Question
Ever since Nikon made the SB900 to replace the SB800, every professional and/or experienced photographer (note that the two aren’t always connected, but I won’t go there today LOL!) …every photographer seems to have forgotten about the SB800, and now the new SB700 which seems to be deemed only acceptable for amateurs. So, this is a question I see ALL the time: “Should I buy the Nikon SB-900, or the Nikon SB910?” …without any mention of the Nikon SB800 or the Nikon SB700 as professional choices… The bottom line is that most everybody on the internet who is giving recommendations seems to always recommend the SB910 and nothing else. But why?
The SB900, SB700, and SB910
(Relative size is approximate)
Answer
Yes, the SB900 has issues with shutting down due to the overheat protection feature, and yes if you turn off the overheat protection feature you may have zero issues…or you may explode your flash! 😉 So if someone put a gun to my head and made me decide between the 900 and the 910, I’d pick the 910. But I’d like to know, who is that “someone” who keeps putting guns to peoples’ heads and making them decide random stuff? That’s not the real world.
In the real world, you can choose anything you want. So, quit listening to those folks on the internet who say “if you put a gun to my head, I’d pick one of these two options.” Remember that, first and foremost. If you’re going to seek advice on the internet, get every angle and find at least one or two opinions from someone who has actually tried EVERY option, not just the one option you’re considering. Because obviously if they’ve only ever made that one choice, and they’re happy with it, they’ll speak highly of it! But that doesn’t make the choice right for YOU, or the best choice overall.
If I could choose any Nikon on-camera flash on the market, for me it would be the Nikon SB700. Hands-down. It is every bit as functional as the SB900 / SB910, but its price is a fraction of the other “flagship” flashes. And here’s another thing that is important for some photographers- it is also much smaller and lighter! I hated how top-heavy the SB900 was; I originally bought an SB700 is a backup to the SB900, however I stopped using the SB900 almost immediately after that. The SB700 is that good.
Admittedly, the SB700 is slightly less powerful than the SB910. However I’ve just never had a problem with that I guess. I rely heavily on wireless flash for my job, which is wedding photography. In my opinion if you’re trying to bounce off ceilings that are so high that you can’t use an SB700 and you absolutely MUST have the slightly greater 1/1 flash power of an SB910, …well then you’re doing something wrong, you should be integrating additional lighting systems instead.
BTW, I have another soapbox lecture about flashes- If you’re on a budget, NEVER waste money on buying a flash brand new. There is almost nothing under the sun that could go wrong with a flash that doesn’t void your warranty. Really, the only thing that ever goes wrong with flashes is either you drop them, or you explode them. In either case, Nikon will just laugh at you when you try and ask for free repair under warranty. This is why I have been buying nothing but used flashes since, oh, 2006?
Just about the only reason I would consider buying a new flash is, if I were also going to get the third-party warranty, the “drops and spills” warranty that is offered by the retailer, not the manufacturer. Because 90% of the time, the Nikon warranty isn’t going to help.
Of course keep in mind, this advice is more geared towards those who are really on a budget. If you can afford it, get yourself a new flash and get that “drops and spills” warranty too.
Anyways, now if you ever see a Nikon pro out there with the SB910, you can just chuckle and roll your eyes at them a little bit. Not just because the SB700 is so awesome, but also for one other reason that I need to mention before we wrap up. Unfortunately, the SB900 / 910 have been known to be so top-heavy that it can cause connection (misfire, or no-fire) errors with certain DSLR bodies! (Most notably the D700, if you’re wondering) It is a serious issue that very few people actually know about; they always just dwell on the fact that the SB900’s horrible overheating issues. So, this is why many experienced photographers just assume that the SB910 is the only professional choice. Well, I am here to tell you that it is not, in fact for anyone who has to use a flash on their camera for 8-12+ hours per day on a regular basis, such as wedding photography, I highly recommend, no I ONLY recommend, the SB700. (If you still own an oldschool SB800 it might serve you well and live a long healthy life, however I hated the SB800’s menu system and the SB700 is a delight to use…)
The rear of the SB700 is actually my favorite, with physical switches for TTL / manual and on/off/master/remote, while the SB800 has that cumbersome “press-hand-hold” menu
I’ve been using Nikon SB flashes since the days of the SB80DX, and SB800 / SB600, (don’t bother with the SB400) …and I gotta say the SB700 is by far my favorite out of every single one I’ve ever used. The only down-side to the SB700 is that it doesn’t have a PC sync port, however since I never use it wirelessly and my cameras have PC sync ports, I don’t consider this to be a deal-breaker. Besides, I hate PC sync ports in general, and try to avoid using them whenever I can. (3.5mm audio jack is the best type of port, by far!)
Take care, and feel free to let me know if you have any other questions!
=Matt=
