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

[MEPER]

It seems a 2nd hand SB-400 has a rather high price tag?     close to $100 or so?

Years ago I got a nice cheap SB-80DX when it was "outdated". It works perfect in "auto-mode" where ISO and aperture is dialed in on flash.
I was impressed by the full metal shoe and the easy locking lever. A step-up from SB-28.
SB-11 a nice flash also if used with bouncer to soften light a bit. It should still be possible to use on a Z-body via a sync-cable and an adapter in the hot-shoe?
I remember that flies did not like full output direct in their "face"....

[Hugh_3170]

 

Love it!

..............................................................................................
I remember that flies did not like full output direct in their "face"....

[MEPER]

The "blop-sound" was nice when these "guns" were test-fired in M-mode.
A lot of energy and the heat up-close can be rather high.

[David H. Hartman]

It seems a 2nd hand SB-400 has a rather high price tag?     close to $100 or so?

I paid $72.50 for mine with SS-400 soft case at B&H Photo in 9+ condition. I've seen prices on eBay for $75.00 to $85.00 and then $100.00 to $130.00 (USD). I don't know why the split? The higher priced might be because of Ken Rockwell's review but that's only a guess. Anyway search a bit and a better price can be found.

Dave

Again if buying the SB-400 be sure to buy it with an SS-400 soft case to protect the SB-400 while it's in your pocket.

Just in case I said the SB-400 works in Film TTL mode I check the SB-400 manual and no film cameras are mentioned as compatible, not even the Nikon F6. I did not find D-TTL or d-TTL mentioned in the manual either.

[David H. Hartman]

For anyone wishing to follow in the foot steps of Weegee the famed NY press photographer here is a low priced foot in the door...

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1335999-REG/vello_ocs_nk15_1_5_ttl_off_camera_cord.html

Press Photographers of the '40s and '50s while shooting with their Speed Graphix and Chrown Graphx 4x5" cameras would hold their flash guns at arms length. I use a shortened Nikon SC-17 for this but the above linked Vello Off-Camera TTL Flash Cord would not require any disassembly, cutting and soldering to shorten an SC-17 TTL cord.

Dave

[Øivind Tøien]

I evaluated purchasing the SB-400 to complement the missing on-board flash when I got the D500, but found that it cannot be used as a commander in the creative lighting system. So I instead got the little SB-500 that supports commander mode and communicates with the D500 menu system. However I very seldom use any flash - it is mostly for documentation, so my SB500 and SB-600 do not see much use. And they both seem to run the batteries down if I leave them in, even when turned off.

[David H. Hartman]

And they both seem to run the batteries down if I leave them in, even when turned off.

Yes and if you leave a fully charged battery pack in a DSLR you are not using, in time it will go dead the the extent that the little CPU in that battery that must be powered in order for your battery charger to recognize and charge that battery will not be powered and your battery will not be charged. I should know. I left a battery in my Nikon D2H and it went 100% dead and could not be charged because my D2H wasn't really off even when it was off and even when turning it on didn't work.

To wit: take the batteries out of any device you will not use for two weeks. Maybe sooner if you are prone to forget.

Dave

Bonus information: there is a way to jumpstart cordless tool batteries that may save them when the have gone 100% dead. Search for it. I've tried it and save one of two batteries. The unlucky one died totally after a month.

 

[Snoogly]

I am loving the sb-400 for macro work. I tend to use the Laowa 85mm 5.6, which is a tiny lens. Until now I have used a Meike MK320 in Manual mode (no TTL on Z6), but I recently tried the sb-400 TTL. Very happy with it, and +/- flash exposure was easy to set up in the ‘I’ menu.

Apart from that, the 400 is so small and cute :-) Not the cheapest ancient device to buy, but well worth it.

[Øivind Tøien]

BTW, I recently checked the current consumption in off mode of the SB-500 and SB-600. The former was about 16 uA (mikro amperes) and the SB600 was 4 uA assuming that I can trust my multimeter. It would take >14 years to run 2000mAh batteries completely down in the SB-500 if my calculations are correct, so let us say roughly 10% consumption per year to allow some margin. My previous experience was with high self discharge rechargeable batteries that have now been replaced by low self discharge Enelops. Plus it says something about how seldom I use these strobes. An issue with SB-600 could also be that it accidentally had gotten turned on into standby mode where power consumption is much higher.