Using the Nikon Speedlight SB-900

Yikes! A Monster Speedlight - the SB-900

For many Nikon users, the desire for a new Nikon Speedlight was a long time in coming. So let’s introduce the new-ish Nikon Speedlight SB-900. It does ship as the flagship speedlight from Nikon as it comes with a nice carry case (not that I’ll use it, but still…), a flash stand, a stofen-type diffuser, and colored gels that seem to be more easily applied to the flash head. These accessories were more or less delivered with the SB-800 as well. More importantly though, is that the SB-900 is the first Nikon speedlight that allows the head to rotate both fully left and fully right. That may not sound all that impressive, but it is extremely important when you want to properly setup your lighting while it stays on the camera’s hot shoe. The other big news is how HUGE this thing is compared to the tried and true Nikon Speedlight SB-800. The SB-800 seems like the “fit-and-trim-and-lets-get-things-done” brother to the more husky, yet very feature rich, SB-900. Click “more” to continue reading the post.

New Buttons & Display

One of the other features of the SB-900 is the manual hard switch for power and for the Nikon’s Creative Lighting System (CLS) as opposed to the menu based system with soft switches on the SB-800. The menus are also set by using a spinning dial and click button. It works well, but to be honest, I’m not sure if the old system was all that bad, but having an easier method to switch to Remote Mode is nice. The SB-900 also has specific support for “light-shaping” as I might call it. The lamp array can be set for “standard”, “center-weighted” and for an “even” mode. This can be handy to get the results you envision for your images and can help in lighting larger groups especially with a full-frame camera (i.e., the D700, D3, and D3x.) Another example of how Nikon is trying to address the changing landscape for digital photographers is the ability to user upgrade the firmware of the SB-900.

One of the areas that surprisingly affected me is the inclusion of another feature called the “Thermal Cut-Out Protection.” This is a feature that prevents the flash from generating too much heat and degrading or destroying the flash. Personally, I do not generally think I use flash extensively; however, perhaps the flash isn’t designed for wedding photographers and the way we use diffused flash. For example, when shooting group photos you want to take at least three photos of each group, and these photos are taken within about 20 to 30 seconds. Unfortunately, the Themal Cut-Out implements without much warning, and quickly – especially when used in a noisy environment where you can’t hear the mild warning beep. For my group photos, I diffuse the strobe and usually the room has a high-ceiling which uses more energy. Just a forewarning, it is a bit unnerving when the flash determines that it wants to shut down and cool off before continuing while your subject look at you puzzled. I guess you should have another flash nearby (like the SB-800) in case you need it. Thankfully, you can turn off this feature in the menu area, although I recommend that all users enable the feature as it may save you some $$$ since the flash runs about $500 retail. Here’s a photo of my SB-800 that has seen better (and cooler) days.

Yikes! Too hot there.

Overall, I’m happy with the new Speedlight although I haven’t had many opportunities to use it (I do carry the SB-800 on my personal outings – mainly because it is smaller and easier to carry.) I’m sure that as the wedding season wears on, I will find new uses for the SB-900 flash and find other improvements over the SB-800. In the end, the SB-900 offers some nice new features but at a cost in expense and somewhat in performance (aka Thermal Cut-Off – performance vs. longevity.) We’ll see how I feel at the end of the year, but look, the flash head can swing both ways!

Postscript: images of SB-900, D700 by Nikon USA