Day 34: Reliable
34/365 - August 2, 2009
My Nikon SB-600 is my workhorse speedlight. I've had this flash for a few years, and it has been dropped, bashed, rained on, tossed around, beaten up, and just plain punished.
There's electrical tape holding things together. I have a shredded Honl Speedstrap semi-permanently attached. There's red tape on there as an identifing mark for when I'm at group shoots. There are dents and scratches around the body. Despite the punishment I've inflicted upon it, the flash has continued to work flawlessly.
I also have another SB-600 and a Vivitar 285HV, and neither of them have been as reliable. The other SB-600 is a refurbished unit, and, after just over a year of use, it completely drains a fresh set of batteries after only a few pops even at 1/4 power. The 285HV is ok, but it is slow to recharge, bulky, and doesn't work with most of my light modifiers. Those two flashes end up staying at home most of the time, while my main SB-600 is in my bag every single day.
Sure, it's not as powerful or full-featured as an SB-900, but it is solid and reliable. I plan on using it until it completely dies or falls apart beyond repair.
Shooting info:
Panasonic LX3 | ƒ/4 | 1/1000 | ISO 80
Canon 430EXII in a Lumiquest Softbox III at camera left.
White paper at camera right providing bounce light.
Triggered by Cactus V4.
Setup shot here.
Day 34: Reliable
34/365 - August 2, 2009
My Nikon SB-600 is my workhorse speedlight. I've had this flash for a few years, and it has been dropped, bashed, rained on, tossed around, beaten up, and just plain punished.
There's electrical tape holding things together. I have a shredded Honl Speedstrap semi-permanently attached. There's red tape on there as an identifing mark for when I'm at group shoots. There are dents and scratches around the body. Despite the punishment I've inflicted upon it, the flash has continued to work flawlessly.
I also have another SB-600 and a Vivitar 285HV, and neither of them have been as reliable. The other SB-600 is a refurbished unit, and, after just over a year of use, it completely drains a fresh set of batteries after only a few pops even at 1/4 power. The 285HV is ok, but it is slow to recharge, bulky, and doesn't work with most of my light modifiers. Those two flashes end up staying at home most of the time, while my main SB-600 is in my bag every single day.
Sure, it's not as powerful or full-featured as an SB-900, but it is solid and reliable. I plan on using it until it completely dies or falls apart beyond repair.
Shooting info:
Panasonic LX3 | ƒ/4 | 1/1000 | ISO 80
Canon 430EXII in a Lumiquest Softbox III at camera left.
White paper at camera right providing bounce light.
Triggered by Cactus V4.
Setup shot here.