Nikon SB-800 AF Speedlight Flash for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

The Nikon SB-800 I would have to say is the best flash for the money, I have friends that are pro photographers and they have this flash, I am just starting out doing photography and I was not hot on spending alot of money on a flash, but I can say this was worth it when you start using this SB-800 you will know, it was worth getting. I am still learning all the things I can do with this and the one thing I have to say I love this flash.....

Having been in photography less than a year, it still took me about 45 minutes to figure out the SB-800. This includes using it in full off camera iTTL CLS mode as well as Remote and SU-4 mode on my D200.

While on a recent vacation, I set the flash manually to 1/2 power and was able to clearly light and see people in my pictures. This would not be impressive, except that it was in a totally dark arena and the people that I lit and clearly captured were on the OTHER FAR SIDE of the arena (mind you, this is width, not length-wise. NO flash can do this distance the long way on 1/2 power!). The SB-800 is extremely powerful as a flash.

This strobe is still as of today (April 2008), the STRONGEST on camera flash available on the market, it is also the most versatile. I've used it in conjunction as a bounce flash, fill flash and trigger flash for 120v studio strobes that have integrated optical triggers. I have used it as a remote flash to create amazingly well lit and professional looking portraits of family and friends. I am adding a second (possibly third as well) SB-800 to my collection to be able to have an extremely versatile and powerful portable flash setup.

I've put my SB-800 through hell and back, and it has never let me down. If you are a serious professional or an enthusiastic amateur like myself with a Nikon camera, you cannot make a better choice of flash than Nikon's SB-800.

You can do alot with this strobe, even studio shoots where you might ordinarily use a studio monolight or strobe setup. It is more intuitive to setup and use than the SB600, but it is a great master strobe to use in conjunction with an SB600. Being able to contol EV values from within the Nikon D300 is really nice. It comes with a diffuser and some gels. Good value for the money.

Should have bought this a long time ago. I have 3 sb600's and this works well for synchronizing them all together! I noticed it is a little heavy after carrying it on the camera for 6 hrs.

Good functionality, everything in place.
Good recharging time, but I would like it to be a faster when working with less than half load.