sb600 or lense?

[Hinana]

Hi there fellow cs-ers

I'm currently deciding over buying a sb-600 or tamron 17-50mm f2.8 for my next purchase.

Which one should i buy?

I have a D40x with 18-55, 50mm and 55-200.

Intention of sb600 is to take event shots at night. But I would want to get the tamron to replace my kit lense, futhermore for the f2.8 which is great for shooting at low lighting ( and of course ambient light is nicer ).

At the very same time my friend has bought a body and I could pass my kit lense for my friend to use too.

With a tight budget fyi

[Raied]

do you take events shots often? or forsee you use the flash often? if not whack the lens

[catchlights]

if you really shoot event, get both.

if you can only chose one, get the flash.

very simple, with flash, you can shoot most of the shots during event,
with f2.8 lens, you gain one to two stops the most, too low light, you still can't shoot.

[Hinana]

words from the pro shouldn't go wrong..

i should get the flash for now since it's more affordable than the lense

[ssping83]

dun think it's just about advice from pros.. or that it's cheaper..

for me i got a sb600 some months back and found myself stumbling when using it.. the learning curve for external strobes is pretty steep i'd say (or that i'm not trying hard enough ^_^)..

[cheezycool]

in very low light situations:

1) fast zoom f2.8: may not be good enough even at ISO1600, therefore no shot.

vs

2) kit lens + ext flash: confirm got shot.

Therefore, in terms of versatility, get the flash! bokeh will suffer due to the smaller aperture, but you still get the shot. And the ext flash can get u nice fill light for outdoor shoots, which the f2.8 can't.

[Hinana]

Originally Posted by ssping83 dun think it's just about advice from pros.. or that it's cheaper.. for me i got a sb600 some months back and found myself stumbling when using it.. the learning curve for external strobes is pretty steep i'd say (or that i'm not trying hard enough ^_^)..

i guess that's how we learn

im sure i'll encounter some problems when i start using the flash too

[adiknaim]

for flash, its really difficult at first, but its quite fun once u get the hang of it... haha... i using a Starblitz manual flash.. was a PITA... but once roughly understand hor, really fun to use... got quite gd pics...

[zac08]

Originally Posted by adiknaim for flash, its really difficult at first, but its quite fun once u get the hang of it... haha... i using a Starblitz manual flash.. was a PITA... but once roughly understand hor, really fun to use... got quite gd pics...

With the SB series flashes, the iTTL is a breeze...

It's very simple and fast to learn once you start...

[blive]

Originally Posted by zac08 With the SB series flashes, the iTTL is a breeze... It's very simple and fast to learn once you start...

Yeah, I also have no problem with Nikon's flash system. I am using SB800. iTTL works!

[CT 3833]

Originally Posted by ssping83 ......found myself stumbling when using it.. the learning curve for external strobes is pretty steep i'd say (or that i'm not trying hard enough ^_^)..

Hi,
there is no diff between the external flash and the built-in flash, put to TTL, push up ISO to a reasonable number, largest f-stop, the exposure cant go wrong by too much.

[Yapster]

The flash for sure~

[stupidbloke]

i did it the other way around. i got the lense first, since i figured at events im mostly taking group shots which is definitely in range of the on board flash...tuned down with a cheap lumiquest light softner i got decent images...

did it this way cause i was after sharper images which the tamron does give. but then again the sb600 did give me alot more lighting options especially off shoe triggered by my pop-up


dunno if d40x can do this anot.

[ssping83]

iirc the d40x doesn't have the flash commander mode..

[zac08]

Originally Posted by CT 3833 Hi, there is no diff between the external flash and the built-in flash, put to TTL, push up ISO to a reasonable number, largest f-stop, the exposure cant go wrong by too much.

Well, the external flash allows you to bounce, and have a higher guide number.

Way more versatile...

[lsisaxon]

Originally Posted by stupidbloke i did it the other way around. i got the lense first, since i figured at events im mostly taking group shots which is definitely in range of the on board flash...tuned down with a cheap lumiquest light softner i got decent images... did it this way cause i was after sharper images which the tamron does give. but then again the sb600 did give me alot more lighting options especially off shoe triggered by my pop-up dunno if d40x can do this anot.

I suppose the front diameter of the Tamron is bigger than the kit lens..... and that would probably block part of the D40X popup flash and cast a shadow at the bottom of the image. So it's still better to go for a SB first before upgrading the lens if there is not enough budget for both.