Using Nikon's CLS system, they'll all work off-camera for you using the pop-up as a commander. The 800 & 900 also have a PC jack on them for off-camera manual firing via a PC cable, or a radio trigger like a Pocket Wizard. The 800/900 can also work as a commander in CLS when you need more range. The 600 is a remote-only in CLS, or if you get a PC>hotshoe adapter then PC triggering is possible. I have a 600 and a 900 and like them both quite a bit. The 600 is handy when I don't want to carry or need the whopper popper 900 as it's fairly compact w/ decent power for things like family parties and such. The D3 doesn't have a pop-up, so having a small handy flash is real useful; I use the 900 for bigger events and when I want a CLS commander for the 600 off-camera. The 900 is pretty expensive, so you could try getting a used 800 for nearly the same capabilty, but at a lower price. eBay is your friend there.

 

I will have to look into that more. I might end up getting the 800/900 later and just worry about the lens and camera right now. The wide angle will probably be down the road as well.


btw very nice website.

 

get a d3x!

 

Ok.




NOT!!!! that is way out of my price range.

 

haha, yeah i know.
if you drive a fit, but you can buy the D3X, i think it's time to upgrade your car

 

Not necessarly. The fit would actually work out very well to transport photo equipment so if you were a professional photographer the fit would do you some good. But I am not pro and I don't have 3k+ to spend on just a camera body.

 

i just realized that the d60 has a much slower flash sync speed than the d40... Do you guys think the slower speed would make a big difference? The only motion i would probably be shooting are cars and mountain bikes. I like some of the features of the d60, but now im not so sure if it will be a lot harder to get sharp shots.

 

It's shouldn't make too big a difference. Most cams are @ 1/200-1/250 for flash sync; the D3 is at 1/250 for example. What's more important is that on the D40 you only have CLS capability if you're using an external flash as the commander (SB-800 or 900), whereas on the D60 the pop-up can control and remote trigger off-camera flashes. That's much more useful than a higher sync speed.

Also, keep in mind that when using flash, the shutter speed only has bearing on controlling the amount of ambient light/fill in the exposure (anything not lit by the flash). Anything lit by flash will be frozen b/c of the flash's short duration, so as long as your main subject is completely lit by the flash, it'll be stopped just fine regardless of the shutter speed.

 

you shouldnt be using flash on moving cars, imo

 

okay. thanks that's good to know.

that's good to know too. i'm still new too all this stuff and i've been reading as much as i can. Hoping to have my camera next month.

 

Generally true, but some situations warrant it. Motorsports photogs will often use remote flash for events where the ambient drops down too far to allow a reasonable shutter speed, i.e. the last few hours of ALMS Sebring for example. You'll often see from the overhead shots all the flashes going off at the corners when cars go through b/c it's simply too dark or too contrasty using just the corner lighting alone. Motocross shooters also use it also for lighting jumping riders so their underside isn't lost in the shadows. Rear-curtain sync flash can also give some neat effects in low light w/ moving vehicles.

 

FYI: The D60 on-board flash does NOT trigger the Nikon CLS system.

The D40's 1/500 flash sync speed is a very nice feature and would come in handy greatly outdoors if you're using flash for fill light, otherwise you won't notice it that much.

 

My apologies then -- I was going off of the spec sheets on Nikon's HP for the D40 and 60 and while they listed specifically the D40 only does CLS w/ a commander, the D60 just has "yes" listed for CLS, so I assumed they meant it carried the full CLS feature set. My bad.

 

I didn't mean it to be mean or anything just didn't want him to buy the D60 thinking that.

On a side note I was finally able to located a Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 AF-S which should be coming on Monday, I'm stoked!

 

some prints from tonight. all medium format

 

No harm at all, I didn't take it wrong in any way. Correct info is the only good info, and I wouldn't want to mislead him either.

That lens should be quite nice. I haven't seen any shots from it yet, but for crop cams it's what a lot of people have been asking for it seems. Definitely post some once it comes in.

 

 

There's a bunch of threads over at Nikoncafe.com about it, apparently as long as you stay away from infinity focus it doesn't visibly vignette on FX either so a lot of D3/D700 guys are loving it too.

 

Old School!! My dad handed me this like 2 days ago. he said it still new...back in 84...LOL he still has the certificate for it to.

 

Just bought a nikon d90 a sb-900 and a nikkor 35mm.