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Nikon SB-400 for Portability and Casual On Camera Flash...

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David H. Hartman:
Thoughts on the Nikon SB-400...

1) It's tiny. I was quite surprised at the diminutive size of the SB-400. It's apparently much smaller than the SB-500 and especially the SB-700. It runs on 2 AA NiMH batteries.

2) for practical purposes the SB-400 runs only in TTL BL (iTTL Balanced) mode but it can be forced into TTL (Standard iTTL) by selecting a spotmeter camera metering mode. For me this is quite useless as the flash meter sensing is limited to a spot that coincides with a single spot focus sensor. Using spotmeter to force TTL (iTTL Standard) is a fault shared with the Nikon SB-700 and SB-500.

2a) TTL BL (iTTL balanced) acts like TTL (iTTL standard) if the background is under exposed or quite dark. At that point TTL BL assumes it is the primary light on the subject and not acting as fill. (At least this is what I understand and observe).

3) The SB-400 has very limited controls on the flash itself. There is a locking lever to secure it to your DSLR or DSLM. It has an On/Off switch and a ready light. That's all folks!

4) The SB-400's flash head tilts up 90 degrees for bounce flash, something not available to the popup flash built into may DSLR(s) but it does not rotate. A 2x3" piece of 20-24 lb. general purpose copy/printing paper can be cut and fitted behind the flash head when tilted up 90 degree for a fill card for catch lights in eyes and fill under brow, nose and chin. A rubber band is not needed.

5) The SB-400 is very easy to hold in the hand using a Nikon SC-17 or SC-28 TTL cord for arms length flash as used by press photographers in the '40s and '50s with their 4x5" Graflex cameras. A shortened SC-17 might keep the SB-400 from hitting the ground if the SB-400 is dropped. 

6) in a menu opened by pressing the info button and the the flash button on the back of a Nikon D850 several flash modes are available including Front Curtin, Back Curtin and Slow Sync. There are a couple of modes that include red eye reduction which I'll ignore because these may cause subjects to blink. The SB-400 can be set to manual exposure from 1/1 down to 1/128 in 1/3 Stops set in the shooting menu. [I tested the red eye reduction Ugh! There are a couple of flashes before the shutter opens. The lag between pressing the shutter release is ridiculously long. :o :o Red eye reduction is worse than useless!  :o :o :o]

7) There is no ruby red focus assist beam or pattern available.

8 ) The short height of the SB-400 gives quite little leverage to damage the speedlight's foot. An advantage for casual use or when other activities make it difficult to protect the flash from pressure or bumps from behind. Be sure when buying that the SB-400 comes with the Nikon SS-400 soft case.

9) due to it's size the SB-400 is easy to put in a pocket but the Nikon SS-400 soft case will be needed to protect the face of the flash head from things in the pocket like keys or coins.

10) The Nikon SB-400 is discontinued but many are available on the used market.

11) The SB-400 offers neither a Master/Controller or Slave/Remote mode for Nikon CLS/AWL system.

12) The Nikon SB-400 might make a good companion for a small camera like the Nikon Z fc.

I took delivery of a Nikon SB-400 a few days ago. I paid $72.50 (USD) for my SB-400 in 9+ condition from B&H Photo, NY, NY.

For snapshots it works very well at ISO 64 on my D850 when the subject is close to the camera and the flash is facing forward (not bounced). For bounce the ISO will need to be bumped to ISO 400 give or take because of the reduced power of the SB-400 compared to a Nikon SB-800, 900, 910, etc.

http://www.momentcorp.com/review/nikon_sb-400.html

https://www.dpreview.com/articles/8901824308/nikonsb400speedlight

http://www.frequentbusinesstraveler.com/2011/02/nikon-sb-400-speedlight-review/

https://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/sb400.htm

I wonder if anyone else is using a Nikon SB-400 for casual on camera flash? It may make a great companion for a Nikon Z fc, Z50, Z6 II or Z7 II, etc. I'm interested in any recommendations for using the SB-400 on modern Nikon DSLR(s) and DSLM(s).

Dave

Luc:
I used to own a SB-400. I sold it because of it's lack of ability to swivel/rotate which was a no-go for me. Besides of that it's a nice, little flash.

Steven Paulsen:
Nikon, Sb400,
Online prices are a bit steep, where I'm shopping from, and SB600's are cheaper. Wonderful on a Df or pro body, in a pinch.


Several years ago I picked up a Viltrox, SB400, knockoff. It was only $30, and it works well as long as auto ISO is turned off.

I can no longer find the Viltroxs on ebay or elsewhere. The canon version pulses light for preview AF, and Nikon iTTL works well.
Happy hunting.

JJChan:
It is a nice little flash and I have used it on all my Nikons including Coolpix A

Beware that the lock lever mechanism is flimsy - I have read reports of this not disengaging hence the flash stuck onto the camera. Because of this, I don't lock this flash onto the camera anymore.

David H. Hartman:

--- Quote from: Luc on September 24, 2021, 23:55:51 ---I used to own a SB-400. I sold it because of it's lack of ability to swivel/rotate which was a no-go for me. Besides of that it's a nice, little flash.

--- End quote ---

The lack of swivel isn't a deal breaker for me though I would like a 90 degree swivel right and left. Perhaps leaving a swivel feature out was about price point and would have resulted in a larger unit. The lack of a useful Standard iTTL mode bothers me a bit more. I would think Standard iTTL could be implemented in the camera menu. The SB-400 is a step up from the popups of my D300s and D800, except no master and slave modes. Despite lacking features the SB-400 is small enough to fit in my pocket.

I own a pair of SB-800(s) which offer 270 degree swivel and more power to make bouncing off walls more practical. The SB-800 also offers both Standard and Balanced iTTL flash. The SB-800 as well as the SB-600 offer legacy film TTL. The SB-800 offers master and slave modes with three groups but only full stops in manual mode.

Despite the lacking features the SB-400 would probably make a good companion to the Nikon Z fc where a speedlight like the SB-800, 900 and 5000 would be rather ungainly in the Z fc's hot shoe.

The perfect speedlight doesn't seem to exist.

Dave

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