How does commander mode on a Nikon camera body differ from commander mode a on SB-700 Speedlight?

Question

My Nikon D80 and new Nikon SB-700 both offer Commander mode. I have two questions:

• When NOT in wireless mode (that is, when the flash is plugged into the hot shoe either directly or with a cable), is there any difference using commander mode on the body vs the off-camera flash?
• When IN wireless mode, I am able to use both the pop-up flash and the SB-700 at the same time. Is there a difference here?
• Does one take precedence over the other if I set both to commander mode?

Answer

The most significant difference is that the SB-700 can control flashes that are further away (it has more power and a zoom head) and can be swiveled towards a flash that is at your side. By turning the flash head you can also make sure not to spill controller signal on the scene. Of course, when you have several slave flashes at both sides of camera, you can't use the advantages of swiveling head.

When using the pop-up flash for controller, your SB-700 is free for using as a slave.

Cameras usually disable pop-up flash when there's a flash on hot shoe, so you can't use them both as commanders; is your camera different in this respect?

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Main differences between the Nikon SB-600 and SB-700?

Question

I am a total newbie when it comes to flash, and I am looking to buy an off-camera flash for my Nikon D80. The main choices for an amateur like me seem to be the SB600 and SB700. What are the main differences between the SB600 and SB700 flash?

(For example, the SB600 has a slightly higher "guide number." Should I care? Does it make a practical difference? If I some day decide to use a multi-flash setup, will there be limitations? Anything else I should know about?)

Thanks!

Answer

The SB-700 is the current replacement for the SB-600.

Technically it is slightly less powerful, guide number 28M rather then 30M as in the SB-600. But the tradeoff is that the SB-700 is faster, at a rated 2.5s recycle time as compared to the SB-600's 3.5s. This is a tradeoff, but a welcomed one if you ask me.

Some other features or improvements include:

• longer zoom range of 24-120mm as opposed to 24-85mm in the SB-600
• a bounce card for indoor catchlight
• new filters included
• filter information is now sent to the camera automatically
• built in commander to control other flashes

The reasoning to get the SB-600 is basically price, the reasoning to get the SB-700 is to have the current technology, with a faster recycle time and the option to control other flash units.

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