New toy for D70 (SB800)

[s a m]

my Nikon SB-800 arrived today, £180 on eBay plus £23 fee from customs, works out about £100 less than retail so I’m pretty chuffed.

Really looking for some tips here – I am relatively new to photography but very keen, been using the in-built flash on the D70 for some time now but invested in the SB-800 after the tips I got regarding photos of people, and how to get better results.

Can anyone give me some good “exercises” to try… I’ve heard this thing is more complicated than the camera, and to be honest I probably know about 1% of the D70’s functions but really enjoying using a DSLR and all the advantages it brings.

Any ideas on where to start to begin learning how to effectively use a flash? I am making my way through the manual, but its pretty intense.

I am most interested in taking photos of people… I have a few friends who are wona-be models and would be an ideal practice to start their portfolio.

Thanks in advance,

Sam

[luca brazzi]

Its about the best flash you can get for your D70.

Set the flash to auto, the camera to manual, set the aperture to what you want (2.8-5.6 is a good place to start), and then set your desired shutter speed (up to the flash sync. speed, depending on how much ambient lighting you want to include in the pic (ie 1/250 is very short to get much background light, whereas 1/15 is great but your subjects will probably blur with movement).

Press the button, and the flash will sort out the amount of power required to achieve the settings you put in.

Getting a stofen omnibounce jobbie is a good move, as it softens the edges.

Pointing the flash at the (hopefully white) ceiling will give you a lovely flash, with virtually no harsh shadows at all....see here:


and here:
www.sleepy-fish.com/petersparty.htm

Happy snapping
LB

[Gibo993]

Hi Sam,

Would you mind telling me which Ebay user you used, I would not mind getting the same deal and want to be sure I'm using a decent dealer and not get scammed.

If not I understand

All the best Grant

[simpo two]

I used 'speedlevin' in HK: £182 inc shipping to UK. Managed to dodge fees as well

Service was fine; a slight problem was they don't use PayPal, only MoneyBookers, so you have to open another account.

[s a m]

I paid with PayPal, using "DigitalRev" (pink listings).

I got stung for £23 custom fees - but all in, £200 - £100 less than retail I think.

My 18-70 lens came from SpeedLevin (they accepted Paypal when I emailed and asked nicely), very good service - and didn’t get stung for charges because they put "gift" on the box, and marked it as $18 or something where as DigitalRev were honest.



I have done some indoor shots, getting much better results with the SB800 than the cameras built in flash.

So much to learn... several years I think before I make much real use of it, but its a nice bit of kit, very fast cycle too.

Sam