall · Post by **georgedingwall** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 8:52 am

Hi Dave,

If you can only have one gun and cost is not a limiting factor, I would go with the Nikon SB800.

It has all the power you'll need and can be used off camera with the remote control sytem in your D80. It has lots of user configurable options making it very flexible.

I have recently bought a second SB800 so that I can mount a high powered flash either side of the lens. This helps reduce harsh shadows and gives plenty of power when using flash at high shutter speeds, and also allows you to stop down for greater depth of field.

You can read some stuff about my attempts with the twin flash setup in a recent topic in this forum.

http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... .php?t=871

Hope this helps.

Mike B in OKlahoma · Post by **Mike B in OKlahoma** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 9:16 am

If you're serious about the flash only being for macro, you might consider the Sigma EM-140 ring flash. Or the Nikon equivalent, if there is one.

dave_putty · Post by **dave_putty** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 9:22 am

Thank you for that George..It looks like the sort of thing i need..but i saw an article about ring light flash but cant remember where and I'm not sure it would be better than the Nikon SB800 so I'll look for Nikon but I'm on a budget atm and I also need to buy a general lens..say 18-55

DaveW · Post by **DaveW** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 10:04 am

Dave

A ring light tends to give rather flat lighting, Nikon produced them some time ago like all the other camera firms. They then moved on to ring lights with switchable halves or quadrants that could be varied in power so the light could be made more directional.

The ring light has now rather fallen out of favour for most natural history work to be replaced with the twin flash bracket like George uses or the twin flash macro lights that mount on the lenses filter threads. In your case, for the D80 I think it is the R1 if the pop up flash acts as Commander Unit (for older Nikon's the R1C1 having an SU-800 Commander Flash on the hotshoe), See:-

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/r1c1.htm

For Canon users they produce a similar model:-

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Revi ... eview.aspx

DaveW

georgedingwall · Post by **georgedingwall** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 10:13 am

Hi Dave,

The Sigma Ring Flash will cost you about £279 at Warhouse Express.

I don't think Nikon do a ring flash, but their twin flash SB-R1 Close Up Remote Kit, will cost you about £379 at Warehouse Express.

You can also get the slightly cheaper SB600 which has a little less power than the SB800 and not as many features.

There are other brands such as Metz which sell Nikon compatible flash guns at quite reasonable prices. They might not be able to use the advanced flash features of the D80.

I've never used a ring light, but the reviews I've read are generally positive, although some say that the light from them is a little flat.

I still think it is best to get the flash off camera so that you can control exactly where it is pointing and the amount of shadow in the image.

Hope this helps.

DaveW · Post by **DaveW** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 11:43 am

Another variation is the LED ring light for Nikons "consumer" cameras as the filter thread is too small for it's macro lenses.:-

http://www.cs.mtu.edu/~shene/DigiCam/Us ... /SL-1.html

There are some independent LED ring lights for 35mm cameras I believe.

An example of an old type Nikon ring light is shown here:-

http://cgi.ebay.com/Nikon-SB-21b-Macro- ... dZViewItem

See how to use a ring light here, plus the fact it gives no modeling:-

http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=a ... cle=041904

DaveW