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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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1
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3576
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Fri December 10, 2010
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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Average Rating
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100% of reviewers
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None indicated
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8.0
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Description:
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Professional i-TTL Speedlight compatible with Nikon FX and DX format SLRs, and part of the Nikon Creative Lighting System. This powerful Speedlight offers photographers extensive creative opportunities for their flash photography. Three illumination patterns - Centre-weighted, Even and Standard - provide total control over flash coverage and it covers a class-leading auto zoom range of 17-200mm in just 1.2 seconds.
Advanced features include a booster circuit that enables high-speed recycling using four AA-type batteries and a built-in thermal protection system to warn of excessive heat build up. The SB-900 can automatically detect the presence of a fluorescent or incandescent color filter and transmit this information to the attached camera’s white balance setting, and its firmware can be upgraded via the camera body.
Key Features
• Professional i-TTL (intelligent TTL) Speedlight compatible with FX and DX format SLR cameras.
• Compatible with the Nikon Creative Lighting System.
• Centre-weighted, Even and Standard illumination patterns: Centre-weighted mode concentrates illumination to the centre of the frame, useful when using a telephoto lens. Even mode diffuses light evenly across the frame, useful when taking group shots. Standard mode offers a standard balance of power and light distribution.
• 17-200mm auto zoom range: covered in just 1.2 seconds. 14mm zoom range when using built-in diffuser or Speedlight dome.
• Automatic detection of sensor format: automatically recognises FX or DX format cameras.
• High-speed recycling time of 2.2 seconds, using four AA-type batteries.
• Intuitive interface with large LCD screen and 3 all-purpose switches that can be individually configured.
• AF-Assist illumination: compatible with Multi-CAM3500 FX / DX AF sensors.
• Bounce capability: rotates horizontally 180º to right and left, tilts up to 90º and down to 11º.
• Thermal protection system: programmable to warn of excessive heat build up during high intensity firing.
• Automatic filter detection: Speedlight automatically adjusts the attached camera’s white balance settings when a fluorescent or incandescent color filter is used.
• Firmware can be upgraded via the storage media in the attached camera.
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Keywords:
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Nikon SB900 Flashgun
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Author
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VinnyP
Forum Regular
Registered: February 2006
Location: Surbiton Surrey
Posts: 1147
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Review Date: Fri December 10, 2010
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Versatile, Easy to use, wide auto zoom range smart touches.
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Cons:
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Bulky, can shut down due to overheating
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This is now Nikons top end on camera flash. The SB flash guns have, always been a big reason why I shoot Nikons. I got 3 of these free with some recent camera purchases. I still have and use a number of SB800s, an SB600 SB400 and SB200s with the R1C1 kit.
In use it mostly performs very well. It's exposures are accurate and it's very easy and intuitive to change settings (A big improvement on the SB800 etc). It has an auto Zoom range of 17-200 and it detects if it is on a crop sensor camera and adjusts accordingly (So becomes a 24 - 300). Along with the SB800, R1C1 and most of the in built flashes it can control other flashes as part of the incredible Nikon CLS and of course like the SB600, 800 and R200 it can also act as a slave. Where this gains is how quickly it can change from master to slave.
Unlike the SB800 this is optimised to work with 4 batteries and has no provision for a 5th Battery. However it's recycling time is actually about the same.
If you use fill flash with artificial lighting then this has a clever function setting the in camera WB according to the gels you put on. I don't shoot Jpeg so I haven't found this useful yet. It also has settings to cover flash distribution so you can get 3 different degrees of centre weighting to your flash. Again not something I have uses but it might be useful if you shoot jpegs and want a kind of in camera vignette or especially if there was something very reflective in the corner of a image.
I do have to mention a couple of things. Mostly because of the improved zoom range over the SB 800 (17-200 vs 24 - 105 however both it and the 800 have 14mm diffusers built in) the SB900 is much bigger and heavier. Because it uses only 4 batteries they have actually reduced the power GN 34 vs 38. So if you are shooting at under 105mm the SB800 has more oomph and worryingly even at this lower power from time to time if you shoot several sequencies in quick succession it can lock up with the dreaded overheating error.
So this is a step forwards as the interface on the old flash was almost obstructive and when shooting with longer lenses that extra zoom range is very useful. I just wish they had kept the size down the power up and either kept the fifth battery option or found a way to stop it overheating with 4 batteries. As it is (Since I am used to the silly interface) I still use SB800s most of the time.
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