Sb700 or Sb800 or Quantum Q flash

[wembley]

I am shooting a lot of events now and I've been having issues with my Sb600s. The corrosion on the contacts and the daily I don't want to work today unless you clean my contacts with white vinegar is getting old. I'm also experiencing issues with the flash continually flashing later in the night and having to open the battery door to kind of refresh the flash.

My events vary but are often banquets, cocktail receptions, presentations in dim lighting. I'm using a D700 with the sb600 and just added the lumiquest quick bounce. Shooting the d700 in manual at higher iso to increase the ambient, and the flash in ttl. background and lighting often varies depending on shooting angle. Using a lot of negative flash comp to provide fill.

I also shoot portraits and use the 600 in a beauty dish off camera using CLS. It serves its purpose here well.

So here are my current replacement options.

• I bought an sb700 as cover for my last event but managed to get my sb600 contacts clean and firing before the event so didn't use it.
  • the 700 flash looks and feels good and i read it is a faster recycler than the 600, but it is basically a 600 right?
  • price about $330
• sb800. More power and an opportunity for an external power pack.
  • looking for a used copy so around $225 + $20 or more for an external power pack
  • Seems like a good option with good ttl control and built in cls as needed.
  • Fast recycle with the external battery pack
• Quantum Qflash model t and Z battery.
  • just found one of these on craigslist for $350 range.
  • Not familiar with these but reviews seem like they are a good fit for events (quick recycling, external battery, good light) and also for Off camera work.

So what is the recommendation? I'm tempted to consider the Qflash at almost the equivalent price of the new sb700. I originally though the sb800 and external battery and lumiquest quick bounce would be the perfect set-up, but the Qflash is tempting. But then again I hear that ttl is not that great.

I'll sell 1 Sb600 and keep the other so I will still have access to CLS as needed in the BD.

here are examples of the kind of work:

Event #1. On camera sb600 with Lumiquest quick bounce

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Event #2: Same as above

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portrait with off camera sb600 in BD using TTL and CLS

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Cheers
Wembley

 

[Luke_Miller]

I've generally been happy with my SB-800s for on-camera flash work and have the SD-800 battery packs for when I need more battery power. That said - of the choices you mention I think I would go with the Q-Flash. I use bounced flash primarily and the last two events I shot were in a venue with 22 ft ceilings. I used my 306 watt/second Cheetah Light on camera to give me the light I needed. The Cheetah is about twice the output of the Quantum and I was running around 1/4 power, so a Quantum would have worked as well. The more flash work I do the more convinced I've become that speedlights are not suitable in all situations where flash is needed. Outdoors with a backlit subject is one area where a speedlight often doesn't have enough power.

I have not used a Quantum but hear that its TTL is a bit hit or miss. I think I would use Auto-Thyrister or Manual modes.

 

[wembley]

Thanks for the reply Luke.

It looks like the Qflash is the older one and has the same power output of the sb600. The battery it comes with is just a back-up and does;t have the awesome all night ability of their stronger batteries.

I'll keep an eye out for a bargain Qflash, but probably leaning back to the sb800 and external battery.

cheers
wembley

 

[seres]

I gave up my SB-800 in favor of the Quantum T5dR several years ago, and I’ve never been happier. Better recycling, better coverage, better modifiers, better, smoother light, etc. That said, if I were buying today, I would strongly consider the Cheetah Light. I’ve bought other Cheetah products, and the service is exceptional.

 

[Naptown]

I have 3 SB-800s and am quite happy with them.

 

[Baywing]

I have 4 X SB800s and they do most everything I need in a light-weight portable kit. (I do have 3 x Einsteins with batteries if I need more output but it's a bear to lug them around). The SB800 still has about as much output as any Nikon Speedlight (SB24 IIRC had a tad more) but are smaller than the SB900/910. Used prices on SB800s have risen dramatically, 2 of mine were bought in the 250-275 range years ago but they seem to be going for 325-350 as of late. They are worth it, IMHO, and as it appears that you don't need lots more power for what you are doing, I'd go that route. Add a Phottix Odin radio trigger kit and you can move the strobe off camera if needed and use your SB600 for fill.
I use the 5th battery all the time and never have power issues with rechargable batts.

 

[Luke_Miller]

Like the OP I am a bounced flash shooter. Sometimes that requires more power than speedlights can comfortably produce. Either I can't get enough light from the flash, or it requires a full dump and the recycle times slow me down. Off camera flashes on lightstands are not a solution since I move constantly. Now don't get me wrong. I love my Nikon flashes, but sometimes they are not the right tool.

I occasionally shoot in one venue that has 22 foot ceilings. With bounced flash my closest subject is 44 feet away from the flash. That takes a lot of flash power. Another venue is a large covered deck where the background outside the deck is illuminated by full sunlight. For many shots the subjects are back lighted by the background. I balance the light from the flash on the subject with the background because I hate blown out (exposure-wise) backgrounds. That takes a lot of power. In fact my SB-800 can only do that with direct flash. It does not have enough output to achieve a bounced exposure. Direct flash gives me the unwanted shadows and flat lighting I hate. The solution is the Tim Allen approach, "More Power."

I get the additional output by using a more powerful on-camera flash when I need it. The rest of the time I use the SB-800. Another solution would be to mount a light bar on the camera and us two (or more) SB-800s to gain the additional output.

 

[wembley]

Thanks for the input.
I went with the sb800 as I found one at a great price. With the lumiquest quick bounce I think this will suffice for now.

Looking for a good cheap external battery pack options now.

Big all day event Monday so will see how it handles.

Cheers
wembley