[wim]

[quote name='Vieux loup' timestamp='1282405786' post='1999']

I have checked the flash prices and find that both Nikon and especially Canon are very expensive. Third part suppliers are much less expensive, MetZ, Sunpack? Sigma and claim to work with the E-TTL specs. What do you all think?

[/quote]

They only work partly wit the E-TTL or E-TTL II specs.



If you want complete compatibility, I reckon you need to go Nikon or Canon (and yes, Nikon si very good too <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />).



Personally, if I were to go non-OEM, I would get a Strobist set. Cheaper, and much more possibilities. Currently I have a combination, just need a few umbrellas still <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />.



Kind regards, Wim

[mst]

[quote name='Vieux loup' timestamp='1282405786' post='1999']

I have checked the flash prices and find that both Nikon and especially Canon are very expensive. Third part suppliers are much less expensive, MetZ, Sunpack? Sigma and claim to work with the E-TTL specs. What do you all think?

[/quote]



Yes, both the high-end Canon flashes as well as the current Nikon SB's are rather expensive. However, from the third party offerings, only Metz can be considered a quality alternative IMO.



If you intend to shoot with off camera flash often, especially multiple units, I strongly recommend to have a closer and detailed look at Nikon's flash system. At least unless you want to set each flash manually. Note though that this advice comes from a current Nikon shooter, so might be biased. However, I have shot with Canon before and have used both flash systems, especially with multiple remote controlled units.



Both Nikon as well as Canon trigger and control the remote units optically (IR), but that's usually not an issue as long as you shoot indoors. The Nikon system however offers a lot more control over the flash units.



Both allow to control up to three groups of flashes (A,B,C) and each flash can be set to be part of any of these three groups individually. The level of control with the Canon system is limited to adjusting the flash ratio between the groups. You can of course set the flash power of a single flash unit manually, but you have to do so on the unit itself, not remotely.

To control the remote flashes, you either need a ST-E2 master unit (only controller, not a flash itself), a 7D (has ST-E2 functionality built in) or a master capable flash (550EX, 580 EX, 580 EX II or the MT-24 macro flash, which can act as a master, too).



In Nikon land, you either need a master enabled camera (D90, D300, D700, only two groups, though) the SU-800 controller unit or a SB-800 or SB-900 as master unit. Unlike Canon, you can set each group into different modes remotely. Say, group A to iTTL, group B to iTTL with -2 EV compensation and group C manually fixed to 1/64 power.



In addition, the Nikon flashes give acoustic feedback when they have recharged and are ready to fire again (just like studio flashes), also if they have reached their maximum output in iTTL mode (so you know there's no light buffer left and output cannot be increased on this unit). They come with some pre-cut gel filters supplied and the newer SB-900 even reports the gel filter installed to the camera to adjust white balance (however, only if it is mounted on the camera). Additional colours are available from Nikon for SB-900, SB-800 and SB-600, for a price, for sure, but personally I prefer to buy pre-cut instead of cutting myself. However, you can get well made colour filters for Canon flashes (or in fact any brand) from David Honl, see honlphoto.com. His other product have also been useful for me, but of course YMMV.



Both SB-800 and SB-900 also feature a photo diode which allows to be triggered by another flash unit optically (again, studio like). However, this feature is only useful if you have a fully manual setup, otherwise the units will be triggered by the pre-flashes of TTL-units and fire too early.



One last note: if you plan to do product photography of smaller objects or macro photography, Nikon's wireless macro flashes can be used for both. The R-200 units are rather small, but fully iTTL compatible. In fact, they are iTTL only, they cannot be triggered remotely otherwise.



End of message from a Nikon flash fanboy <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



Seriously: depending on the amount of flash work you plan to do, the possibilities each flash system offers should be taken into account.



-- Markus

[Steinar1]

Thank you both for very useful answers. The more I study, the more I realize how far modern tech has left me behind and that I have a lot to learn to again be operational. Thank you Markus for your detailed instructions, which will be useful. I print these and keep them in my file. <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />