Digital Camera Gift Ideas

Nikon SB 600 Speedlight Flash for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

compatible with Nikon digital SLRs and other select Nikon cameras * fully automatic and manual modes * wireless remote operation * 4 selectable frequency channels * vertical and horizontal angle adjustment * number of flashes: About 200 per set of fresh batteries * weight: about 10.6 oz. (without battery) *

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Excellent primary or secondary speedlight
As a longtime (30+ years) pro Nikon shooter, I’ve always relied on Nikon Speedlights to mate with my various Nikon cameras. I’ve never been disappointed with the excellent results.

The introduction of Nikon’s iTTL (intelligent through-the-lens) flash system is a major step forward for flash photography. I’ve owned the SB-600 for more than a year and it’s never let me down. I use it as a primary flash for travel (lighter in weight than the SB-800 and SB-900) with my D300 camera. It’s also an excellent secondary flash when used in wireless mode with the other Nikon speedlights. With three or four speedlights, I can achieve quality studio and location lighting effects that rival my pro strobe units AND have complete creative control over the lighting.

If you’re serious about photography, I’d recommend the SB-600 over the SB-400. The additional cost gives you not only more power, but many advanced features that you’ll come to use and appreciate.

Get the Omni-Bounce difusser for the SB-600 and you’re good to go!

5 Stars Best choice for most Nikon SLR owners
I purchased the SB-600 for my Nikon D5000. While the D5000 and other entry-level Nikon DSLRs (e.g., DX40/60/3000) do not have the built in Wireless Commander, I think the SB-600 is still a better investment than the SB-400 for entry/mid-level Nikon SLR users.

The SB-400 has a limited ISO 100 guide number of 21/68 (feet/meters) at the 18mm zoom head position. The SB-600 has a limited guide number of 30/98 at ISO 100 when set to the 35mm zoom position. In other words, unless you want a flash unit that is only slightly more powerful than the built in flash of your camera, or just want to extend the life of your camera’s battery, the SB-600 is a more powerful and versatile flash unit. It will swivel sideways and straight up for more bounce options, and has a built in diffuser panel. Other advantages over the SB-400 include a built-in AF Assist lamp and power zoom. I found the AF Assist works very well in dim light.

The LCD has an easy interface for changing modes or manual adjustments, and is illuminated making it easy to see in dim light. As with Nikon’s other current speed flashes, it supports Auto ISO sensitivity, and red eye reduction.

While my camera does not have built-in wireless commander, with the SB-600 I do have the option of purchasing the SU-800 ($250) to utilize the 600’s wireless capabilities. As for comparison to the SB-900, I’m just a novice user, so the differences between the SB-600 versus the higher-end SB-900 (and 800) is not really significant for me considering the jump in price. The major differences that I see are wireless commander mode, lens coverage, optional power supply, and non TTL auto mode (which I don’t need). The recycle times on the SB-600 are comparable to both SB-800 and 900 units. Moreover, the SB-900 has an overheat protection feature that can abruptly shut the unit down at critical times, so the SB-600 (and 800) is a great back-up even for pro users.

The photos I’ve taken with my D5000 have come out excellent. I’ve used the bounce flash, even with high ceilings, and had excellent results; and compared to the built in flash in my camera, the difference is huge. Except for professional photographers and prosumers with specific needs, for its price I think the SB-600 is the best choice for most Nikon SLR owners.

5 Stars Surprising improvement
I have generic flash units and i have light kits but i was not prepared for the improvement this unit made to my photos. I have struggled with low light photography since the dawn of man but the very first time i set this unit into my hot shoe i fell in love with it. I use this with my D90 and i just love the results. I was leery about spending hundreds of dollars on a flash unit but if you care about your photos you are just going to have to sacrifice some dollars. No regrets, this unit is excellent quality and is a must have for nikon cameras.

5 Stars Nikon SB-600
There are other flash units out there for about 1/2 the cost and to be honest I haven’t used any of them. Ken Rockwell’s review was very helpful in helping me make my decision to buy the Nikon product. I was surprised at the difference the flash makes in my photos when using the SB-600 as compared to the built-in flash on my Nikon D90.

5 Stars Phenomenal lighting! Wish I would have bought sooner!
I have taken my indoor photos to a whole new level with this flash. I bought it for my friend’s wedding and I wish I would have gotten it sooner.

I am using in conjunction with my Nikon D40 and a new Stroboframe Press-T Flash Rotating Bracket for portait photography. See review and photos there…

Flash features that I love:

1. Full tilt – from 90 degrees to 180 degrees with several stops – I bounce off the ceiling most of the time for lovely natural lighting

2. Built in pull out diffuser that can also be used for angle bounce

3. Head rotation from -90 degrees to 180 degrees (perfect for portrait photography with a flash frame to point to the ceiling)

4. Flash refresh rate is fantastic! I set the camera on a tripod and with the remote took many family photos in a row! Especially necessary when there are crying babies in the group!

5. Batteries last a long time

6. Includes nice protective case for flash

Buy/More Info

Canon EF 70 200mm f 4 L IS USM Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens offers the highest possible optical quality with no change in aperture over the full focal range of the lens. This allows photographers to set exposure at the widest aperture and zoom all the way through to 200mm without having to decrease shutter speed. Developed for use with a Canon SLR camera, this autofocus telephoto zoom lens offers optimized use with the Canon EOS series digital cameras. Of particular note, Canon has introduced an image stabilizer (IS) that adjusts to meet the demands of professional photography. IS reduces dramatically the image blur caused by camera shake. Gyro sensors detect unwanted vibrations, triggering the corresponding movement of a correcting lens group perpendicular to the optical axis. This alters the light path, returning the image to its correct position on the sensor or film plane. For shooting immobile subjects, Mode 1 corrects for movement in the image along both the horizontal and vertical axes. For shooting while panning horizontally to follow a moving subject, Mode 2 turns off vertical correction and prevents the effect of dragging the subject back through the frame. The lens’ Ring-type USM employs ultra-sonic frequency vibrations to drive auto focus with unrivalled speed and near-silent operation. A powerful CPU and improved AF algorithm contribute to speed performance. The EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM includes distance metering information, providing compatibility with the E-TTL II flash system of late model cameras such as the EOS-1D Mark II, EOS-1Ds Mark II, EOS 5D and EOS 400D. When used in conjunction with Canon’s range of EX Speedlite flash units, the lens passes distance information to the flash algorithm for markedly improved flash exposure metering. Includes Lens hood and soft pouch

User Ratings and Reviews

3 Stars I’m just rating what I received.
I ordered this lens new from an online merchant recently and after taking it out to shoot for one day, I’ve found that it performs remarkably- when it performs.

I am not rating the 70-200 F/4L IS in general, but rather the one that I received. I thought about not writing a review just so that the raving 5star reviews wouldn’t be skewed but I thought this might be helpful for people who thought it might be too good to be true that nobody got a lemon. It’d be unfair for me to choose to only write a great review just because everyone else did, ignoring the flaws that mine came with.

The lens that I got seemed to be a lemon (which speaks of Canon’s quality control). I tried focusing to infinity manually (tried on both MF and AF) and it just wasn’t getting there. It would rotate from Macro all the way up to about 3/4ths of the way to infinity and it would stop. I put on the lens cap and pressed the shutter halfway to see if it did what it’s supposed to do (try to focus from Macro to Infinity) but again, it would never reach infinity. In fact, when it was rotating towards infinity, it would get stuck and make a scratchy noise. The zoom would also sometimes not turn all the way to 70mm, but if I messed with the focus ring a little bit, the zoom ring would work again. One time it got to the point where the focus ring wouldn’t change the area of focus at all.

The reason why I gave this any stars at all was because I’m giving it 3 stars because it did perform well a couple times and when it did, the image quality as far as saturation, contrast and sharpness were fantastic. Expected better quality control for an L lens so I took off 2 stars. I’ve returned this lens and bought another copy. When it comes, I will give an update to this review.

5 Stars Best zoom lens on the planet
Wow! That’s what you will say when you see your first images from this lens!

It’s not hype, it’s for real.

Small, light, super sharp, super high IQ, super-fast AF, excellent 4 stop IS.

There’s not a lot more to say.

4 Stars Great staple, “go-to” lens.
I have owned this lens for over a year now.

The first lens I purchased had severe front focusing issues and was not as sharp as I would like in a lens of this price range. I returned it and the 2nd copy has been perfect. Having spoken with other enthusiasts, this doesn’t seem to be an uncommon experience, and Canon may have some quality control issues, which is why this is rated a 4 instead of a 5.

The new lens is wonderful, tack sharp, good build and focuses quickly. I use it to do dog photography and it is great outdoors. Indoors for action shots in low light, I would go with the 2.8 over the f/4 to get those really crisp photos in low light conditions. Otherwise great all around zoom lens at a good price. Image stabilization has really come in handy too.

5 Stars Amazing quality in all aspects, cant wait to use it on a full frame.
Optical quality:

The best I’ve seen, period. The pictures I take with this lens standout even around pictures taken with other L lenses like the 17-40 at F/8. This one is sharp from F/4 until diffraction starts to affect (f/16) and is sharp at all zoom points.

IS capability:

I wish all my lenses had an IS like this one does. I can even take sharp pictures at 1/15 at 200mm. It does drain battery a little faster but not to be an issue at all, I even forget about it.

Construction quality:

Solid, excellent… L grade.

Portability

I laugh at the guys lugging the f/2.8… the only reason I would consider the 2.8 is for indoor sports (freezing action) or portaits.

This one at f/4 still produces nice bokeh when taking portraits.

Usability

Of course, its up to you. I have a 40D and found this lens to be too long for normal use. Im buying a 5D mk II and one of the great things about that is that I will be using this lens more. On an APS-C camera the lens becomes usable only for far subjects (more than 20 feet) or head portraits.

Use with the 1.4 tele extender

Great. It still gives excellent optical quality and everything works perfect (remember you loose 1 stop of light however).

4 Stars Beautiful Lens
I use this with a 5D and the combination creates some lovely photos. I had to try two copies of the lens because of corner softness. Its capable of producing gorgeous shots. Works well with the 1.4x adapter.

Buy/More Info