Strobe Nation

Some new feature upgrades, changes and differences between the SB900 and the SB800 speedlight strobes. The first impression almost all Nikon shooters is “it’s huge!” The Nikon SB900 Speedlight price is $430.00. The SB900 compare to the SB800 is about 20% larger in size. The new SB900 pair with the Nikon D3 will be a great combo.

After using this flash without any doubt get the SB-900 is you’re heavy using flash lighting. This speedlight is great for wedding and event photographers. The user interface has been improved for better control on the flash. The SB900 can easily be setup for wireless use much quicker and easier than the SB800.

The SB900 gives more range and zoom further than the SB800. It can zoom up to 200mm. Most importantly you can change the “shape” of the light to add more control and concentrate to distribute the lighting evenly. The SB900 has faster recycle time, average time on a battery pack is 1 second or 2-3 seconds on fresh AA batteries.

With the new SB900 firmware updating is allow with certain camera bodies. The SB900 has a clever system which can tell certain, bodies (D3, D3x, D700 and D90) which white balance to set to. The photographers that will most benefit from this new speedlight will be heavy flash users such as wedding, event and photojournalism photography.

In conclusion this is the best flash ever made from Nikon. It works perfect with my D700 and D3 and is a must for professionals who are depended on flash photography. Great power and range at 200mm and has better control than the old SB800 speedlight. Best of all you can turn the flash head 180 degrees in both directions!

Wireless flash is becoming more popular in our photography work these days. Off camera lighting gives better lighting on the subjects and provides more control lighting conditions. Our thoughts on the new Alien Bee Cybersync can be found on this article below.

We ordered a battery power CST trigger transmitter $59.95 and CSR receiver for some testing. The receiver is small about 2 inches long, the cables provided with the receiver is good quality and a good vinyl feel and very flexible. Batteries are included with the receiver and 1/8 mini to PC cable used to connect directly to a flash. The receiver can also be used as a repeater if need for long distance. The Cybersynce has 16 selectable frequencies on a 2.4 GHz band. Once the receiver is powered on the unit stays on for about 1 hour after use on idle. There is no off button to turn the receiver off but the Cybersync uses very little power running on two AA batteries. The build quality of the Cybersynce receiver is good, the plastic is strong and antenna is part of the mold. After some intense testing I was able to fire 100% at about 50 feet distance. I normally do not need to long range and the Cybersync fits well into my budget than a Pocket Wizard.

The Cybersync transmitter is small! This thing is tiny and fit onto the hot shoe perfectly without any place. There is not locking mechanism like the Pocket Wizard has where you can screen a dial down to secure it onto the hot shoe. But the Cybersync fits snugly on to the hot shoe and will not fall off. The Cybersync transmitter is also on 16 selectable frequencies. The build quality is also similar to the receiver, very strong plastic and antenna is part of the plastic molding. The Cybersynce transmitter trigger voltage is 3v, so it is safe to use on any camera with built in hot shoe.

In conclusion, this unit does it all. I am not a big fan of using bulking wireless units such as Pocket Wizards and the price is just a fraction of what a Pocket wizard costs. This unit is definitely a great improvement over the Cactus V2 poverty wizard from Ebay. Highly recommend great for amateur and pro photographers.