Nikon Speedlight SB-80DX TTL Flash

Product Rating
4.92 of 5
12 reviews

Price Range
$15 - $15

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Product Description

Summary

I can remember avoiding flash because of all the hassle. That was the old days. Now, a SB-80DX on an F100 is such a simple way to improve your photos. Hook it up, turn it on, you get excellent pictures. You decide if you want bounce flash, diffused, or even remote. The pre flash monitor figures everything out (if you're using D or G lenses). Combined with flash bracketing if you second guess, hard not to get a usable shot. Of course, there is manual mode if you want to override the default. Honestly, with the TTL matrix metering, pretty tough to fool.....

Strength

Power Smooth variable zoom (not 24/35/50/80 ) Advanced features Shoe is solid

Weakness

The battery door. I don't like stuff I will have to fix eventually. Still gave it 5/5, only because I couldn't knock a 1/2 off for the door.

Summary

Great speedlight! Excellent integration with my F80. I used this combination for the first time (without testing it before, as I got the flash a day before) at my friend's wedding and nearly all photos look great or at least good :) I'm VERY pleased with this flash because it's has even more functions then I expected. Last week I tested it in wireless mode in cooperation with SB-30 and F80 built-in flash - in both situstions it worked well. I also tried SB-80 with Coolpix 5000 - results were OK (not excellent) probably due to not as advanced (as in F80) light mettering system in Coolpix.

Strength

Integration with camera (F80). Power. Included diffusion dome. LCD with all information you need. Short recycle time.

Weakness

I'm not sure if the battery compartment cap will not fell-off some day....

Summary

This is a great flash that makes flash photography easy! Has enough power for almost any application. When combined with my F100, this combination has never failed me. Perfect exposures EVERY TIME! Finally, a metal shoe! No more cracked shoes like the SB-28. Love the modelling function. Worth every penny.

Strength

Power Metal shoe TTL Flash Remote capability Tilt/twist function Very nice wide angle coverage! Model Flash Monitor Pre-flash Accurate flash exposures Easy to read screen Takes AA batteries

Weakness

Battery door held together by....thin piece of plastic/tape??!? Why Nikon? Why skimp out there?

Summary

I use the SB-80DX with an F65. I am very happy with it. I have noticed a very dramatic improvement in quality of my photographs. This is the case for fill flash and flash-mostly exposure. Of course it also opens the way for remote TTL flash operation. This is code for really easy off camera flash but without dedicated control. For this you need a cord. It has the power for bounce flash photography with 100 ISO film, especially if you set a little tighter zoom when you bounce (after all, the bounce distance is greater than direct flash). It gives you the power to diffuse the flash output and that is what improves the results. Of indoor bounced shots, my wife has sometimes said "you can't even tell that a flash was used" which is actually very high praise. I find that it offers several system enhancements when used with the F65. It gives much more distance range for fill flash, which is otherwise measly using only the pop-up flash of the f65 combined with 1/90 sync speed. For on-camera or on-TTL cord it also offers the ability to go to TTL/auto/manual, (from matrix in P or A mode), as well as the ability to add flash + or - exposure, which the bare f65 lacks. You'd think it was an overkill for the F65, especially if you compare prices, but it improves the camera body greatly.

Strength

Power - bounce with the white card out, fill the room with light and be happy. Same for remote TTL using the f65 pop-up flash. It just works great. I like the modelling light function - but it sucks batteries and the flicker is not too friendly on your human subjects. The AF assist beam is powerful and less annoying than the white one on the F65. Built in opto-remote ability is really useful but NOT in a crowd of other camera flashes.

Weakness

None really, the comments below are mostly suggestion oriented. I really like using the unit. I'd really like a way to be able to use the AF assist light on the SB80 without having the flashtube pop. I know this would probably be fairly rare but sometimes it would be useful, e.g. long exposure where manual exposure is difficult (yes I know you can turn the speedlight off after focussing, but without focus lock on the body, its a pain). This is more the case when using a slow zoom lens than a prime lens, where the AF assist is used less anyway. Maybe I ought to carry a small penlight. Seems to be heavyish on battery use. Pulling out the whitecard but keeping in the wide angle diffuser is a little difficult to do quickly without being a little rough on the unit. It would be neat to have an ability to have a 6V DC out to power your camera body if it died, and vice-versa. Why on earth is there a red-eye reduction lamp on this thing? A waste. I have shot pictures of people with on-camera flash, dilated pupils in the dark and had no red-eye whatsoever. The flashtube is high enough not to need it. The bump/mound on the moulding that is used to accomodate the red-eye lamp just makes the thickness of the unit greater. This could perhaps be replaced with another flashtube for catchlights, like certain Metz units. Or at least give it a handy/gimmick function like as a subdued light that you could use like a penlight to see the LCD on your camera body in the dark. A sim

Summary

I purchased the SB-80DX flash to be used with my F100 & AF-d 80-200 f2.8 lens. This is a heavy set up/combination already, before I was using the SB-26 flash in that configuration. Size & weight has been pared down somewhat by 50-55 grams. The Sb-26 flash will be reserved to be used on a flash bracket. SB-80 dx is lighter for camera mounted flash use.

Strength

Lighter & more compact than previous Nikon flashes. Audible slave flash monitor which can be cancelled amongst other less frequently used functions. Some features are customizable. Includes flash diffuser & featured laden for same price of sb-28 dx which it replaced. Higher guide # & focus assist beam, metal foot. Faster recycle time & lighted toggle button.

Weakness

Rubber covered tilt/swivel head lock button is thin & may harden & crack with age & heavy use! Battery compartment cover is thin & is attached only with stringy plastic strap to flash body. Flash head will zoom irratically with noise due to exhausted batteries although Nikon notes this in their manual.