Strobist Blog Review and SB-900 Findings

If you, like me, has recently up your flash arsenal to the Nikon Speedlight SB-900, you would also be in a cave somewhere, learning how to better shoot with this big flash gun. If you have not visited Strobist Blog on my favorite link section, you should.

I mean, there's just too much to digest about flash photography and replicating other people's content here is just absurd. So, I would rather write about snippets of "gems" I found while using the SB-900 on this blog, while heavily relying on Strobist's blog to do the talking.

Here's what I found so far...the Nikon SB-900 can reach good distance if you push its flash rating to 1/1 (as opposed to the default 1/128). Say 100 feet to say the least if you want. This effectively help me shoot without my tripod completely! So, I now have the option to carry my flash or my tripod.

Secondly, on my Nikkor 70-300mm G lens, the Nikon SB-900 does not automatically "shape" the flash beam. You have to manually adjust the DX ZOOM M to 200mm to manually get those beams to converge. On the kit lens, its fully automatic. Thirdly, the provided color filters work wonders on night indoor shots! The Nikon D90 is equipped to obtain filter information when the filter is attached seamlessly.

Lastly, I now have the confidence to shoot at 1/200 second hand held (while focusing at 200mm) with the flash attached! This totally removes the need for a tripod. Talk about mobility!