Just Picked-up a New Nikon 7100 DSLR!

[Syborg1211]

There was a reason I completely regretted getting the SB-400, and it escaped me for a while since I haven't touched that thing since I bought an SB-700 last year. However, I remember it now. The SB-400 is not tall enough to avoid getting some of its light blocked by larger lenses at remotely wide focal lengths. This means you'll have a large lens shadow at the bottom of your pictures when you use this flash as a forward-facing fill light. This on top of the fact that you can't even use the SB-400 as a commander for other flashes that you'll buy down the road made this flash basically useless to me.

 

[JohnnyRebel]

The SB-400 is a "you get what you pay for" light. I bought my way back when I got my D40. I loved it on the D40 and either bounced it or used a diffuser. Even thought it did not swivel, it could bounce off a wall when I shot in portrait mode. I still get it out every so often with the D7000, but have found that with primes, light modifiers, and the D7000s low-light performance I rarely use flash at all. But that's how I shoot. A SB-910 will be better than a SB-700 will be better than a SB-400, if size and price are of no concern.

I haven't encountered the "large lens shadow", but that may be because I don't shoot wider than 24mm. Does anyone have any experience with the SB-400, and maybe the Tokina 11-16?

JR

 

[Syborg1211]

The SB-400 is a "you get what you pay for" light. I bought my way back when I got my D40. I loved it on the D40 and either bounced it or used a diffuser. Even thought it did not swivel, it could bounce off a wall when I shot in portrait mode. I still get it out every so often with the D7000, but have found that with primes, light modifiers, and the D7000s low-light performance I rarely use flash at all. But that's how I shoot. A SB-910 will be better than a SB-700 will be better than a SB-400, if size and price are of no concern.

I haven't encountered the "large lens shadow", but that may be because I don't shoot wider than 24mm. Does anyone have any experience with the SB-400, and maybe the Tokina 11-16?

JR

The tokina was where I first discovered this limitation. Also lens hoods will cause or make the issue worse with most lenses I have tried - Sigma 17-50, Nikon 16-85, Tokina 11-16. This isn't a concern with smaller lenses like the Nikon kit lens, 35mm prime, or 50mm prime though. Full frame cameras with full frame glass forget about it!

 

[randomrogue]

Not sure which exact focal length but my Tokina 16-28 requires the flash to be pretty high on my D600. A SB400 would not work at the widest FL. It shadows from about halfway up the picture and all the way down. Keep in mind though that the lens is big and it's full frame.

I don't really think that's the point of the SB400 though. It's mainly to get more punch in your fill flash with the added bonus of being able to bounce off a ceiling. If you're really looking for a flash gun for portraits then you want something else.

 

[blurredvision]

I just picked up a brand new D7100 today after deciding to get back into the hobby. I've had a D50 that has served me well for 7 years but I wanted something new and fresh, with all the bells and whistles. I've only taken 9 pictures so far, all of my 3-week old daughter, and I'm already in love with this camera.

Now I just need to save to get me some decent glass, I'm working with all low-end stuff at the moment.

 

[JohnnyRebel]

Not to rain on your parade, but good photos come from having the creative vision to capture interesting images, and being at the right place at the right time. I would work on that instead of worrying about gear.

+1.

The best accessory I can recommend is The Art of Photography, a steal at $25 with free shipping.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Photog...of+photography

 

[colonelciller]

one tip is to shoot in manual mode as much as possible
I'd also say to manually focus the lens' whenever possible.

another suggestion is Photoshop Lightroom

and yet another regarding a flash is to keep it relatively simple, and add something to diffuse the flash/bounce the flash off the ceiling.

 

[exar333]

+1.

The best accessory I can recommend is The Art of Photography, a steal at $25 with free shipping.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Photog...of+photography

Great suggestion, I will check it out!

Update: Still loving the camera.

 

[Pens1566]

Quick question about the 7100, are the front/rear command dials consistent between modes in what they modify? Or is it configurable?

 

[Syborg1211]

Quick question about the 7100, are the front/rear command dials consistent between modes in what they modify? Or is it configurable?

It's configurable, and it won't be consistent between modes since certain modes only allow you to adjust certain settings. For example, in Aperture priority mode, the rear dial will control aperture. In Shutter priority mode, the rear dial will control shutter speed. Those are both by default. You can configure the dials per mode, but just know that you won't be able to control shutter speed or aperture in all modes. Sorry I don't have my camera with me so I can't tell you where in the menus you can configure the dials, but I'm guessing it's in the shooting menu.

 

[randomrogue]

Read the manual since it's got a lot of customization. On my D600 I adjust ISO with the other wheel on A/S/P. You could do other things.

 

[blurredvision]

It's configurable, and it won't be consistent between modes since certain modes only allow you to adjust certain settings. For example, in Aperture priority mode, the rear dial will control aperture. In Shutter priority mode, the rear dial will control shutter speed. Those are both by default. You can configure the dials per mode, but just know that you won't be able to control shutter speed or aperture in all modes. Sorry I don't have my camera with me so I can't tell you where in the menus you can configure the dials, but I'm guessing it's in the shooting menu.

Actually, I've found that if in A priority, the front dial will control aperture and if in S priority, the back dial controls shutter. They keep it consistent which dial controls what no matter which mode you're in.

 

[randomrogue]

It's fully customizable if you want to change it though.